Concerns About Buying House Half Mile from Stone Quary and 1.5 Miles From Landfill?

[NateW]

We are looking at houses in the Richmond Virginia area and found one we like and plan to see it. Scanning the satelite view in Maps (per the screenshot), I noticed that the neighborhood this house is in is half a mile from the edge of a large stone/aggregate quary (the quary is northeast of the neighborhood).

On the other side of the quary is the county landfill, which is 1.5 miles from the neighborhood.

If you were considering a house this close to a quary and landfill, would it be of concern to you?

Thanks.

 

[Sunset]

I wonder if you will get smells from the landfill during the summer. Those smells can go for miles.
Another issue would be are you going to be on a well ? I'd worry about water contamination.

 

[JRon]

Yes - that would be a concern due to smells from the landfill and noise from the quarry.

 

[RunningBum]

You are wise to take a look at the surrounding area for issues like this. Every setting is different, but I used to live ~2 miles from a quarry in NC, and never heard anything from it. But to be safe...

I would go out to the house at a time of day when I was sure the quarry was in operation, assuming it is still active, and see if the noise is bad or even noticeable while you are outside. Looks like a pretty good amount of foliage between you and the quarry, and it's not likely to be further developed that close to the creek. The roads seem to be cul de sac'd rather than dead ending.

Also see if you get any smell from the landfill, preferably picking a day when the wind is coming from the east. I feel like the prevailing wind direction is from the mountains to the west, but I don't know Richmond that well. I'm up in the mountains west of Richmond and storms (and winds) almost always come from the west here.

Another concern is whether they would be using any roads near you, or that you would take. That would cause noise, and probably rougher roads as they take a beating with heavy trucks. Since it's on the other side of the creek, and no roads crossing the creek near you, it doesn't look like that's the case. I figured out where you are looking and took a wider view on google maps.

My guess is that you won't find any issues, but I'd definitely do those checks before buying.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Can only offer that my brother lives about a 1/4 mile from a limestone quarry. He hates it. The noise, dump truck traffic, and mess it creates on the county roads in his area. He was there first. Quarry arrived later. Not that it matters.

 

[RetireeRobert]

Would your water be from community system, city system, or your own well? I would be concerned with well waters that close to a landfill due to possible contaminated aquafer. Also, the other cited concerns of noise and traffic and possible smells are valid. If it bothers you right upfront now at this point before even getting an in person look at the house, it will bother you later if you bought it, and you will kick yourself later. Look elsewhere at other houses.

 

[O2Bfree]

We live on a bank with a gravel quarry below and across the street. Sometimes when we're in the back yard or when the windows are open in the summer we can hear the growling and clanking of big trucks and other equipment, and the buzzy beep-beep-beep of the trucks' backup alarms. It's far enough away to not be annoying, it just blends in with the other sounds of distant traffic.

Quite a bit of dust blows off the quarry in the summer when the weather's been dry for awhile (which isn't too often in this area), and the wind comes up. Because we're above the quarry and the bank is a green belt, we don't get a noticeable amount of dust. But that's something to consider, whether or not you'll be in the dust zone.

The road in front of the quarry gets a bit mucky sometimes when it rains, which can dirty the car more than a typical road, but the company does a fair job of rinsing and sweeping away the dirt.

Also, you might look into how long the quarry has been there and are there plans to shut it down in the near future. And if they do plan to shut down, what might go in on that land?

 

[JoeWras]

Quarries aren't too bad. You get a low rumble, only during business hours.

Landfills are another matter. Smell 24/7. The farther south you go, the worst they are. Landfills in FL are a serious issue because they never stop the stink.

 

[REWahoo]

We're nowhere near a landfill but located 0.6 miles and 1.2 miles from a couple of limestone quarries (yes, we were here first). There is constant noise from rock crushing, far more noticeable when the wind is coming from that direction. When they blast (roughly every 6 weeks), it rattles both the windows in the house and the filings in my teeth. And yes, truck traffic on our nearby county roads is substantial at times.

Other than that, no problem...

 

[JoeWras]

Wahoo brings up a point. Some quarries are required to only operate in daylight, which typically isn't so bad since you tend to be out and about.

Others operate 24/7. Bad, bad, bad.

And then there is blasting, which can be restricted in some areas versus others where it is the wild west.

Finally, the rules now may change later.

OK. I talked myself out of quarries too!

 

[REWahoo]

Wahoo brings up a point. Some quarries are required to only operate in daylight, which typically isn't so bad since you tend to be out and about.

Others operate 24/7. Bad, bad, bad.

And then there is blasting, which can be restricted in some areas versus others where it is the wild west.

State law limits the hours of operation here to no earlier than one hour prior to sunrise and no later than one hour after sunset. As for blasting, yep, this IS the wild, wild west.

 

[braumeister]

I once lived half a mile from a slate quarry, and another time a mile from a big landfill. Your proposed location would absolutely be a nonstarter for me.

 

[Walt34]

It's easy now to avoid the problem later, I wouldn't even consider living near either one. If problems do develop later, especially stink from the landfill you are probably required to disclose that when you go to sell which of course will make it harder to sell and affect the selling price. I'm not familiar with the RE market near Richmond but I'd think there are no shortages of other places farther away from either source of issues. There are enough unknowns and risks with buying homes that I'd avoid anything that is known and even might be an issue later.

