Moretown, Vermont Stops Quarry: Environmental Court Rules Against Dangerous Quarry

Six years ago, a developer proposed an industrial rock quarry on a hillside along Rte. 100B, the opening corridor of Vermont’s Mad River Valley. The quarry threatened the water quality of the Mad River and promised an onslaught of diesel dump trucks, dynamite explosions, and fly rock pelting nearby properties. Toxics Action Center worked with residents to form the Mad River Neighborhood Association (MRNA), and to oppose the irresponsible and dangerous proposal.

MRNA worked to win decisions against the proposal from the town board and the state land use commission, but the developer persisted. On March 25th, the Vermont Environmental Court upheld the earlier decisions and ruled definitively against the developer.

The group’s attorney David Grayck commented, “The Court’s decision implemented the basic principle that Vermont’s environmental laws are there for the protection of the public, not any single or group of individuals.”