An international building materials company with a local presence has agreed to pay Forsyth County a large settlement for land disturbance activity in late 2005.
Lafarge Aggregates and multiple insurance companies are slated to pay Forsyth County $3.7 million, a number that covers all “out-of-pocket expenses defending the claim,” said County Attorney Ken Jarrard.
The situation dates to December 2005, when Lafarge workers discovered a crevice had formed in the rock quarry along Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
Shifting ground beneath the northwest section of the property forced the relocation of two nearby residents and closed a mile-long stretch of Ronald Reagan, between North Old Atlanta and Pendley roads (click for map) , for several months.
County officials also drained a nearby water tower as a precautionary measure when the cracks began to grow along the north-south route.
Land disturbance activity resulted in damages to county infrastructure, according to Jarrard, including roads and water tanks.
As a result, Travelers Property Casualty Insurance sued the county, which in turn sued several parties.
The $3.7 million settlement would be effective for those claims approved through Feb. 20, 2009, Jarrard said, but the county “is not giving up our right to make claims if there is any further seismic activity disturbances in that area.”
The total area of impact was about 11 acres. The ground was reported to be moving as fast as 4 inches in 24 hours on certain parts of the property, where it began to shift into the quarry.
Lafarge Aggregates, who leases about 350 acres off Ronald Reagan, produces about 3 million tons of granite per year.
E-mail Frank Reddy at frankreddy@forsythnews.com.
Lafarge Aggregates and multiple insurance companies are slated to pay Forsyth County $3.7 million, a number that covers all “out-of-pocket expenses defending the claim,” said County Attorney Ken Jarrard.
The situation dates to December 2005, when Lafarge workers discovered a crevice had formed in the rock quarry along Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
Shifting ground beneath the northwest section of the property forced the relocation of two nearby residents and closed a mile-long stretch of Ronald Reagan, between North Old Atlanta and Pendley roads (click for map) , for several months.
County officials also drained a nearby water tower as a precautionary measure when the cracks began to grow along the north-south route.
Land disturbance activity resulted in damages to county infrastructure, according to Jarrard, including roads and water tanks.
As a result, Travelers Property Casualty Insurance sued the county, which in turn sued several parties.
The $3.7 million settlement would be effective for those claims approved through Feb. 20, 2009, Jarrard said, but the county “is not giving up our right to make claims if there is any further seismic activity disturbances in that area.”
The total area of impact was about 11 acres. The ground was reported to be moving as fast as 4 inches in 24 hours on certain parts of the property, where it began to shift into the quarry.
Lafarge Aggregates, who leases about 350 acres off Ronald Reagan, produces about 3 million tons of granite per year.
E-mail Frank Reddy at frankreddy@forsythnews.com.