Copar quarry opposition deserves fair and equal treatment

Charlestown needs to keep its promises

By Susan Clayton

Copar Quarry (Google Earth). My neighborhood is along the road to its right

My name is Susan Clayton. I live on the dirt road that borders the Copar Quarry site. 

My neighbors in Bradford and Charlestown have been valiantly fighting against Copar for their homes and their way of life through the Concerned Citizens of Bradford-Charlestown. I am late to the party, but because of continuing damage to my home and my well, I can't be complacent any longer.

Many of us tax paying citizens have remained quiet, thinking that surely the Town Councils of Westerly and Charlestown would look after our best interests. That’s what we elected them to do.

In my own home, Tom Gentz promised me that he would fight for us
if he got re-elected

Tom Gentz, when campaigning for his spot on the Town Council, managed to find his way to my home at the end of the dirt road and listened to my thoughts and fears about the damage Copar was doing, for over an hour.

I was impressed. He expressed surprise about our dilemma, and pledged if he was re-elected, he would fight hard for us. He has publicly repeated that promise on several occasions.

I recently wrote an article about my treatment by Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz when I had the audacity to report several immense blasts from Copar that rocked my home. 

I also asked for an explanation of why Copar was granted a permit to take stone from the Morrone site on Alton Bradford Road in Charlestown. 

I was patronized by Mr. Stankiewicz, and given extremely unsatisfying answers.

Mr. Stankiewicz told me the town lawyers said they
couldn't beat Copar, so they decided they wouldn't
even try

As part of educating myself on just what my neighbors and I are up against, I've been reading what I can about the Whalerock wind turbine issue. 

I can't help but notice inconsistencies in policy and in explanation between what is going on with Whalerock and what is going on at Copar.

Hearing that Copar was granted a town permit for the Morrone quarry was a slap in the face after all the promises made by Tom Gentz and his colleagues on the Town Council.

It pales in comparison to finding out that fifty thousand dollars of our money has been spent to hire a lawyer to just to fight Whalerock, on top of the town’s other lawyers and assistance!

Mr. Stankiewicz clearly stated to me Charlestown would never fund a lawsuit against a company that hasn't been proven to have caused damage. That’s despite the many federal, state and town citations against Copar for doing just that – causing damage to the environment, to the community and even to their own workers’ health.

Copar is here and operating full force right now. Whalerock is an idea, a proposal, that is still in the works. And after August 27, it might not even be that.

Copar mine run-off going into Charlestown wetlands

Why is one issue seemingly more important to the Charlestown Town Council than the other?

Who said that money could be spent on a special lawyer to fight Whalerock? I certainly wasn't asked. Were any of you?

Who are the anonymous Whalerock abutters who are being defended? At least the Copar protesters are willing to stand up, state their names and be known and be counted.

I have no issue with the opponents of the Whalerock project. I'm sure there are important issues there and buying the Whalerock property outright, though yet another expense, seems smart.

What needs to be explained is the apparent unfairness in the town's treatment of Copar compared to Whalerock.

Whalerock and Copar neighbors seem to share two issues in common: environmental concerns and health concerns.

Scientists such as those at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) find that fine silica dust, like the kind blowing off the Copar quarry cause a variety of health problems. It is a known carcinogen. 

Prolonged exposure can cause silicosis. The very fine silica dust that blows through our neighborhood also causes asthma, breathing difficulty and sore eyes. 

Copar has also been cited for violations of water pollution, trash dumping, wetlands protection and land use laws.

Those against wind turbines are saying that their circadian rhythms and mental health will be compromised. But the scientific proof of that cause and effect is far from proven as of yet. 

I work third shift, and when I come home, the constant cha-chunk and the less frequent sound of some kind of heavy machinery dropping has seriously compromised my sleep and my nerves. I now only sleep on the weekends. Imagine what it must be like for the people in Bradford whose homes are situated right in front of the quarry! I owe an apology to them for not standing and fighting with them sooner and harder.

Since Copar went into full operation, local wildlife is scarce

The Whalerock people are worried about the effect on the birds and the wildlife. I can appreciate that.

I have lived here for 25 years. When my four oldest children of my six were little, we made the acquaintance of a female DEM officer who came every year to the old abandoned quarry (pre-Copar) to document the ospreys and their new offspring. She taught my children about the balance of nature. 

When Steven Spielberg filmed part of "Amistad" in the woods surrounding the quarry, his crew damaged the pole holding an osprey nest, visible even from my home. He was made to pay a fine and to put up another nest. 

But with the banging, blasting and dust clouds, I can tell you that there has been no return of the ospreys this spring or last. No coyotes howling. No deer in my front yard every morning. I haven't seen the scads of turkeys huddled under my pine tree. That is the reality of the here and the now.

Again, I don’t begrudge the Whalerock people. They are doing what they think is right, as am I.

The question that needs to be answered is why the unequal treatment by the Town Council? Why hasn't Tom Gentz and the other Charlestown Town Council members kept their promises?

In the Whalerock fight, the Town Council didn't just pass a token resolution and then tell the Whalerock opponents, “sorry, we lost twice in the courts so now we’re going to give up.”

My neighbors and I never even got to have those two losing town lawsuits, never got a Special Counsel, aren't getting our legal bills and damages paid. All we got was a resolution and a patronizing pat on the head.

And now Charlestown has announced it has made a $2.1 million deal to buy the Whalerock property, and are fast-tracking the deal so it closes in a month. None of us out near the Copar Quarry can get that kind of deal.

No one is offering to buy the Copar quarry to save us for the daily problems it causes to our families, children and homes.

No one is buying our property to help us escape – my 1.8 acres is available for the same kind of deal the town made with Whalerock.

Think of how many replacement wells or foundation repairs could be made with $2.1 million. But I guess our on-going problems are just not a priority.

Town Council President Tom Gentz made me a promise in my own home when he asked for my vote that the town would fight for us. He repeated the same promise to all my neighbors. I am waiting for those promises to be kept. I also demand fair and equal treatment for my neighbors and me from the Town of Charlestown.