Vermont Public Radio news item, October 31, 2001:

Host: A controversial granite quarry that opened last year in the
Northeast Kingdom may shut down. A company official says the
quality of the stone isn't as good as he had hoped. VPR's John
Dillon has more.

Dillon: The quarry project turned neighbor against neighbor in
Sheffield, a town of about 600 people north of St. Johnsbury. Three
years ago, a South Burlington company that is owned by a South
African investor proposed reopening and expanding the quarry that
was abandoned in the 1930s. The company wanted to sell 400-thousand
cubic feet of rock each year to compete with the large granite
quarries in Barre. Town officials supported the project and said it
would bring needed jobs to the area.

But some neighbors fought the quarry in Act 250 hearings. They said
the blasting and truck traffic would change their rural town
forever.

The opponents lost before the state Environmental Board. The
granite company began mining stone last year, even as the permit
was under appeal. Now it appears the stone is not good enough for
the more lucrative grave yard monument market. Company director
Mark Austin says the rock near the surface was discolored. And then
when workers dug deep, they found that stone was also poor quality.
He says the quarry will be mothballed while the owners decide if it
can be reopened.

(tape 1 24:00 Austin) The development of a quarry is very
expensive. And stripping the top is very expensive and you at least
have to find some clean parts in that quarry to justify the expense
as you progress further on. So right now we just haven't found any
particular areas that are good enough to justify carrying on right
now.

Dillon: The quarry project led to a lengthy legal battle before the
local environmental commission and the state Environmental Board.
Stephanie Kaplan is a lawyer who represented opponents of the
project. She says her expert testified that the stone wasn't good
enough for the monument market. Kaplan says the Environmental Board
failed to consider all the evidence.

(tape 1 17:44 Kaplan) If the board had cared more about protecting
the environment than they did about promoting economic competition,
which is not within their bailiwick, it could have been prevented.

Dillon: Kaplan says some of the neighbors who fought the project
have since moved away because of the tensions in town.

Ten people work at the site. They'll be out of a job soon as the
company decides if it can reopen. The company is required by its
Act 250 permit to set aside funds to reclaim the site. For Vermont
Public Radio, I'm John Dillon.