STATESVILLE, N.C. — A loud boom caught the attention of residents across Iredell County Wednesday, sending in complaints and questions to WCNC Charlotte. The source was the Martin Marietta Statesville Quarry.
Plus, WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich said the blast was likely made louder and traveled farther due to the strong temperature inversion in place that day.
The mining facility blasts through the ground to harvest granite. Neighbors told WCNC Charlotte's Julia Kauffman they hear and feel explosions daily, worrying the shakes are damaging their homes over time.
"Here’s the crack on the bottom,” Mark Wingate said as he pointed to a split that ran from the base of his house up to the ceiling.
Mark Wingate’s house is 200 yards from the facility. He and several neighbors claimed that the quarry’s quakes are causing cracks in their foundation.
However, a direct link between the quarry and damage has not been proven.
Wednesday’s blast felt bigger than usual to many nearby residents.
“It double rattled like it, 'boom' and it rattled almost earthquake-like,” Mark Wingate recalled.
The blasts scare his wife Melissa Wingate almost daily.
"There’s been a time or two where it made me curse out loud,” she admitted.
Martin Marietta has been in Statesville since 1978. Its latest expansion of 54 acres was approved by the city council in 2021.
However, qualms about the quarry led to the company agreeing to reduce noise in some ways, like limiting the hours and days that blasts happen.
In the company’s expansion application, it says blasts are monitored by seismograph, “to ensure that vibration and air blast levels are within the guidelines set by the State.” Plus it says it maintains records of all blasts that come from the facility.
"I'm really not sure what they can do," Melissa Wingate said concerned. "It can't be good for the foundation."
A spokesperson for the city of Statesville told WCNC Charlotte the quarry is following city regulations and the city has reported Wednesday’s loud blast to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for investigation.
WCNC Charlotte has reached out to Martin Marietta about neighbors’ claims of property damage and is waiting to hear back.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.