Lawsuits served on both sides of quarry issue in Greenback

A dispute surrounding the operation of a limestone quarry on a Greenback property known as Hutton Farm has resulted in lawsuits filed by entities on both sides of the issue.

In a complaint filed on April 22, the town of Greenback and Loudon County Regional Planning Commission are suing the limited liability companies M&M Stone Farms, which owns the property on Hutton Road, and Tri-County Crushed Stone, the quarry operator.

The complaint states that in January the property was zoned as M1 Light Industrial District, under which the mining and quarrying of natural mineral resources isn’t a permitted use.

And in a complaint filed on April 24, M&M and Tri-County are suing the town of Greenback. That complaint summarizes that Greenback officials imposed municipal zoning upon the plaintiffs’ property without providing them with constitutionally required notice and an opportunity to be heard.

According to that complaint, which names Rodney Murphy as the president of Tri-County and owner of a land development company called Murphy Bobcat (sic), Murphy became interested in the property in 2021.

Part of his interest was in the land’s potential use as a quarry.

“Each year, Murphy Bobcat purchases tons of stone and gravel costing more than a million dollars from other quarry operators in the area,” the complaint said. “Murphy believed that, by building a local quarry, Murphy Bobcat could not only obtain stone and gravel at reasonable prices but also could provide these products to other businesses in the area at more competitive rates than those charged by large, multi-state quarry operators.”

WATER QUALITY CONSIDERED

The controversy began bubbling up in February 2023, when Greenback Mayor Dewayne Birchfield mentioned in a public meeting that he’d been approached about an individual interested in purchasing the Hutton Farm for use as a rock quarry.

The land is located just off of Highway 95, a long, windy two-lane road that stretches between highways 411 and 321 and swings through downtown Greenback.

A couple months later, at another public meeting in Greenback, Murphy explained his plans for constructing a quarry on the property, according to the complaint against the town.

“At all times, Murphy and his agents have made clear to the Board and the citizenry of the Town that his intention is to operate a limestone quarry consistent with all applicable laws and regulations,” that complaint said.

Shortly thereafter, a petition expressing opposition to the quarry began circulating. It contended that the quarry would have “significant negative impacts on our community, the environment, and the local economy.”

By August, Tri-County had filed an application for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, which is required by law in order to operate a quarry in Tennessee and grants rights to discharge treated mine wastewater and storm water into state waters.

The application, filed with a division of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conversation, said the 71.35-acre facility would eventually discharge to Baker Creek.

Upon receiving the application, the Division of Mineral & Geologic Resources made a preliminary determination that the proposed activity would cause no measurable degradation. But before making a final decision on the permit — which is separate from and does not supersede local ordinances — the division held a public hearing in December to document comments related to water quality only.

Nearly 100 people attended, with 13 people offering testimony at the meeting in Greenback, and 30 written comments being received throughout a public comment period. Some of the recorded comments listed concerns that quarry activity would impact surface and ground water quality, and that it could harm animals and wildlife, including threatened or endangered species.

‘AS LONG AS IT TAKES’

January saw a flurry of activity.

First, Greenback zoned the Hutton Road property as M1 Light Industrial District. According to the complaint against Greenback, no city official notified the Huttons, M&M, of which Murphy is part owner, Tri-County, or their agents, employees or attorneys that the property had been zoned thusly.

Then, on January 12, M&M completed the purchase of the 236-acre property on Hutton Road for $2,750,000, according to property records.

And on January 24, Tri-County’s NPDES permit was approved. The application complied with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and was protective of water quality, according to the division’s determination letter.

In late March, James Jenkins, Loudon County codes enforcement director, sent a letter to M&M stating that the office had received complaints about equipment on the site removing soil in preparation for a rock quarry.

“To bring the property into compliance, you will need to immediately cease development activities on the property and stabilize the soil,” the letter said. According to the complaint against Greenback, M&M and Tri-County had no knowledge that Greenback had zoned the property prior to receiving that letter. Before the end of April, both lawsuits would be filed in the Chancery Court for Loudon County.

“I am disappointed that the Town did not have the decency to tell me about the zoning after I had been so open about our plans,” Murphy said in a text to The News-Herald on April 30. “We will fight this in court for as long as it takes. I am confident in our legal position.”

The lawsuit against Greenback asks that the court declare invalid the ordinance that zoned the property as M1. It also asks that the court “enter a permanent injunction to enjoin the Town from interfering with the plaintiffs’ rights to use the property for agricultural purposes and quarrying,” among other requests.

Greenback’s mayor said the property is not zoned for a quarry, and added that he’s in the position to represent what the town’s residents want.

“The majority of the people don’t want it,” Birchfield said. “And that’s where I stand right now — that’s to back the majority of the people in this town.”

Among other demands, the lawsuit against the limited liability companies calls for the court to enter a permanent injunction “preventing the defendants or anyone else in concert and participation with them from conducting rock quarry activities or anything else on the Subject Property that is not permitted in the applicable zoning laws.”