Columbia County Residents Rally Against Proposed Concrete Plant

People who live near Gordon Highway are pushing back. They don't want a concrete batch plant and garbage transfer center built on local land in Columbia County, Georgia.

Jimmy Hunt has spent 64 years on his family's farm off Gordon Highway. He says the plant would put nearby farms at risk and make the road dangerous. The site sits across from a neighbor's hay field and other working farms.

"We don't want it," Hunt said, per WRDW. "We don't want to pollute the groundwater. We don't want the silica dust from the concrete plant."

Big trucks would have to pull out over a blind curve on Gordon Highway. Hunt says that's asking for trouble. Cars wouldn't see them coming.

The developer pointed out there aren't many houses nearby, railroad tracks already make noise in the area, and trees separate the property from neighbors. Hunt thinks a solid waste transfer station about five miles down the road would work better for what they want to build.

"We want to keep it as rural as we can. We're not anti-development, we're not anti-growth," Hunt said.

The community values what makes it special, and residents want growth that protects farms and doesn't erase what's been here for generations.

"I know you've heard the saying we are Harlem — everybody in the community takes pride in who we are and what we are. We don't mind growth, but we want controlled growth," Hunt said.

The Columbia County Planning Commission will hear the proposal at its Aug. 6 meeting. If commissioners there say yes, the Board of Commissioners will make the final call.