By Michelle Key
Publisher

A group of concerned citizens, led by Tara Brumfield and Danielle Ritch, met Friday night at the Cusseta Event Center to discuss the possibility of a granite quarry being developed in the Beulah community.

Brumfield and Ritch addressed the community members sharing with them information that they have gathered over the last week.

“The more that we dug into it over the last few days, the more we found out that this quarry is coming,” Brumfield said. “[It’s] already in the works.”

The proposed site of the granite quarry is owned by the Weyehaeuser Company off of Lee Road 177 backing up to Halawakee Creek, the two shared.

 “They’re doing test drilling out there [on Weyerhaeuser property] right now, they’ve been doing it this week,” Ritch said. “We’ve heard of other properties of interest however.”

Brumfield and Ritch encouraged those in attendance to also attend the Lee County Commission meeting scheduled for Aug. 10 at 5 p.m. Brumfield explained that she has been granted a spot on the commission agenda in order to express her concerns about the proposed quarry and to ask that the county commissioners join the Beulah community in opposition to the project, much like they did when a quarry was proposed just north of Opelika off of Highway 431 earlier this year.

That quarry proposal, by Creekwood Resources, LLC, was eventually abandoned when Creekwood Resources withdrew their permits and application to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. According to Brumfield, Creekwood Resources LLC is the company working to develop this new quarry site as well.

“We need the county commissioners behind us because if the county commissioners aren’t pushing this and lining this up, then we are not going to be able to fight [against this],” Ritch said. “It needs to be a public voice. Everyone needs to be [at the county commission meeting].”

The commission meeting will be held in the commission chambers, which are located on the second floor of the Lee County Courthouse Annex. Social distancing and masks are required due to COVID-19, so seating inside the chambers will be limited.

Ritch created a Facebook page “Protect Beulah Stop the Quarry.” The page can be found by searching @ProtectBeulah. The community is encouraged to follow the page to stay up to date on developments pertaining to this proposed quarry.