Call it the will of the people, the Chester County rock quarry, will not be happening. Jerry Meade, engineer with mining consultant Meade Gunnell in a published report described the project as “being on hold.”
HardRock Aggregates applied to mine on a nearly 240-acre site at 3337 Fishing Creek Church Road in Edgemoor. The actual mining pit would have been eight acres, but it could have expanded to about 28 acres.
Strong community opposition was a key factor in the decision of HardRock Aggregates to withdraw its DHEC application. The would-be operators stated it will provide granite, clay, gravel and sand to build roads and other construction projects.
DHEC project manager Jeremy Eddy sent out a memo yesterday, stating HardRock asked on Nov. 5 to have its Fishing Creek permit application withdrawn.
A public hearing won’t be required, and there isn’t any further action on the application. In a separate move, the company applied for a general mining permit, limited to five acres of disturbed land at no more than 20 feet deep.
That permit wouldn’t allow material processing or blasting. Meade said that permit essentially would allow the company to sell dirt from the site, but not mine it.