WINDHAM – The first significant blast at the Nash Road quarry off Route 302 in Windham set off a chain reaction last week that has yet to settle down.

Neighbors are furious with quarry owner Peter Busque, also a Windham town councilor, for not providing adequate warning. They’re also generally frustrated with the town leaders who approved the quarry in the first place while arguing that neighbors would not feel vibrations from the blasting.

“All the stuff they said wouldn’t happen is happening,” said longtime quarry opponent Margaret Pinchbeck, who lives nearby.

Busque said last Tuesday’s blast, which loosened about 1,000 cubic feet of rock so he can build a detention pond to filter run-off, was “well within limits,” and that when the economy turns, and demand for crushed stone and gravel increases, he’ll do bigger blasts.

That response from Busque did not sit well with neighbors. Windham Center Road resident Diane Loring, who lives about a quarter-mile away, said, “You’re kidding me? It’s not supposed to be discernible at the lot line, that’s what they told us … This is ridiculous.”

The blast took place June 21 at about 12:30 p.m. The blast reverberated enough that employees at Town Hall felt it. Councilor John MacKinnon who lives on Highland Lake, said he felt it, as well. Because of the explosion, Fire/Rescue Chief Charlie Hammond said he received four to five 911 calls seconds later, all reporting explosions at the site.

Hammond said he responded according to emergency procedures because he was not sure what happened – mainly because he received no notice from Busque regarding the blasting, a protocol that will change, Busque said, as a result of the experience.

“We had the report of an explosion, and not knowing whether a machine had blown up or what, we responded as if it were a major event,” Hammond explained. “All fire apparatus, all rescues. We didn’t know. It could have hit a gas line. You have to take each and every occurrence seriously, and that’s what we did.”

Upon arrival, first responders discovered the source of the explosion and called off the all-hands alert before more volunteer crews arrived.

One of the people who called was Carl Russell, owner of the abutting Animal Behavior Consultants and Avant-garde Pet Care and participant in a lawsuit by neighbors that aimed to derail the quarry’s opening. Russell was concerned with his animals, as well as the underground gas tanks at the nearby Citgo station.

“It was absolutely outrageous,” Russell said. “Without exaggeration, my knees buckled when it happened. There was nothing subtle about it.”

According to Chick Wilkins, general manager of the C.N. Brown-owned Citgo station about a half-mile from the quarry, the blast had no effect on the underground tanks.

“Everything is fine,” Wilkins said. “They’re all dually lined petroleum tanks, basically a tank within a tank and pipes within pipes. And if liquid gets in between the two, an alarm goes off both at the station and our main office here in South Paris. We would know if something happened.”

Russell, like most of the neighbors, thought the state regulations and long debate between the Planning Board and town councilors over the past five years had concluded with a vibration standard that would be nearly indiscernible at the lot line. According to Planning Board Chairman David Nadeau, the town slackened the standards for Busque’s quarry shortly after Busque was elected to the council in November 2009.

The new standard, as approved by the Planning Board last summer, matches the state standard of 2.0 inch per second of ground movement (NOTE: Original article said 1.0 inch per second). Last Tuesday was the first significant test of that vibration standard, and it was captured by a seismograph set up at Avant-garde’s property line by the blasting company, McGoldrick Brothers Blasting Services, based in Windham.

According to Town Manager Tony Plante, who received a copy of the results, the blast measured .710 ips, significantly less than the allowable 1.0 ips limit.

Since the blast was within limits, Nadeau said, “We’re out of the picture, it only comes under review if a blast exceeds the limits.”

Code Enforcement Officer Renee Carter said fines could reach $2,500 a day if the threshold is exceeded. Carter said she also responded Tuesday when she heard emergency responders going by the Town Hall. Carter talked to Busque, walked the site, and later called McGoldrick to review the seismograph readings.

In defense of the blast, Busque said he employs a half-dozen people and that blasting is necessary to stay in business. And as the economy improves, he expects to do more, especially since last Tuesday’s blast indicated he could go larger.

“Whatever the market allows,” he said. “If the market gets good, I’m sure we’ll do bigger blasts.”

Busque also said he is not fazed by neighbors’ concerns and feels they are exaggerating their reaction.

“I can deal with it,” he said. “They’re just trying to do whatever they can to put me out of business.”

Busque said he is following all the rules set out by the town and state that govern quarries, which include firing warning sirens several times before each blast. He also said he has gone above and beyond by offering to fix any structure within a half-mile or so of the site if the owner suffers property damage.

“We’ve done pre-blast surveys, pre-blast videos. We’ve got videos of all the foundations within a certain distance, I think it’s 2,500 feet,” Busque said. “And McGoldrick, who does my blasting, takes measurements, that’s how we know we were within the limits.”

Despite the recent blast being within limits, neighbors are worried about the safety of their wells and structures. Some have found cracks, though they say Busque has investigated and said they are older cracks for which he is not responsible. And without the town getting involved on their behalf, especially after they’ve already lost a lawsuit aimed at stopping the quarry, they feel helpless at this point.

Hammond summed up the situation saying, “It’s really a political ballgame and I’m not a part of it. But when you have two parties that disagree on something, there are winners and losers. The neighbors fought and lost in court, and they’re the losers.”

One of those neighbors is Janice Beattie of Nash Road. Like Loring, she was home at the time of the blast and described it as “scary,” since she didn’t recognize the significance of the warning sirens that Busque said went off prior to blasting. Beattie also says she thinks neighbors are feeling significant ground movement because of ground composition in the area.

“There are veins of rock under this area and it seems to me it’s hitting that, which is a little scary,” Beattie said. “To be sitting here and feeling my house shake, it’s a little scary. I’m not one to complain, but I feel this is a real concern that we have.”

In addition to structural concerns, Russell said, his boarded animals have to deal with it, as well.

“The dogs I have here in long-term residence were hiding, trembling, having diarrhea more than 24 hours later,” he said. “It was very detrimental to their health.”

While Roosevelt Trail Nursery owner Joe Gagne didn’t call back when asked what the blast felt like at his business, the other local business owner in the immediate area, Peter Gionis, owner of a 23-unit motel located within a few hundred yards of the quarry’s entrance, said he was concerned about the viability of his business going forward, not only because of the intermittent blasting but because of the loud construction vehicles that start working at 6:30 a.m. and wake up his residents.

Gionis, owner of Northeastern Motel/Suites at the intersection of Nash Road and Route 302, said, “It’s dead wrong. I haven’t said anything for years now, and I have nothing against him, I think he’s a nice guy, but it interferes with our business. People are scared. Really, this is getting ridiculous, it’s getting worse and worse, and I really don’t like it.”

Gionis is also disappointed with local leaders for allowing Busque to blast and mine in a residential neighborhood, and is looking to them for help.

“I’m really disappointed, the town or the state has to do something about it. This is ridiculous,” he said.

MacKinnon, who wanted to “reserve judgment” on the matter until first hearing directly from abutters, said, “I hope the standards that are in place are protective of the people in the surrounding area, but I guess this was the first real test of what is tolerable.”

A sign at the entrance to Peter Busque’s new quarry at the
intersection of Nash Road and Route 302 in Windham warns passersby
of potential blasting. Busque’s first blast, after years of town
and state review, didn’t go over so well with some neighbors, who
were upset with the severity of the explosion. (Staff photo by John
Balentine)

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