WETMORE - Payne and Dolan Inc. officials set to work on an asphalt plant and construction aggregate crushing job in Munising Township said they plan to work with the concerns of neighbors in mind.
The work will be done at the Bedrock Quarry, located along Percy Road in Munising Township, north of M-28. Many residents have opposed the operation for concerns ranging from odor and pollution to health and safety.
Payne and Dolan will use aggregates from the quarry for a 10.3 mile, $5.1 million road reconstruction and paving project along Alger County Highway 58, which began recently near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
At a meeting last week, Munising Township Zoning Supervisor John Shauver said rock crushing for the project will end at the quarry around Oct. 1, with five more blasts scheduled from now until then.
Afterwards, the aggregate operation will switch to making asphalt at the Bedrock Quarry for three weeks, which will be used for H-58 and to resurface Percy Road, after hauling is finished.
Munising Township Supervisor Dan Wilson said Payne and Dolan Inc. officials said "they will do what they can to make this (operation) neighborhood-friendly."
Wilson said state and federal lawmakers who looked into the issue on behalf of local residents found the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to be the agency responsible for checking water and air quality standards involved with the quarry.
Wilson said Payne and Dolan and Bedrock Quarry officials have erected a berm across the back of the quarry to reduce noise and site concerns, though some residents were concerned the berm might be encroaching on private property.
Resident Heather Nayback, who lives near the quarry, said she has learned a good deal about quarries and gravel pits in recent weeks and is starting to feel somewhat less afraid about the Payne and Dolan operation, the more she learns.
Though she said she knew Payne and Dolan officials had no obligation to follow any suggestions from the community, she read a list of several items she hoped company officials would consider.
The list ranged from suggestions to warn residents of blasting at the quarry, maintain the tree line and improve the site when finished to having gravel truck operation outside of school busing schedules and giving copies of permits to township officials.
David Nyenhuis, Michigan area manager for Payne and Dolan in Gladstone, said the company was willing to listen to resident concerns and would do what it could to respond.