Note: The following is not a verbatim transcript of the Zoning Hearing Board meeting; it is simply one person’s summary of the major points made by those involved in the hearing process.  For that reason, quotation marks are not used unless a direct quote was recorded.  For information about obtaining an official ZHB transcript, contact the New Hanover Township office.

Note:  The next three meetings were scheduled. September 17, October 2, and October 30: all at 7PM.

NOTE: Make sure you read Mr. Francis Recchuiti's cross examination of the following witness. See below.

Stephen Harris, attorney for Gibraltar Rock introduced his next witness, Mr. H. Lyn Kemper, President of Kemper Equipment.  Harris also introduced Exhibit A35, which consisted of a package of information on the equipment that Gibraltar Rock plans to purchase from Mr. Kemper’s company and a series of four 8’x4’ diagrams, which were placed on an easel in front of the auditorium.

Kemper said he is a manufacturer and distributor of aggregate mining equipment and has been in business since 1971. He also has experience in installing quarry equipment at new sites. 

Important Note: During the rest of the meeting, Kemper talked about two separate plans. The first being what he called the township plan and the other the DEP plan.  What he meant by this is, the “township” plan refers to a plan that shows how the plants (quarry, rock crushing and screening, asphalt, and ready-mix concrete) could be positioned within an area on which New Hanover Township allows a quarry. The “DEP” plan refers to a plan that shows how the plants would be situated within a larger area---this larger area is what John and Larry Silvi (owners of Gibraltar Rock) are asking the Zoning Hearing Board to allow.  The “DEP” refers to the Department of Environmental Protection”, which refers to Gibraltar Rock’s position that the DEP would allow a larger quarry than the New Hanover Township zoning allows

Harris asked Kemper to describe the equipment that the proposed site would contain. Kemper explained (using diagrams labeled A35 KE-1 through KE-4) that, besides the 400-foot deep quarry pit, there would be the following:

 Asphalt Plant (marked in yellow-gold on the diagram). This would include:

·         A manufacturing facility

·         Feed bins with ramps for front-end loaders

·         Storage bins to hold materials that would be trucked into the quarry such as sand

·         Storage piles

·         10,000 ton RAP (recycled asphalt plant) storage sheds to hold used asphalt that has been shipped into the quarry. See http://www.asphalt.com/HHIW/gencor.html 

·         Heated tanks to store asphalt

·         Scale for weighing trucks

Crushing and Screening Plant (marked in red on the diagram). This would include:

·         Primary Crusher with dump hopper and conveyor. See pictures here http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/NAE%20aggregates%20Internet%20NRC%20with%20USGS%20sheet/primary%20crusher.htm Rocks up to 5 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet in size enter the primary crusher which reduces the size to 12 inches or smaller. Water is sprayed to reduce dust. Water is conserved and recycled in the mining and washing operations.

·         60,000 Ton storage area

·         12,000 Ton rock storage area

·         Stockpiling area

·         Ballast stone storage area

·         Multiple belt conveyors to move rock from one area to another

·         Secondary Crusher (Rock leaving the primary crushed  typically is 8 inches in diameter or less. This crushed rock is moved to the secondary crusher by a conveyor belt (see left). The secondary crusher is located at the large horizontal conveyor belt which separates 'rip rap.')  At the secondary crusher the crushed stone passes over a 'screen'. Stone greater than  8  inches in diameter are separated for 'rip rap.' The horizontal conveyor carries the rip rap to a stock pile (see below) where it is ready for shipping.  Rip rap is used for soil erosion control. See http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/NAE%20aggregates%20Internet%20NRC%20with%20USGS%20sheet/secondarycrusher.htm 

·         Tertiary Crusher Crushes to size of 1”.

·         Screens (8-foot by 24-foot sieves that grade rock by size

 Ready-mix Concrete Plant (marked in green on the diagram). This would include:

 ·        Storage for sand

·         Feed bins

·         Cement storage

·         Ready mix machinery See http://www.alslur.com/asm.htm 

·         Loading bins for trucks

·         Conveyors

·         Pits for “wash down”  (washing concrete out of inside of trucks)

Water Run-off Areas (marked in blue on the diagram). This would include:

Three ponds to hold run-off water. As you mix concrete the water becomes cloudy from suspended materials.

 Harris asked Kemper about the difference in equipment between the “township” plan and the “DEP” plan. Kemper said the only differences are that the “DEP” plan is larger and contains a tunnel to convey rock from Northern portion (I assume this is from the Northern side under Hoffmansville Road to the main plant.)

Kemper next introduced Exhibit KE-4 that was called a vertical plan.  This shows the “typical” height of the structures. Kemper said he didn’t have exact elevations yet.

Kemper explained that most building had walls around them but that the crushing plant only has a three sided wall around it.

Harris next asked him to describe the size of the plants. Kemper said:

Asphalt Plant
 6 Ton batch plant

Crushing and Screening Plant
500 Ton/Hour with largest rock being 42”. Big enough to produce ½ Million tons/year

Ready-mix Concrete Plant
12 yard central mix

 Kemper next told of his proposal costs:

Crushing plant - $5,600,000

Asphalt plant - $3,220,000

Ready mix plant - $1,205,000

Additional - $422,000

Total with installation was $10,469,000

Cross-examination

 Mr. Chesnee [not sure of spelling] the associate of Robert L Brant, attorney representing New Hanover township cross examined Kemper

When Chesnee asked about Kemper’s experience and degrees, he said he had no advanced degrees.  

Chesnee  asked about the size of the Limerick plant to the proposed plant. Kemper said about the same.

Chesnee ’s questioning centered around whether or not the plants could exist individually on the site. Kemper said they could,

Mr. Francis Recchuiti (representing a local resident was next to cross examine Kemper.

When asked by Recchuiti if he was being paid to testify, Kemper said he was. Recchuiti asked him how much and he eventually responded by saying $150.00 per hour.

Through a series of probing questions Recchuiti uncovered that Kemper’s diagrams (entered into evidence by Stephen Harris, attorney for Gibraltar Rock) contained major errors.  Under cross examination Kemper admitted that the 8-foot by 4-foot CAD (computer-aided design) drawings that he presented as factual data to show size and position of the proposed plants were in error---the scale he represented on the diagram could not be used to accurately determine the actual size of the crushing plant, asphalt plant, or ready-mix plant---as well as ponds, silos, sheds, conveyors, other buildings, and storage areas.  When asked to tell the board and the community how big a certain storage area was (based on the exhibits) Kemper was unable to do so saying that the plan was to scale but the scale was in error. This appeared to be a major blunder by this “expert” witness and his company.

Recchuiti asked him to tell the board about the height of the drop conveyor. He was unable to do so. Recchuiti asked what percentage of the entire site would be under roof. Kemper was unable to do so.

David Davis the attorney representing the Paradise Watch Dogs questioned Kemper next. Davis asked a series of questions surrounding how Kemper received the information from Gibraltar Rock on how big to design the plants. Kemper said there were a series of 8-10 meetings during which information was learned. Davis asked him who gave him the proposed production size figures and he said he didn’t remember. 

Davis asked Kemper if the site could hold larger production without major changes and Kemper said it could.

Davis asked how many decibels the crusher makes and how much noise abatement the three-sided wall provides. Kemper did not know the answer to either question.

The next meetings will be September 17, 2002.

See Also:
Summary of the previous meeting (July 30, 2002)