Judge stops crushing of concrete at recycling plant

Neighbors of a controversial recycling plant in Stonecrest can breathe easier knowing that all work, including concrete crushing, must cease at the plant while a languishing legal case continues.

A judge ordered Metro Green Recycling to stop the crushing activity, which residents and activists said would kick up dust and create noise, because it fell within the parameters of an earlier stop-work order. DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie did not find Metro Green in contempt of court for the concrete crushing, since her earlier injunc- tion did not specifically suspend that activity, but she did order the company to stop immediately.

“The whole idea (of the stop-work injunction) was to protect the neighbors during this process,” Barrie said during a Tuesday motions hearing.

Matt Benson, the attorney representing Metro Green, said the company would respect the order and did not intend to violate her previous rulings.

“What Metro Green did was read the (stop-work) order that the court entered in the context in which it was entered and made a decision, reasonably, that it could crush concrete,” he explained during the hear- ing, which was conducted virtually.

Since Stonecrest incorporated in 2017, the concrete recycling plant has been a point of contention, with activists and politicians saying it improperly obtained a crucial work permit. Metro Green, which operated two plants in the Atlanta area at the time, began the process to open a third location near Snapfinger Woods Drive and Miller Road, a 50-acre site abutting neighborhoods.

Metro Green pitched the project to city and county officials, both of whom initially denied the proposal. However, Stonecrest’s founding mayor and former city manager later would endorse the project, prompting the Geor- gia Environmental Protec- tion Division (EPD) to grant a solid waste handling permit, which allows facilities to take in unsorted construction debris for processing and recycling.

The issued permit sparked backlash — and eventually legal action — from DeKalb, the Stonecrest City Council and environmental activists. In August 2020, Stonecrest began a lengthy lawsuit that now involves the city, county and Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environ- ment (CHASE), an activist group that represents residents living near the plant, suing Metro Green, the EPD and its director.

April Lipscomb, an attorney for CHASE, argued Tuesday that Metro Green’s continued concrete crushing presented a health risk to residents and that it would not be allowed under Stonecrest’s zoning code, which Benson disputed. Lipscomb said the only way Metro Green can crush concrete is if their solid waste handling per- mit remains in place, which is the critical question of the pending lawsuit.

“The only way that activity could possibly be allowed is as an accessory use to a permitted use, but crushing concrete cannot be con- sidered an accessory use to solid waste handling if the permit is revoked,” she said. Barrie’s previous stop-work order specifically suspended all work that required the permit.

The case is scheduled to go to trial the week of June 13, but several summary judg- ment motions are pending and could settle the lawsuit before a trial takes place. After about three hours of discussion Tuesday, Barrie ended the motions hearing and said she’d try to schedule another one soon.