Lee County residents express concerns about mine proposal off State Road 82

Lee County residents expressed their concerns about a proposal to convert a potato farm into a lime rock mine Tuesday during a public comment meeting.

“There’s a lot of downsides to living next to mine we’ve done it before we pad property damage home damage we feel like living right next to mine just isn’t compatible for our quality-of-life,” said Estero resident Janice Hill.

The Lee County examiner is hearing all public concerns before she writes her recommendation to county commissioners whether to approve or deny the rezoning of a property off State Road 82.

Hill is a concerned neighbor that spoke about wildlife impacts and traffic concerns.

“I think you’ll have an issue with water contamination we have a well that we use for drinking water that will probably be impacted,” Hill said.

“It’s important to know that we will only using a fraction maybe 5% of the water that is currently permitted now for the agriculture,” said Troyer Brothers spokesperson Tina Matte.

Matte said they’ve taken all these concerns into account and will not move forward without approval from all levels of government.

“The reality is that the man for lime rock exist with or without our minds so the trucks are on the roads with or without our mind the question is is it coming from a local resource or out of the area,” Matte said.

Public comment finished up Tuesday.

The next meeting on the matter is scheduled for Aug. 28, and the Troyer Brothers plan to address neighbor’s concerns.

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