Fiscal Court Judge Gary Moore stated that the Boone County government has no control over the project and was also not informed about the blasting. He said calls about the blasting had also been received from production and commercial businesses. John Mura, Executive Director of Kentucky Department of Natural Resources, said he was aware of residents’ complaints and explained that seismograph readings from November and December 2019 were within regulatory limits.[2]

Class action lawsuit

Trees were cleared along Limaburg Creek road for the project. On 27th May 2020 two residents, Andrew Vance and Greg Dringenburg, filed a complaint in Boone County Court against construction firm Whiting-Turner, seeking to allow residents living within one mile of the construction project to join a class action lawsuit against the contractors building the Amazon Air Hub. The complaint alleged that dust had not been properly controlled at the site and that blasting had created excessive shock waves. Representing the plaintiffs, attorney Philip Taliaferro said, “This lawsuit, it is really the last resort for the residents there, because they’ve complained multiple times to the contractors and elected officials and state…But the blasting and dust and dirt have continued.” He said parents had complained of blasting making their children stressed and that the people taking the legal action were asking for punitive damages.[3]

Taliaferro, who had represented residents affected by CVG for over 50 years, since the airport acquired property, said it was the biggest case he had ever taken on “You have this much dust, this much dirt, this much noise. Breaking parts of your house. Upsetting everyone. I’ve never had or seen anything like this before.” He said that the suit states that those working on the Amazon air hub project have “been well aware of these conditions for many months”. Release of state documents revealed a history of citations and inspections of companies working at the site. Homeowner Richard Ison said affected residents had exhausted all other options: “You call the city officials. They say they’ll try to help. They contact Amazon and Kokosing (Construction). Nobody can seem to get anything done.”[4]

The class action complaint claims that contractors Whiting-Turner and Kokosing showed reckless disregard for people, children and animals. It states that earthmoving ‘creates an extraordinary amount of dust if not properly controlled, especially in dry weather’ and that ‘blasting creates excessive shock waves which if not properly controlled and minimized, cause significant vibrations at properties surrounding the Amazon project’. It also states that failure to properly monitor and control the activities of contractors at the Amazon project had subjected the plaintiffs to ‘excessive dust, excessive blasting noise, and heavy equipment noise for more than one year, and the nuisance conditions continue unabated’.[5]

Construction worker killed

On 2nd February 2020 an ironworker working at the Amazon air hub project was killed in a workplace accident. The 46-year old man, Loren Shoemake, died from blunt force trauma. He was an employee of subcontractor Columbus Steel Erectors. An airport spokesperson said CVG first responders were dispatched to the scene at 12.44 pm after receiving a call about a workplace injury. Neither the airport nor the general contractor, Whiting-Turner Kokosing JV, provided additional details of the injury but the latter said a full investigation was underway and that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) investigators were on site.[6] Dave Baker of trade union Ironworkers Local 44 said Shoemake was the steward on the job installing steel at the air hub site and was doing “a damn good job”. He said the workplace accident was the first to result in a fatality for over 15 years. Baker’s team at the trade union created a commemorative badge honouring Loren Shoemake, to be handed out at a ceremony the following day commemorating his life. Loren Shoemake was survived by his fiancée and daughter.[7]