BELLE MINA, Ala. — Some residents in the Belle Mina community are pulling out all the stops to head off a proposed rock quarry in their community. Now that proposed rock quarry is said to be put on pause. A local pastor explained that the delay is due to a deeper matter than some may think.
Cody Gilliam is the pastor at Belle Mina Methodist Church, but he is also one of the leading voices against the proposed quarry. He breaks it down like this. "It's really fascinating that ADEM would make the claim that the EPA has put a hold on the rock quarry because that's just simply and emphatically not true. And I think it's because they're trying to hide the fact that a Title VI complaint alleging racial discrimination has been filed against them by the Belle Mina Ministerial Association, of which I'm a part of."
Gilliam said the Title VI complaint alleging racial discrimination deals with the environmental justice tool used to determine the socioeconomic makeup of Belle Mina. "And when you use that tool provided by the Census Bureau, the page that pops up before you're about to go to the actual tool to use it says do not use this tool for socioeconomic determination when it comes to a community. And that's exactly what Grayson Carter and Son and ADEM have done."
Delores Fletcher has lived in the Belle Mina community since 1990. Fletcher has been against the idea of the rock quarry ever since it was proposed. "Not only myself, but all of the neighbors. and we've been going to different meetings and things and trying to just make sure that it does not come in our neighborhood. We have children that have asthma. We have elderly people that have had cancer that are suffering from bronchitis and heart issues."
FOX54 reached out to ADEM for comment on the matter, but have yet to receive a response. Pastor Gilliam tells us he is also waiting to hear back and get a better understanding of what will happen next in the battle over the quarry.
The next Belle Mina stop the quarry community update meeting will be held September 19 at 6 p.m. at Belle Mina Methodist Church.