The Luck Stone quarry has no intention of causing any harm to property in Centreville's Fairfax National Estates community. And at last week's meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee, the company did its best to provide assurances to the residents.
Luck Stone is proposing to expand its Bull Run quarry in Loudoun County. And in response to the concerns of Fairfax National homeowners, the WFCCA invited Luck Stone representatives to address its June 17 meeting.
Both Joe Andrews, an executive from Luck Stone's Richmond office, and the plant manager of the Bull Run quarry attended. They explained that Luck Stone wants to enlarge its quarry so it will have a greater area from which to mine rock.
The expansion will give Luck Stone 635 acres total at its Loudoun site — although only half of it is mineable. It will also extend the life of the quarry from its current 30-40 years to up to 100 years.
But residents of Fairfax National — the subdivision closest to this quarry — fear that the blasting coming from the expansion may cause their homes to vibrate or have adverse effects upon their wells. But the Luck Stone representatives said the quarry is far-enough away so that the work there won't hurt this community.
"They said the rock is so dense that water won't come out of it and [leak into] the Fairfax National wells," said WFCCA Chairman Jim Katcham. "And they've agreed to do well-testing and survey the home foundations so there's a record of what things looked like before [the blasting]. And after, if there are any problems, they'll send out engineers to assess the damage and the problems."
It's the same thing Luck Stone did for Virginia Run residents who live near its Centreville quarry, off Route 29. And recently, when Luck Stone applied for its routine renewal of its operating license, local residents came and spoke to the WFCCA on behalf of the company and told what a good neighbor it's been.