Blasting Bothers Some LaGrange Residents

LA GRANGE, IL — La Grange residents have long complained about blasting in McCook's quarries. One of the quarries changed its type of mining three years ago, which a resident says has made the situation worse.

In 2018, the Hanson Aggregates quarry announced publicly it was beginning underground mining and phasing out surface mining.

Less than a half a mile away is Richard Rasch's house in the 400 block of Sixth Avenue.

"If you're blasting in an open pit, most of the energy goes up," Rasch said in an interview. "When it's underground, it has no place to go."

Before, Rasch said, residents could go months without feeling the blasting. Now, he said his whole house shakes during certain underground blasts. So does his oven rack.

In a 2018 public letter, plant manager Jeff Hrachovsky said the underground mining blasts would be "much smaller and less impactful."

"We realize that our neighbors may be experiencing vibrations and noise related to the underground mining activities, and we are working to minimize any disturbances," Hrachovsky said. "Much like we do with our surface mining, we will ensure that we are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations to protect the health and safety of our employees and our neighbors."

Rasch said he started complaining about the blasting in October 2019 through an area hotline for quarry blasting issues. Someone from the company called him back. During the pandemic's first days in March 2020, Hanson set up a seismograph in Rasch's yard to determine the effects of the blasting, he said.

The seismograph was there for more than a year, but Rasch said he did not get the results.

He said the village manager and Hanson representatives have visited his house to feel the effects of the blasting. He has also contacted area politicians about the problem.

An assistant for state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, forwarded Rasch a message from the state Department of Natural Resources. That agency said it had the power to regulate surface mining, but not underground operations.

The legislative assistant told Rasch, "(I)t looks like this is going to be a local issue, so your communications with the village of LaGrange may be the best route."

In an email to Patch, Village Manager Andrianna Peterson said the village has historically received complaints about blasting from Hanson quarry.

"We have also received a number of complaints since the quarry started underground mining operations," Peterson said. "The Village shares complaint information with the quarry and requests that the quarry consider amendments to their operations to reduce impacts on residents. The quarry’s operations are regulated by the State of Illinois and McCook."

In an email to Patch on Wednesday, a Hanson corporate spokesman said his company is blasting in McCook between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"Because the areas we mine change as we work through the deposits, some residents who were not in areas close to our surface mining may now be close to our underground mining area," spokesman Jeff Sieg said. "As for how our underground mining compares to surface mining, our underground blasting is less intense as compared to surface mining and well below the established threshold to prevent damage to any nearby structures."

Hanson is the same firm that is in litigation with La Grange over flooding. It has not returned messages in that matter.

In an interview, McCook Mayor Terrance Carr said the village has received no complaints about blasting in the Hanson quarry. He said some residents outside McCook have complained about the dust and that issue has been addressed by spraying areas with water.

"It's working a lot better than it was," he said. "As far as blasting, we haven't gotten one complaint, and they know our number."