 

[24601NoMore]

Here in MI (where we have lots and lots of glacial gravel deposits), there are EPIC court battles on an ongoing basis between homeowners and quarries. People are spending their life savings battling the quarries who continue in many cases to be a GIANT PITA to live anywhere near. (Noise, dust, traffic, dirt, etc).

We're looking for a retirement property and have totally ruled out anything within 5 miles of a quarry for that reason. In fact, we passed on our "dream" property earlier last year simply because there was a POSSIBILITY of a quarry coming within a mile or two sometime in the future. It was a very tough call, but we just couldn't do it..

Suggest you pass unless you're OK with noise, dust, traffic and general nuisance..

ETA - even IF your state or municipality "protects" you today (eg: noise levels, hours of operation, etc)..consider this - the Gravel Association (whatever it's called) got together here in MI, found a Junior lawmaker, contributed heavily to his campaign (true story) and then had him sponsor legislation to basically wipe out ALL protections that existed for homeowners, statewide. That legislation is currently working it's way through the MI House and Senate, but if it does pass..whoo boy, are people who live anywhere near a quarry totally and completely screwed. What's truly tragic about this particular story is that the lawmaker in question is from DETROIT, which is a good 50+ miles from ANY quarry...but that's how "the game" is increasingly played nowadays..

 

[38Chevy454]

I would not get serious buying in that location.
Quarry = Noise, blasting, dusty or dirty air and roads, truck traffic.
Landfill = Stink, traffic from garbage trucks, litter flying around the area.


There has to be another location that does not have those two negatives.

 

[razztazz]

I used to live, involuntarily but it's what was there, near a landfill in my younger life. Don't do it.

 

[RetireeRobert]

Too many nice houses without any of the possible (or likely) setbacks of one near a landfill AND a quarry.

Look elsewhere for a house. And give yourself a pat on the back for doing enough research ahead of time to spot both the nearby quarry and landfill, and avoiding the real estate resale value onus of either or both on this location.

 

[MRG]

We rented a couple miles from a quary, do not buy! Blasting had moved the house from shock. You don't need the headaches, literally.

 

[NateW]

I wonder if you will get smells from the landfill during the summer. Those smells can go for miles.
Another issue would be are you going to be on a well ? I'd worry about water contamination.

No well thankfully, but the house has a septic tank.

 

[NateW]

Quarries aren't too bad. You get a low rumble, only during business hours.

Landfills are another matter. Smell 24/7. The farther south you go, the worst they are. Landfills in FL are a serious issue because they never stop the stink.

Thank you all for replying. All great advice and suggestions.

I did find articles stating the land fill owner was battling the county in an attempt to expand the landfill into the quary area near the neighborhood. I am being extra cautious this time because this is the situation I am in where I am living now: https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...eres-no-legal-recourse-what-to-do-106989.html

As I type this, DW is cancelling tomorrow's appointment with the realtor to see this house. I can't deal with the possibility of a bad situation again.

 

[NateW]

....We're looking for a retirement property and have totally ruled out anything within 5 miles of a quarry for that reason. In fact, we passed on our "dream" property earlier last year simply because there was a POSSIBILITY of a quarry coming within a mile or two sometime in the future. It was a very tough call, but we just couldn't do it..

Suggest you pass unless you're OK with noise, dust, traffic and general nuisance..

ETA - even IF your state or municipality "protects" you today (eg: noise levels, hours of operation, etc)..consider this - the Gravel Association (whatever it's called) got together here in MI, found a Junior lawmaker, contributed heavily to his campaign (true story) and then had him sponsor legislation to basically wipe out ALL protections that existed for homeowners, statewide. That legislation is currently working it's way through the MI House and Senate, but if it does pass..whoo boy, are people who live anywhere near a quarry totally and completely screwed. What's truly tragic about this particular story is that the lawmaker in question is from DETROIT, which is a good 50+ miles from ANY quarry...but that's how "the game" is increasingly played nowadays..

I agree, 5 miles is a good rule to go by for any type of operation of this size I think. There is a steel mill about 6 miles from this neighborhood too and it is 700 acres in size and has a output of 500 million tons of steel per year, over a million tons a day! There is a lot of manufacturing in this area, especially along the James River.

We ought to have a thread on "gotchas" to look out for when looking for a new home.

I know about those trade association attorneys. During my w*rking days I was employed by mega trade association for one of the biggest industries in the US and had one of those attorneys assigned to our department (I was not involved in lobbying or legislative activities, though).

 

[rk911]

yup and we'd walk.

 

[Ronstar]

Landfills really stink in the summer. Especially if they contain yard waste. Should be ok 1.5 miles southwest of the landfill if your summer winds are generally out of the west and southwest.

Quarry shouldn’t be a problem. You should be out of range of extreme noise and any damage that blasting would do.

But I would hang out close to your proposed house for a few hours during the day and see what the conditions are.

 

[SnowballCamper]

I think it really depends on the local topography and consistency of the winds. I used to live kinda close to a mushroom farm/plant. That was the worst, but after a year or so we just didn't notice it. Now that we live farther away I notice it when I drive past the old neighborhood on summer days. Find someone new to the area and ask them.

 

[jollystomper]

As I type this, DW is cancelling tomorrow's appointment with the realtor to see this house. I can't deal with the possibility of a bad situation again.

+1. Given your current situation with the neighbors chimney, being near a quarry or landfill will not be an improvement.