Posted: Feb. 2, 2010

A proposed grinding operation ran into a bit of a grinder at last night's public hearingbefore the New Berlin Plan Commission.

A new company wants to rent part of the Johnson Sand and Gravel quarry, 20685 W. National Ave., to grind stumps, branches and scrap wood from construction projects into wood chips. The chips, which are used as a fuel component, would be trucked down National Avenue to the Port of Milwaukee for shipment overseas.

But residents raised a number of objections.

They worried about tree diseases, such as the destructive emerald ash borer, being brought into the area from outside. Some also worried that poisons might be released into the air from the grinding of construction lumber treated with preparations, including arsenic and other chemicals.

Company officials said visual inspections at the site would avoid both those concerns. They also said they would work only with contractors that have high standards.

Some residents also objected that a wood-grinding operation is not even close to the uses the city allows at quarries under its zoning code.

Trucks with loads exceeding state limits would break down the newly finished National Avenue and would be noisy, others said. The truck traffic would not be in keeping with the upscale city center shopping area the city wants to develop on National Avenue, residents said.

Residents living near the quarry said the grinding noise would be obnoxious, despite company assurances to the contrary.

The Plan Commission will take up the request when these and other concerns have been addressed.