Kim Fary’s home in Bay Shore is a modest place. The 900-square-foot house has everything she needs – and nothing more.
“We just live very simple, and that’s the way I want it,” Fary said. “I’m not here to make a ton of money or drive a fancy car, no, I just wanted a simpler way of life.”
In the summer, Fary said she spends all her time outside, surrounded by color.
"There's just flowers everywhere,” Fary said. “I have gardens, I have perennials, just everywhere. It’s really so peaceful and beautiful.”
When she was searching for a place to live 25 years ago, Fary said she saw the potential of this place. But she was apprehensive about the gravel pit across the street.
“At the time too, there was no housing,” Fary said. “You couldn’t find anything. So, when we came here, I was like, ‘huh, there’s this gravel pit...’”
Fary was reassured when she learned that mining near her would soon end. She had heard of a consent agreement that prevented any future mining and required the pit owner to eventually restore the property.
The first few years of living in Bay Shore when mining was still in full swing were difficult. Fary said she moved in during the fall, when things were quiet.
“And suddenly [one spring day], I come home, and the cupboards are open,” Fary said. “Glass is on the ground, and I couldn’t figure out what in the world was going on.”
Turns out, mining in the pit would cause her entire house to shake. Fary said she couldn’t hang things on the wall, and sometimes, the shaking would make her physically ill.
But as promised, mining did end, and the pit was partially restored. Fary said she had fifteen years of peace - until last year, when she noticed men surveying the former mine.
For Fary, it all went downhill from there. She learned the property was being considered for various industrial projects. Now, her biggest fear is a plan to resume mining in the pit.
Rieth-Riley is an Indiana-based asphalt construction company that now owns the property. The company’s local project manager Jim Pemberton announced the company’s plans to begin mining gravel this month.
“It's a beautiful sand and gravel deposit,” Pemberton said in the March 13 township meeting. “As the economic needs of the area dictate, we’ll continue to extract material out of there.”
Pemberton said mining will involve 90 truckloads of material being hauled daily (Monday through Friday) from the pit to Rieth-Riley's nearby property for processing.
Mike Wilczynski is a retired state geologist. He reviews aggregate mine applications on behalf of residents, for free.
“You don't put industrial operations next to a residential community,” Wilczynski said. “That’s just poor land use planning.”
Wilczynski said he won’t get involved in a community if he doesn’t see an issue with a proposed mine. In Bay Shore, he said he has several concerns.
“[The pit has] an unconfined aquifer, it's open to the surface, so anything that's released to the surface is going to get into the groundwater,” he said. “I mean, there's people that have wells that are 50 feet deep, and that's a concern.”
Another concern is residents’ potential exposure to silica dust, a byproduct of aggregate mining that’s associated with lung cancer and silicosis.
Other concerns include safety issues from increased traffic on US-31, increased noise, and a drop in property values.
Pemberton said “natural” sand and gravel mines are not a source of silica dust, and crushing quartz is what releases silica dust, which will not be happening on-site. But Wilczynski said sand and gravel do contain silica, and dust can be released from mining and hauling material.
At the March 28 Hayes Township meeting, several residents asked the planning commission to require Rieth-Riley to apply for a special use permit.
The permitting process would involve a more extensive environmental review of the company’s plans. And a state law allows local governments to deny a permit for aggregate mining if a company can’t prove a need for material, or if there’s evidence mining will harm humans, property values, or the environment.
Jim McMahon is a township resident who spoke up at the meeting. He said he was disappointed by the lack of discussion on mining.
“The trucks are going to start rolling in days,” McMahon said. “We’re expecting you to step up, to take some action, to not sit back. Please, do something. We’re calling, no, we're begging you to do something.”
The township is now scheduling a special meeting to review their options. Requesting a special use permit may be one of them, but the consent judgment complicates things.
Ron VanZee is the Hayes Township zoning administrator. He said he’s not happy about gravel mining either, but he said Rieth-Riley’s actions are in accordance with the court order.
“Probably 99% of the property owners purchased homes down there, knowing there was a gravel pit – an active gravel pit,” VanZee said.
VanZee said the township attorney will examine whether requesting a special use permit is permissible under the agreement.
“Of course, we’ll study and review it," VanZee said. "Why wouldn’t we? They’re all members of our public, we try to protect our public.”
JoEllen Rudolph was part of the original group of residents who sued the township and former pit owner 30 years ago. She said they never would have settled if they knew the consent agreement could allow for indefinite mining.
“We knew there was some flexibility [in the agreement] … to alter the mining schedule, based on demand for sand and gravel,” Rudolph said, “but we never would have thought they would take this long. This has been sitting there for over 30 years.”
Kim Fary said she’s already prepared to take things out of her china cabinet. She said she doesn’t know what to do if mining starts up in Bay Shore.
“I feel like I'm in purgatory, and I worked really hard for just this,” Fary said. “I mean, we don't ask for anything. Why would this be taken from us? Why do we feel like we’re being forced out of our homes?”
Fary said many of her neighbors don’t have the resources to fight – or leave – and she’s tired.
“There's times I want to curl up and just die,” Fary said. “I mean, because that’s how awful this is. Your home is supposed to be your sanctuary…”
Fary said she never meant to get involved, but she felt like she had no choice. She said she just hopes her township does everything in their power to stand up for her community.
