What the Research Shows
No Quarry on Homestead is committed to evidence-based advocacy. This page summarizes key findings from government agencies and peer-reviewed research on the impacts of quarries, asphalt plants, and concrete operations near residential areas. Every claim is linked to a publicly accessible source in our Sources & Citations page.
🌬️ 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 [U.S. Environmental Protection ]
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — released by asphalt plants; precursors to ground-level ozone
-
Silica dust — released by quarrying and concrete operations; associated with silicosis, lung cancer, and COPD [U.S. Occupational Safety and H]
-
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) — from heavy diesel equipment; contribute to smog and ground-level ozone formation [U.S. Environmental Protection ]
- Diesel exhaust — classified by the EPA as likely to be carcinogenic to humans by inhalation [U.S. Environmental Protection ]
Public health researchers have documented elevated rates of respiratory illness in communities near quarry and asphalt operations, with children and the elderly facing the greatest risk. [U.S. Environmental Protection ]
No AERMOD air dispersion modeling study (the EPA-standard methodology) has been made public for this site. We will publish wind and dispersion data when an independent study is made available.
🪨 Geological Risk
The Indiana Geological and Water Survey should conduct an independent subsurface assessment before any hearing proceeds. We will publish geological findings when an independent study is available.
💧 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. Eagle Marsh depends on precise groundwater management; drawdown threatens its hydrology
- Private well impacts — residential wells near the site may see reduced yield or be affected by changes in groundwater levels
- 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. If you are on a well near the proposed site, document your current water level and flow rate now — contact Indiana DNR (Evan Rouse, erouse@dnr.in.gov, 317-602-1064) for guidance on baseline well measurements.
🌊 Wetlands & Floodplain Impacts
The Little River Valley contains significant wetland systems that: [U.S. Environmental Protection ]
- 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. According to the EPA, wetland mitigation — the practice of “replacing” destroyed wetlands elsewhere — cannot fully replicate the ecological function of established wetland systems. [U.S. Environmental Protection ]
🚛 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
Research on quarry and industrial facility siting has documented negative effects on nearby residential property values. Documented impacts in the literature 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
No local appraisal or property-value study specific to this site has been conducted or published as of March 2026. We will update this section when local data becomes available.
🏛️ 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. [Little River Wetlands Project] 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. [Little River Wetlands Project]
Today Eagle Marsh: [Little River Wetlands Project]
- 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
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 shows that organized communities can stop incompatible industrial development in the Little River Valley.
👉 Read the full LRWP story [Little River Wetlands Project]
👉 See the full event timeline — including what happened with the Hanson Quarry and what’s coming next
📚 Source Documents
We cite only publicly available, government-published, or peer-reviewed sources. All citations on this page are documented in full on our Sources & Citations page.
Key sources for this page include:
- Particulate Matter (PM) Basics — U.S. EPA
- Crystalline Silica Overview — OSHA
- Basic Information about NO2 — U.S. EPA
- Health Effects of Diesel Exhaust — U.S. EPA
- Functions and Values of Wetlands — U.S. EPA
- Eagle Marsh — Little River Wetlands Project
- The Little River Wetlands Story — Little River Wetlands Project
If you have a relevant peer-reviewed study or government report 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