What the Research Shows
No Quarry on Homestead is committed to evidence-based advocacy. This page summarizes key findings from peer-reviewed research, government studies, and public health data on the impacts of quarries, asphalt plants, and concrete operations near residential areas.
🌬️ Air Quality
Quarries, asphalt plants, and concrete operations are significant sources of air pollution, including:
- Particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) — linked to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and premature death
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — released by asphalt plants; precursors to ground-level ozone
- Silica dust — released by quarrying and concrete operations; causes silicosis, lung cancer, and COPD
- Nitrogen oxides (NOx) — from heavy diesel equipment; linked to smog formation
- Diesel exhaust — classified as a probable carcinogen by the EPA
Studies show that residents within 1–3 miles of quarry and asphalt operations face elevated rates of respiratory illness, particularly in children and the elderly.
💧 Water Quality & Groundwater
Open-pit limestone quarries can affect local hydrology in several ways:
- Groundwater drawdown — quarry dewatering pumps can lower the regional water table
- Runoff and sedimentation — heavy rainfall events carry fine particulates into streams and wetlands
- Chemical contamination risk — fuel storage, asphalt compounds, and cement additives can leach into groundwater
- Floodplain alteration — removal of wetland buffers reduces the landscape’s ability to absorb and filter water
The Little River watershed connects to downstream communities. Contamination events can travel far beyond the quarry site.
🌊 Wetlands & Floodplain Impacts
The Little River Valley contains significant wetland systems that:
- Absorb floodwaters and reduce downstream flooding
- Filter runoff and recharge the regional aquifer
- Provide habitat for migratory birds and native species
- Act as natural carbon sinks
Industrial development adjacent to or within wetland buffers puts these ecosystem services at risk. Wetland mitigation — the practice of “replacing” destroyed wetlands elsewhere — does not replicate the ecological function of established wetland systems.
🚛 Traffic & Infrastructure
A quarry and associated industrial operations of this scale would generate:
- Hundreds of heavy truck trips per day — each truck weighing up to 80,000 lbs
- Accelerated road deterioration on local arterials
- Increased collision risk on roads shared with school buses, residents, and hospital traffic
- Noise and vibration impacts from blasting, crushing, and truck operations
🏠 Property Values
Peer-reviewed studies consistently show that quarries and industrial facilities reduce residential property values within a defined radius. Impacts include:
- Decreased home sale prices near active quarry sites
- Reduced market demand in affected neighborhoods
- Increased difficulty in obtaining property insurance or financing near industrial zones
🏛️ Local Precedent: The LRWP vs. Hanson Quarry
The Little River Valley has faced this kind of threat before — and won.
Just a few miles from the current proposed site, Hanson Aggregates (now operating as Heidelberg Materials) sought to expand its limestone quarry operations in a way that would have encroached on the Eagle Marsh wetlands and surrounding habitat. This was not a minor proposal — it threatened the core of one of Indiana’s most important urban wetland systems.
The Little River Wetlands Project (LRWP), a nonprofit land trust founded in 1990, led the fight. Their strategy combined:
- Strategic land acquisition — purchasing buffer parcels before the quarry could expand into them
- Community organizing — building broad public and donor support
- Legal partnership — working with the Conservation Law Center to protect wetland areas
- Grant funding — securing support from organizations including The Nature Conservancy
The Outcome
The quarry expansion was blocked. LRWP succeeded in protecting the wetlands and has since grown Eagle Marsh to 831 protected acres — the largest inland urban wetland restoration in Allen County, Indiana.
Today Eagle Marsh:
- Supports over 225 bird species
- Is home to several state and federally listed species
- Provides trails, public education programs, and ecological research opportunities
- Continues to grow through ongoing land acquisition
“LRWP’s success in preventing the conversion of this land to a quarry is a landmark victory for conservation in Indiana.”
Why This Matters Now
The current proposal by US Aggregates / Heritage Group is a different company from Hanson Aggregates, but the threat to the same watershed and wetland system is strikingly similar. The playbook that worked before — community organizing, documented science, strategic legal action, and institutional partnerships — is exactly what No Quarry on Homestead is building today.
The LRWP precedent proves that organized communities can stop incompatible industrial development in the Little River Valley.
👉 Read the full LRWP story
👉 See the full event timeline — including what happened with the Hanson Quarry and what’s coming next
📚 Source Documents
We cite only publicly available, peer-reviewed, or government-published sources. If you have a relevant study to contribute, please contact us.
🔗 Related Pages
- The Threat — Overview of the proposed development
- Maps — Spatial data on proximity to homes, schools, and wetlands
- Take Action — How to respond