Our caution isn’t hypothetical — it’s based on real issues that have already occurred in nearby communities affected by large quarry operations. Surrounding areas such as Dexter and Prineville have experienced significant environmental and water‑related problems linked to blasting, excavation, and the disturbance of volcanic rock formations. These cases offer important lessons for Oakridge, especially as TV Butte sits directly above the town’s aquifer recharge zone. Understanding what happened elsewhere helps us anticipate what could happen here.
Just a few miles west on Highway 58, the Parvin Butte Quarry had damaging effects on Dexter, Oregon — impacts that closely mirror the risks Oakridge faces. Local residents allege that blasting operations dried up water wells relied on for farming and everyday life. Many quarries, including the proposed Old Hazeldell Quarry, use ammonium nitrate–fuel oil (ANFO) to fracture large rock formations. This type of blasting has been observed to disrupt groundwater flow, fracture aquifers, and disturb wildlife habitats. The Dexter experience shows how quickly blasting can alter water availability in communities with shallow or interconnected groundwater systems, making it a relevant warning for Oakridge’s own aquifer‑dependent households.
Prineville provides another cautionary example. The Knife River quarry operates in volcanic rock formations similar to those found on TV Butte. When blasting and excavation fractured these formations, manganese levels in nearby wells increased significantly. This is important because the Old Hazeldell Quarry application indicates operators would be digging into volcanic rock on TV Butte — the same type of geology associated with manganese mobilization in Prineville.
The University of Oregon hydrogeology study provides evidence suggesting that Oakridge’s aquifer is hydraulically connected to TV Butte and this aquifer sits upgrade from town, meaning disturbances on the butte can directly influence groundwater quality and flow downhill. If blasting exposes or fractures volcanic rock, manganese and other minerals can leach into the aquifer more easily, just as they did in Prineville. Combined with ANFO blasting, which can alter groundwater chemistry, the parallels between the two sites are striking.
And it is important to note that Prineville didn’t have an old landfill that ALSO sits above the aquifer like Oakridge does — a landfill that Oakridge is liable for and which the proposed quarry’s processing center will surround. So not only could nearby blasting impact the structural stability of this old landfill, but you will have an industrial rock crusher vibrating away 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, for the next 3–5 decades, with a flow of gravel trucks traveling around the old landfill’s “assumed” perimeter, with loads of gravel being dumped into the average of 86 trucks per day.
We have been and will continue to keep up to date on this fight in Prineville and keep folks here in the loop, so we can keep people informed on what kind of trouble Oakridge/Westfir could face if Old Hazeldell Quarry is approved.