A Local Win for a State Park Could Be A Good Sign for Our State’s Environment

In a legal case with more twists and turns than a sidewinder’s trail, a Wake County Superior Court judge has found in favor of a conservation group’s challenge to a quarry mining permit near a major NC state park.

The Umstead Coalition, a state parks support group working to protect Umstead State Park, has been fighting for years to stop expansion of a quarry mining operation near the park, restore protective buffers for Crabtree Creek, and ultimately stop the mining operation. The Coalition’s legal challenge to the quarry permit, first filed in 2022 and rejected by the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in 2023, revolved around technical provisions in the quarry’s original 1981 permit (a “sunset clause” limiting the duration of the mining operations), and a substantive change made to that permit in 2018 without following proper state procedure.

However, Judge Sean A. Cole ruled last week that Wake Stone (now operating as Vulcan Materials) cannot expand its quarry operations near Umstead State Park in Wake County. The ruling also says the NC Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) must halt the current mining operation no later than 2031. Judge Cole’s ruling came in an appeal by the Umstead Coalition from a contrary decision by a state ALJ. 

Well-Known Pro-Polluter at Heart of Case

Long-time observers of North Carolina environmental politics will not be surprised to learn that the ALJ in the Umstead case was Donald van der Vaart. Van der Vaart is regarded by environmental advocates as a notoriously pro-polluter official who has been named to posts ranging from DEQ Secretary (by former Gov. Pat McCrory) to Chief Administrative Law Judge (by NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby) to member of the NC Utilities Commission (by NC Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger). According to DEQ, ALJ van der Vaart’s decision would allow “significant adverse effect on the purposes of Umstead Park due to noise, visual, and traffic impacts.” 

Scathing Evaluation of Pro-Polluter Ruling

Judge Cole’s evaluation of the arguments by Wake Stone’s representatives was scathing. He wrote, “The actions of Wake Stone represent clear, strong, and convincing evidence that the company was attempting to circumvent the correct procedure for requesting changes to their mining permit. To suggest that changing the word “sooner” to “later” in this permit was a minor or “ministerial” change is laughable bordering on fraudulent conduct.” 

His findings on the ALJ’s findings of fact and conclusions of law were equally blunt: “The ALJ’s findings of fact were not supported by the factual record, including both written evidence and the testimony of the witnesses. The written evidence, live testimony, and purposes and intent of the Mining Act all dovetailed to illustrate that Wake Stone was attempting (and achieved) a result which was entirely inconsistent with the Mining Act’s provisions, and the changes sought were a significant change to the original permit language, especially regarding the sunset provision language, which when altered changed the entire nature of the original permit.”

Welcome News

In NCLCV’s view, the Court’s rejection of the quarry’s expansion is welcome news, and a sign that van der Vaart’s biased reign of error will not stand up to scrutiny by fair judicial officials.