WESTBROOK – Westbrook has received several complaints about production blasting being done by Pike Industries at its controversial quarry on Spring Street, but so far there have been no calls for action.

So far, city officials received complaints from a total of five people, all remarking that they were unhappy with noise and vibration caused by Pike’s blasting on Dec. 9, 14 and 16.

Officials in the city’s code enforcement office, which issued the blasting permit, said Pike had the option to blast up to eight times before the end of the year, but weather conditions only permitted the three blasts the company has already done. There are no more blasts scheduled before Jan. 1, 2012, which means Pike will have to reapply for a blasting permit to continue blasting after the first of the year.

According to the complaints sent to the city, Warren Knight, a member of the family that owns Smiling Hill Farm, wrote to the city on behalf of seven other people and businesses on the farm’s property, all of whom complained about noise and vibration on all three blasting days.

Gary Swanson, a vocal opponent of Pike’s quarry from the beginning, asked if the Dec. 9 blast violated the consent agreement due to vibration or decibel level. Last week, City Administrator Jerre Bryant said to his knowledge no recorded data from the blasts had gone beyond limits established in the agreement.

“Pike blast on the 16th shook the house – scared me – more than what I expected,” wrote Mike Dailey, a Spring Street resident.

And Doug Finck, writing on behalf of WPXT and WPME TV at 4 Ledgeview Drive, also near the quarry property, reported the blasts on all three dates “created noise and vibration at our business.”

Pike has been in the spotlight ever since it announced plans to ramp up operations at its 645 Spring St. location, which would include periodic production blasting. That angered residents and businesses nearby, including Idexx Laboratories, Artel, Smiling Hill Farm and residents of Spring Street and the nearby Birdland neighborhood.

The neighbors argued that while the property has existed as a quarry under various owners for decades, it has laid dormant for years. Idexx, which manufactures veterinary testing equipment and water quality testing kits, had been planning to build a new $50 million headquarters on its property, which abuts the quarry, but executives mulled scrapping that idea once they learned of Pike’s plans.

That led to a discussion among Pike, Idexx and the city that created a consent agreement, signed off on by a judge in Cumberland County Superior Court in the fall of 2010 that spelled out just when and how Pike could use the quarry.

That agreement allowed Pike to apply for permission to conduct up to eight production blasts per calendar year. While Idexx has agreed to build its complex, other residents have voiced displeasure with the agreement, and filed suit to challenge it in court.

But the court has granted Pike permission to continue business, even though the challenging lawsuit has not been resolved, and on Nov. 15 the company applied for and got its permit to blast.