Ledyard ― Battle lines have been drawn as Gales Ferry Intermodal LLC earlier this month concluded its presentation of a proposal to excavate large amounts of rock at a 40-acre site within a mile of homes, schools, churches and daycare centers.

On Thursday, during a 6 p.m. Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at Ledyard Middle School, homeowners near the proposed quarry project will have their first chance to weigh in on the updated proposal.

That opposition is expected to be fierce if public comments submitted before the meeting, as well as a previous series of public hearings that led to the temporary withdrawal of the plans earlier this year, are any indication.

“I truly believe the blasting during the day and the daily noise from the excavation machinery, trucks and blasting, will have a negative impact on our neighborhood,” wrote Marleen and Mike Myers of 11 Library Lane in an email to commissioners. “I am concerned about the health and well being of our residents and our children exposed to silica dust, which is a carcinogen, a cancer-causing agent.”

The couple also cited articles in newspapers from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire about blasting for projects conducted by the same company proposed to set off charges at the Ledyard quarry, as having allegedly disrupted the “peace and tranquility” of the areas with impacts including damaged door frames, cracked walls and rattling windows.

The Ledyard Cemetery Committee has opposed the project for its effect on the Allyn’s Point Cemetery, which has 53 grave markers and 101 fieldstone markers dating back to 1752.

“These stones that are already so weakened and fragile are likely to experience a much increased rate of deterioration or even failure due to the constant vibrations caused from the blasting,” according to a letter from the committee.

Elaine G. and W. Brunson Dodge of 52 Harvard Terrace cited town zoning regulations for special permits that specify uses and structures must be “in harmony with the appropriate and orderly development of the Zoning District in which they are proposed to be situated.”

The special permit for a quarry being proposed “is in total violation of this item. The proposed activity would be noxious, offensive and detrimental to the area by reason of odors, fumes, dust, noise, vibrations and appearance,” the Dodges wrote in an email.

But Gales Ferry Intermodal during two consecutive commission hearings over the past month has offered up experts to explain how silica dust at the former Dow Chemical site off Route 12 will be mitigated using water; to downplay the possibility of home values going down, and to explain how the blasting will be conducted safely.

The company also has announced that it will donate about 3.5 acres of Mount Decatur, in the middle of the proposed quarry project, to a national archaeological group that plans to preserve the historic site and make it part of the National Register of Historic Places, highlighting the remnants of a War of 1812 fort there.

A report to the commission by Goman+York, an East Hartford-based property adviser that conducted an economic impact study of the project on behalf of the town, shows that the estimated 10-year extraction process would net $5.7 million in economic activity in the region and would result in more than $520,000 in permitting fees.

Warehouses proposed on the site after the excavation is over would generate more than $1 million in annual tax revenue for the town, the study stated. They also would create about 130 permanent jobs, according to the report.

“Gales Ferry Intermodal’s proposal and investment in the Town of Ledyard to redevelop an environmentally impaired site and economically shuttered site ... is both a significant and noteworthy investment,” said Gales Ferry Intermodal attorney Harry Heller in concluding remarks Oct. 10. “We submit to you that this application complies with the permitting parameters contained in your regulations and should be approved by the commission.”

But Steven Trinkaus, a professional engineer from Southbury who analyzed the site for project opponents Gales Ferry Fire District and Lee Ann Berry, said he worried about runoff from stormwater sending sediment into the Thames River.

The erosion sedimentation control plan for a mining operation of this magnitude is really inadequate,” Trinkaus said. “You will have, in my professional opinion, numerous discharges of dirty water from this site.”

While nothing has yet been decided on whether the commission will grant a special permit to Gales Ferry Intermodal, members did vote unanimously at their last meeting on Oct. 10 to deny without prejudice proposed amendments to its regulations submitted by Eric Treaster that, among other things, would outlaw quarries in Ledyard. The commission had received legal advice that changing regulations as the current quarry application is under review could expose the town to possible legal action.

Thursday’s hearing is expected to kick off with a presentation by attorney Wilson T. Carroll, who represents the fire district. In written testimony Carroll has said the commission “has discretion to deny the application on the basis that the ‘intensity of use’ of the proposed blasting, quarrying, and excavation would not preserve the character of the immediate neighborhood.”

While Thursday’s hearing is to be held in the middle school, subsequent commission meetings in November and December are planned at Ledyard High School, where technical issues for Zoom meetings are easier to deal with, according to Chairman Tony Capon. A decision on the application is expected in December.

l.howard@theday.com