Raging River Conservation Group
Posted on August 14, 2016

Quarry Update - August 14, 2016

Quarry Stop Work Order Provisionally Lifted

As of last Friday, Department of Permitting and Environmental Review (DPER) has provisionally lifted the Stop Work Order for the quarry. The following is the message from DPER to the quarry owner:

We have completed our preliminary review of the raw data you provided earlier this week. Based upon that information we will provisionally lift the stop work subject to the following conditions:

  1. Submit the consultant report for the July 8, 2016 testing associated with the raw data you have provided. The SSA report must be submitted within five business days from the date of this email. If the report does not support the conclusions we've drawn from the raw data, the stop work will be re-imposed.
  2. The operations are limited to the crusher (jaw not cone), screen and the associated conveyors and the truck load out. No other activities are approved at this time.
  3. Your request to conduct testing on the rock sorting and rock breaking operations Monday is approved subject to a four hour window for testing. If the test demonstrates compliance with the permissible sound levels, we will review the four hour limit. Notify us of the proposed window as soon as you have determined when it should occur.
  4. The operations are subject to all other permit conditions, i.e. dust suppression, keeping the entrance road clean, etc.

What You Can Do

You can help us by being aware of any quarry actions and reporting anything you suspect may be an issue to us at by email. Please provide as much proof as possible. For noise issues (the cause for the Stop Work), sound levels from the quarry should not exceed 57 dB anywhere beyond the quarry property. For reference, 60 dB is roughly equivalent to conversation in restaurant, office, background music, or air conditioning unit at 100 feet. RRCG recommends the free smartphone app, Decibel 10th, to measure and record sound levels.

More Info

Please visit this page on our website for more information on quarry monitoring.

Additional information:

Please note the ANSWER from DPER regarding property issues:
24._The quarry operator shall be responsible for any damage to nearby properties, including domestic water supply wells, attributable to blasting on the subject property. Claims for any such damage shall be the responsibility of the affected property owner and the quarry operator to handle directly between themselves, but a failure of the quarry operator to respond in good faith to any such claim may be cause for denial of future grading permits, or prohibition or restriction upon future blasting.

The quarry mailing address is:
Raging River Quarry, LLC
3132 NE Harrison St.
Issaquah, WA 98029