Some Scott City residents set to oppose new permit for defunct quarry

For the third time this summer, a group of residents is upset about a quarry.

Jay and Glenda Cassout's Lakeview Drive home sits next to a defunct Scott County quarry, owned by Dexter, Mo.-based company Seminole Ag-Lime. Jay Cassout, 61, said he recalls swimming in the quarry when he was 14 years old.

Two weeks ago, the Cassouts received a letter saying Seminole Ag-Lime wants to renew its permit on the 70-acre site. The permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources would be good for 50 years. The Cassouts quickly gathered more than 20 people living on either side of Scott City's northern city limits to formulate an opposition group. The Cassouts said they are not sure whether the permit request indicates plans to reopen the quarry or if the company is merely keeping its options open. Seminole Ag-Lime officials could not be reached for comment.

The neighbors will hold a second meeting today. It is the third time in as many months that a quarry has galvanized Southeast Missouri neighbors. In June, news of a proposed Cape Girardeau County quarry near County Road 319 and Route K spurred residents of that area to crowd into a Cape Girardeau County Commission meeting to ask for help getting it stopped. As quarry opposition mushroomed, excavator J.W. Strack announced the rock was not the quality he wanted. Last month, the unhappy neighbors of Neelys Landing Quarry aired their frustration over dust, mud and possible encroachment.

Scott City Councilman Norman Brant said he does not live near the Seminole Ag-Lime's quarry but opposes renewing the permit.

"We've got a 10-inch water line right beside the quarry. I'm worried when they dynamite, it'll shake the line loose and weaken the joints," he said. "Up on the hill, on both sides of what would be the quarry there are about 25 homes, nice homes. We've got city streets there and the one going west floods every year, so any traffic would have to go east, and that's all residential."

The homes are less than 20 years old, according to the Cassouts, and have a market value of about $200,000 each.

Scott City Mayor Tim Porch said the city doesn't want to take a stance against jobs.

"My personal feelings are the quarry is in a real bad spot, as far as trucks going in and out," he said.

City administrator Ron Eskew lives next door to the Cassouts and said he can see the city's point about jobs and development, but, at the same time, "I don't want my home devalued."

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. today at the Kelso Township Memorial VFW Post, at 1408 Main St. in Scott City.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

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