Inside the fight over what’s known as the RDU quarry. Here are key moments of dispute
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Inside the battle over RDU quarry
Wake Stone has been blasting and crushing rock for 42 years near Umstead State Park. The company would like to expand and build a second quarry on leased Raleigh-Durham International Airport property. The News & Observer reports on the ongoing legal dispute between Wake Stone and the Umstead Coalition, with critics objecting to 105 acres of forested land leading to another massive hole.
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The legal battle between Wake Stone Corp. and The Umstead Coalition over Wake Stone’s plans to expand its quarry operation near Umstead State Park has been going on for years. Here are key moments:
▪ 1970: John Bratton founds what will become Wake Stone Corp. in Knightdale.
▪ 1981: Wake Stone receives a permit to mine stone just south of William B. Umstead State Park. Triangle Quarry opens the next year.
▪ 2016: A map with a draft of Raleigh-Durham International Airport’s Vision 2040 master plan shows a quarry on 105 acres of land the airport owns off Old Reedy Creek Road, known as the Odd Fellows property. Wake Stone has expressed interest in mining the property, which is just across Crabtree Creek from Triangle Quarry.
▪ July 2017: The Conservation Fund, a national environmental nonprofit, offers $6.46 million to the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority to buy the land marked for the quarry and have it added to Umstead park.
▪ September 2017: The Airport Authority turns down the Conservation Fund offer and makes the land available for lease.
▪ October 2017: The Airport Authority receives two offers to lease the land, one from Wake Stone and one from the Conservation Fund. To defuse tension over the fate of the land, the Airport Authority board rejects both offers.
▪ December 2017: The Federal Aviation Administration approves RDU’s Vision 2040 master plan, which still labels the future use of the Odd Fellows property as “industrial/quarry.”
▪ 2018: The state renews the mining permit that allows Wake Stone to operate the Triangle Quarry and eliminates a “sunset clause” that would have effectively ended mining in 2031 and preclude any expansion to RDU land.
▪ November 2018: Wake Stone Corp. makes a new proposal for developing a quarry on the RDU land that includes contributing $3.6 million to help the county lease RDU land across the road for an off-road cycling park. It also pledges $3 million to help transform the quarry on RDU land into a public park after mining is complete. The offers fail to win over opponents.
▪ March 2019: With two days advance notice, the RDU Airport Authority approves a 25-year mineral lease with Wake Stone Corp. in exchange for royalties it expects to generate up to $25 million for the airport. The board approves the lease without debate or dissent. The Umstead Coalition, Triangle Off-Road Cyclists and three individuals file suit, saying the airport board exceeded its authority when it approved the lease.
▪ November 2019: A Wake County Superior Court judge rules that the Airport Authority acted legally when it approved the mining lease with Wake Stone. Quarry opponents appeal.
▪ May 2020: The state agency that issues mining permits holds a public hearing on Wake Stone proposal to expand its operation near Umstead to the RDU land.
▪ December 2020: The State Court of Appeals upholds the Wake judge’s ruling that RDU had the power to lease the Odd Fellows property to Wake Stone. Quarry opponents appeal to the N.C. Supreme Court.
▪ August 2021: The state Supreme Court declines to take up the appeal, essentially ending the legal battle over whether the RDU lease with Wake Stone was legal.
▪ September 2021: An administrative law judge rescinds an environmental permit that Wake Stone needs to build a bridge across Crabtree Creek, saying the state agency failed to adequately consider alternatives.
▪ February 2022: A division of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality denies Wake Stone’s request for a permit to mine the RDU land, saying it would have “a significantly adverse effect” on Umstead State Park. The company appeals to the state Office of Administrative Hearings the following month.
▪ February 2022: Another division of DEQ again issues the permit Wake Stone needs to build the bridge across the creek. The Umstead Coalition later appeals that decision to the state Office of Administrative Hearings.
▪ July 2022: The Umstead Coalition sues the state over the change it made to Wake Stone’s permit to operate the Triangle Quarry next to Umstead. The group says a “sunset clause” that would have set a 50-year limit on mining was quietly removed from the permit in 2018. The change effectively allowed Wake Stone to propose expanding the operation to the RDU land.
▪ August 2023: An administrative law judge orders the state to issue Wake Stone a mining permit for the RDU land, reversing the agency’s denial. Judge Donald van der Vaart cited several reasons, most notably that agency officials misapplied state law when they concluded the quarry would have an adverse affect on the park. He also orders the state to pay Wake Stone $878,967 to cover its legal expenses.
▪ September 2023: The Department of Environmental Quality issues the mining permit to comply with van der Vaart’s ruling but also appeals to Wake County Superior Court.
▪ November 2023: The DEQ reverses course and agrees to drop its fight over the mining permit. In a settlement, Wake Stone receives its permit and $500,000 toward its legal expenses.
▪ January 2024: A Wake County Superior Court judge orders the Office of Administrative Hearings to consider the matter of the sunset clause in the Triangle Quarry permit. Van der Vaart later sets a hearing for the week of June 17.
▪ April 2024: Wake Stone prepares to mine the RDU land but says it won’t begin until it gets the permit to build a bridge over Crabtree Creek. On April 1, van der Vaart rules that DEQ’s decision to issue the permit was reasonable and valid. The Umstead Coalition says it will appeal in Wake County Superior Court.
In the Spotlight designates ongoing topics of high interest that are driven by The News & Observer’s focus on accountability reporting.
This story was originally published April 3, 2024 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Inside the fight over what’s known as the RDU quarry. Here are key moments of dispute."
