Editing Clinton, Tennessee (section)

===Rogers Group quarry pushback===

In the 1990s, the Rogers Group, a firm specializing in road paving, began a campaign to reactivate an abandoned [[quarry]] and build an [[asphalt plant]] just east of Clinton near the community of Bethel. The initiative met with opposition from local and environmental groups, who were concerned that the plant would release cancer-causing toxins into nearby residential neighborhoods. Others were concerned about plummeting property values, noise pollution, damage from rock blasting, and environmental damage to Buffalo Creek. The company argued that it would follow stringent environmental and pollution guidelines, [[retention pond]]s would limit runoff, and that the site would be surrounded by vegetation. Nevertheless, Anderson County refused to rezone the quarry property for industrial uses, and Rogers Group sued the county in 1995.<ref name="Leean Tupper 2008">Leean Tupper, "[http://www.aggregateresearch.com/articles/12921/Citizens-sue-Rogers-Group.aspx Citizens Sue Clinton and Rogers Group] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307152114/http://www.aggregateresearch.com/articles/12921/Citizens-sue-Rogers-Group.aspx |date=2016-03-07 }}," September 19, 2007. Retrieved: February 21, 2008.</ref><ref>Bob Fowler, "[http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/aug/21/clinton-passes-annex-rezoning/ Clinton Passes Annex Rezoning]."  August 21, 2007.  Retrieved: February 21, 2008.</ref>

In December 2006, after Rogers Group's lawsuit had stagnated, the city of Clinton voted to annex the quarry property.<ref name="Leean Tupper 2008"/> On August 20, 2007, the Clinton City Council voted 6–1 to rezone the quarry property for industrial uses, paving the way for the plant's construction. In response, a local advocacy group known as Citizens for Safety and Clean Air filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Bethel residents in Anderson County Chancery Court contending that the council's rezoning was unconstitutional and seeking an injunction preventing the council from rezoning the property as an industrial zone.<ref>Bob Fowler, "[http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local/group-files-lawsuit-over-clinton-councils-rezoning-ep-412663088-360161971.html Group Files Lawsuit Over Council's Rezoning]."  September 19, 2007.  Retrieved: February 26, 2016.</ref>