St. Louis County residents organize to oppose proposed clean-fill landfill at inactive quarry in South County

SOUTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY (First Alert 4) — Nearly 100 residents gathered Friday evening to discuss a proposal to turn the inactive Ruprecht Quarry in South County into a clean-fill landfill, a project that could take more than a decade to complete.

The future of the quarry is pending action by the St. Louis County Council. The majority of residents at the meeting expressed opposition to the proposal, and many said they were previously unaware of the plans.

“I first got involved after not being notified about the proposal,” area resident Briana Coleman-Lahm said. “I live about 600 feet from the proposed development operations at the quarry, and many in my neighborhood weren’t notified.”

Coleman-Lahm said the communication gap damaged her confidence in the process.

“I think it’s going to be really hard to earn my trust. It’s already been quite broken at this point,” she said. “I would say not being notified, just the overall lack of transparency with the project, unwillingness to tell us what the future vision for this would be. I worry about what we’re not going to know for another 50 or 100 years.”

The proposal calls for dumping approximately 3 million cubic yards of clean fill into the quarry over 10 to 15 years.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources defines clean fill as uncontaminated soil, rock, sand and gravel, but the definition also includes concrete, cinder blocks, bricks and minimal amounts of wood and metal.

Residents raised concerns about air and water quality, as well as traffic congestion from dump trucks.

St. Louis County Councilman Mike Archer, who represents District 6 where the quarry is located, was unable to attend the meeting. Instead, former State Rep. Bob Burns attended on Archer’s behalf to answer questions and provide an update on the council’s current position.

“No decision has been made on this,” Burns said. “It’s not going to be made till Mike Archer and the council approves it or disapproves it. And I polled the six people on the council. Ladies and gentleman, they are not for this project.”

No date has been set for a council vote. The soonest a vote could occur is mid-September.