Special to the Chronicle

It hasn’t been easy for Vulcan or its neighbors.

But the Vulcan Materials Company planned a grand opening of its new quarry in Lexington County this week and invited its critics.

The group which opposed the quarry over noise, dust and other problems with blasting and heavy truck traffic plans to continue to meet.

Vulcan said it listened to neighbors and stakeholders to design its new operation with their ideas and objections in mind.

Vulcan officials say they invested up to $18 million to enlarge buffer areas, route traffic away from local roads and protect nearby property and the environment.

Vulcan Vice President and General Manager Elliott Botzis said, “We worked with our neighbors and improved the plan based on their feedback. The result is an industry-leading facility that will safely and responsibly supply the growing market with high-quality construction aggregates.”

The granite quarry is meeting or exceeding all local, state and federal regulatory requirements, standards and guidelines, he said.

It comprises 553 acres. Only 131 acres or 23.6% of the land will be mined. About 200 acres, or about 33% will serve as a buffer between the operations and the property line. This includes natural landscape and wildlife habitat.

He said Vulcan will protect local water resources by:

• Actively monitoring water levels of nearby wells.

“We drilled monitoring wells where DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control) suggested although they were not required,” said Vulcan spokesman Jimmy Fleming. “We’ve been monitoring them more than a year, and we send reports to DHEC.”

• Created ponds to capture and recycle storm water to minimize run-off. Vulcan plans to limit dust and use of pond water to spray down roads and equipment.

During planning, Vulcan met with neighbors and held public meetings. Vulcan established a website and phone line to encourage community input, which resulted in:

• Limiting mining to 23.6% of the 553 acres.

• Increasing buffer area to nearly 200 acres.

• Providing direct access off US 1 to manage traffic on local roads.

• Lengthening the distance between US 1 and operations to 2/3rds of a mile with a paved, private road.

•Protecting a 19th Century cemetery site and making it more accessible for families with safe off-street parking, security fencing and a walking path.

The quarry will supply building materials for local homes, businesses, schools, roads and bridges.

Botzis said Vulcan has a proven track record of safe and responsible operations. It operates 16 quarries in SC including the Columbia and Dreyfus quarries in Richland County.

It employs 347 people in SC and supports 169 retirees.