| State & Province News |
|
December 2006
by , Executive Editor |
|
Arizona A spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) told The Arizona Daily Star that it plans to add bank protection to the frontage road of an open pit sand and gravel operation along Interstate 10. ADOT bought property along the edge of the mine from California Portland Cement Co. in order to build the frontage road. The mine provides sand and gravel used in asphalt production in the greater Tucson area. Arkansas The U.S. Army has awarded a $12.6 million contract to Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Co., of Pine Bluff, Ark., for the construction of foreshore protection. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, awarded the contract. Work will be performed in St. Bernard Parish, La. California Granite Construction Co.’s Southern California Branch announced increased recycling goals for both production and supply of all construction materials, including asphalt and concrete. The new goals include a minimum of 15 percent recycled asphalt within all asphalt production and a commitment that 25 percent of the aggregate produced for base material will be from recycled material. California The U.S. Supreme Court denied the city of Santa Clarita’s lawsuit — or its request for review known as petition for certiorari — and allowed a consent decree to stand. That action allows Cemex’s 56.1-million-ton quarry in Soledad Canyon to move forward and prevents the city from further attempts to stop the legally binding consent decree from taking effect. According to Business Wire, the city has contested the consent decree before U.S. District Court, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and now the U.S. Supreme Court. A spokesperson for the city said that the court’s decision and the environmental impact report violate the California Environmental Quality Act, the federal Clean Water and Clean Air acts, and the National Environmental Policy Act. Colorado The Pueblo Board of Water Works voted unanimously to revise its agreement with Transit Mix as the sand and gravel producer prepares to sell its former ponds west of Pueblo to Colorado State Parks. The Pueblo Chieftain reports that Transit Mix determined that the Bureau of Reclamation could contest the title to one of its water rights. The bureau indicated that it doesn’t believe it has acquired any interest in the property, but refused to execute a quit claim deed to Transit Mix. The company will make a quiet title action to clear up the ownership issue. Connecticut At Aggregates Manager’s press time, Haynes Aggregates was awaiting public hearings before the planning and zoning and inland-wetlands commissions regarding its proposal to mine up to 1 million cubic yards of sand and gravel. According to the Hartford Courant, the material would be mined from a section of property owned by the Incarnation Center, an Episcopal Church camp and conference center. The center’s director described the producer as “a good neighbor” and agreed to the lease agreement because he felt it would eliminate a dangerously steep slope along the center’s property line. Mining would be permitted on a 26-acre area during a 20-year period. Florida A 515-acre proposed sand mine will go before the county’s Planning and Zoning Board, the Florida Times-Union reports. Redshirt Farms has asked for its property in Nassau County to be rezoned from rural to heavy industrial use. It says the decision to mine sand on the property was spurred by tougher construction regulations adopted by the state in response to recent hurricanes. The regulations call for expanded use of stronger building materials, which has caused a spike in the demand for concrete block. Idaho Idaho Sand & Gravel is building a $6.9 million project to widen Chinden Boulevard in Ada County from two lanes to four lanes. The construction project represents the second phase of plans to widen the roadway. The final section is scheduled for construction during 2007. Illinois Increases in raw material prices are pushing the cost of Illinois Department of Transportation road projects up by 10 to 20 percent, according to a report in the Rockford Register Star. Ben Holmstrom, president of Rockford Blacktop Construction, told the newspaper that contractors are facing increasing uncertainty when bidding jobs because of the fluctuation in raw material prices. He estimates that his company’s costs for asphalt have increased by 13 percent since last year while the costs for ready-mixed concrete have increased by about 15 percent. A survey of state highway departments found that 41 experienced significant increases in construction costs this year. Indiana The Directory of Industrial Mineral Producers in Indiana, 2006, is a new publication from the Indiana Geological Survey (IGS). It lists all known producers of industrial minerals in the state of Indiana. Commodities listed include cement, clay and shale, crushed stone, dimension limestone, dimension sandstone, gypsum, lime, peat, construction sand and gravel, industrial sand, and slag. The directory is organized by commodity and by county, and listings include contact information, geographic location, and geology. For more information, visit the IGS Web site at http://igs.indiana.edu . Maryland Millersville-based Reliable Contracting is considering the idea of relocating its headquarters on its 500-acre mine. The Maryland Gazette reports that the highway and general construction firm is outgrowing its current site, which has been Reliable Contracting’s home since the 1930s. The new site would include offices, as well as a training facility for equipment operators and drivers. Before such a move could occur, however, the property would have to be rezoned from agricultural to commercial. At this time, the company says the plans are preliminary. Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm declared week of Oct. 8-14 as Earth Science Week in Michigan. Earth Science Week is a nationwide observance that emphasizes the importance of earth sciences to the health, safety, and economic well-being of citizens. