MMD Stone draws complaints for Cape quarry

Larry Miller's cattle farm used to be surrounded by trees.

Now the trees are disappearing, Dog Creek runs cloudy and every rain brings muddy runoff onto his land.

He blames Neely's Landing Quarry, operating near Miller's farm in the northeast corner of Cape Girardeau County.

He and nearly two dozen others met with Missouri Department of Natural Resources officials and Marshall Hardison of MMD Stone, which operates the quarry, Thursday. They didn't leave happy.

Hardison said he's doing everything possible to follow state and federal guidelines for lane use and pollution limits for air and water.

His company has applied for permits to extend operations by more than 100 acres.

The quarry has received 58 citations for violations from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) since 2004, including 15 in October 2007 and seven more citations, as yet unresolved, were issued by MSHA in May.

MMD's permit request is scheduled for a Sept. 25 DNR hearing in Jefferson City, according to Bill Zeaman, a DNR environmental specialist.

He said permits must be granted if the request meets the requirements of the state's application. He he can recall only two permits being denied.

For more details on this story, check back tosemisourian.com or see Friday's Southeast Missourian.

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