In follow-up to citizen comments at the Town Meeting on September 27 involving continued concerns over the quarry blast that occurred on August 31, the Village contacted representatives from Hanson Material Service, who were already aware of the media coverage from that meeting.
Hanson repeated their goal to be a “silent neighbor” and went on to further clarify for the Village that they voluntarily suspended all blasting operations at the quarry immediately following the event, in order to evaluate why and how the event occurred.
Hanson subsequently resumed mining operations after Labor Day (September 7) except for the area where they were blasting on August 31. This area is still not actively being mined and Hanson is considering alternative ways to blast in that area (smaller charges, different detonation techniques, etc).
A copy of a press release prepared by Hanson Material Service that explains the results of the analysis in more detail is available by clicking the link below.
The Village has also learned that the telephone equipment associated with the hot line number, 1-(866)-WE-HEAR-U, has not been operating consistently when pushing "1" for Hanson. Hanson advised that they are in the process of correcting that situation. In the meantime, the phone numbers of people that call are still being logged in the system (although they cannot leave a message) and Hanson has advised us that they are calling all of those numbers back on the next business day.
For more information, please contact the Village Manager’s office at (708) 579-2315.