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Geological Survey took the lead in celebrating Earth Science Week throughout the state, which is a leading producer of crushed stone, sand, and gravel. Minnesota On Oct. 4, a worker died after being crushed in machinery at a gravel pit near Henderson, according to the Associated Press. Glen Phillips, 59, was helping with repairs to a piece of machinery at the Cemstone gravel pits when the cab came loose and fell, pinning him against a catwalk. Phillips died at the scene. Montana The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a $24,045 contract to Sun Sand Gravel Inc., of Sun River, for the maintenance, repair, and alteration of real property. USDA’s Forest Service awarded the contract, and work will be performed at the Wolverine Trailhead in Madison Ranger District. New York New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined representatives of the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection to cut the ribbon on Barretto Point Park, a 5-acre waterfront park in the Bronx. The $7.2 million park, which features basketball and handball courts, play equipment, picnic areas, a boathouse, decorative paved units, and fitness areas, is located on the site of a former sand and gravel operation and asphalt plant. Nevada The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that northern Nevada’s largest highway project received an estimate that was $113 million more than anticipated. North Dakota-based Fisher Sand & Gravel submitted the lowest bid to complete a currently stalled construction project that would link Reno and Carson City. Currently, $50 million has been paid for construction on the Galena Creek Bridge. Bids were taken to complete the bridge, as well as to build nine miles of freeway. Fisher’s bid of $393.3 million would make the project the largest single construction contract in the history of the Nevada Department of Transportation. The only other bid — for nearly $415 million — came from Kiewit Western Co. The department has 30 days to accept or reject the bid. North Carolina A proposal from Elijah Morton, owner of Morton Minerals Inc. and Morton Trucking Inc., to mine 83 acres on his Gum Branch land has some neighbors worried. According to a report in The Daily News, a number of his neighbors want additional information about the effects of mining on the surrounding property and the environment. Morton told the newspaper that the environmental impacts of his project would be negligible. His goal, he says, is to mine sand to create an artificial lake as the centerpiece for a future residential development. Oregon Portland-based Ross Island Sand and gravel has been awarded a $1.44 million contract for the construction of structures and facilities in Sacramento, Calif. The U.S. Army Engineer District in Sacramento awarded the contract. Also in Oregon, 10 applicants to mine sand and gravel from the Umpqua and South Umpqua River in Douglas County have been turned down. The Register Guard reports that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the applications sought to remove more than 200,000 cubic yard per year, a volume it considered unsustainable. Pennsylvania In its continued effort to hire new mine inspectors, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) conducted on-site applicant screenings in Pennsylvania at the Indiana County Technology Center in late September and early October. The agency is recruiting mine inspectors for general and electrical positions for MSHA locations in Wilkes-Barre, Pottsville, and Shamokin, Pa. Utah A pond created from a former sand and gravel operation in Ogden is being transformed into the centerpiece of a future entertainment complex. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that cleanup has begun at the site where a 50-acre park, an 18,000-seat amphitheater, and a 29-acre water ski pool will be built. The new development is expected to cost about $30 million. Washington Officials from the Panhandle Health District and the city of Coeur d’Alene are trying to sort out whether wood waste is being properly disposed of at a former gravel quarry along the Spokane River in Coeur d’Alene. The Spokesman-Review reports that SRM Development discovered an old dump site containing tree stumps and other debris as it was reclaiming the 80-acre site for use as a public park, housing, and retail shops. The development company is buying the former gravel quarry from Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co. in phases. The challenge now is to develop stable bases for future construction. Province News A plan to mine gravel and limestone north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, hit a snag when the town council deferred a vote on the second step of the approval process. Fort McMurray Today reports that two companies, Graymont Western Canada and Inland Aggregates Limited, want to extract up to 500,000 tons per year along the Athabasca River near Highway 63. Although the council amended the Municipal Development Plan as a first step in the mine development process, it is seeking more information on the reclamation process before proceeding further with the project. |
|
State Spotlight Colorado Group Educates Thousands The Colorado Mining Exhibit Foundation, a non-profit education corporation, organized a high-impact event at the Festival of Mountain and Plain/A Taste of Colorado event held during the four-day Labor Day Weekend. Working with numerous organizations, associations, and regulatory agencies, the group raised $30,000 to fund a walkthrough tent that contained dozens of informational displays related to its theme, “The Importance of Mining and Minerals to a Strong America.” Approximately 100 volunteers manned the booth, which featured videos showing modern mining technologies, tables of free educational materials for teachers, and large graphics showing how minerals are important to our standard of living. More than 400,000 people attended the festival, and exit polls showed that thousands visited the exhibit. The city of Denver awarded the exhibit a certificate of achievement for “natural resource education for the family.” |
|
Reprinted from Aggregates Manager Magazine |
