| State & Province News |
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March 2007
by , Executive Editor |
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Alaska As reported last month, prices for state-owned aggregates increased on Jan. 1. The Associated Press now reports that those prices tripled from $1 to $3 per cubic yard. Rip rap prices also tripled, from $2.50 to $7.50 per cubic yard. Frank Maxwell, an official with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, told the news service that prices were last adjusted in August 1999. Even with the increase, he says those prices are below the going rate in other areas where the rates range from $4 to $8 per cubic yard. A local land developer pointed out that demand for new real estate has increased demand for aggregates and nearby pits are being emptied out. The result, he said, is that pits are being developed further out and transportation costs are increasing. California The Claremont City Council unanimously passed a mining ordinance to codify to process for considering mineral resource development applications. The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports that the ordinance comes in response to an initiative from Vulcan Materials to permit a mine on area land that has been designated by the state as a significant mineral resource. Due to the state designation, the city is required to consider the application, which is locally zoned as open space — a designation which does not allow mining. In 2005, the city refused Vulcan’s request to alter the open space definition and Vulcan appealed its decision to the state Mining and Geology Board. That board declined to overturn the local ruling, but admonished the city for not having an ordinance in place to consider mining applications. An attorney for Vulcan told the newspaper that he believed that Vulcan will “ultimately be able to demonstrate that it can mine in accordance with appropriate state and local standards, and they will go ahead with mining.” Arizona Arizona Portland Cement Co. faces opposition to its proposal for a second limestone quarry on federally controlled acreage next to state land where mining was already approved near Davidson Canyon. The Arizona Daily Star reports that the company hopes to mine 150,000 to 300,000 tons per year for 20 years from a 60-acre site where the U.S. Bureau of Land Management controls the mineral rights. Company officials have offered to mine only during daytime hours, to use dust suppression technology, and to post a bond to guarantee reclamation upon completion of mining. They also have a storm-water pollution plan in place. A citizens group has said that it recognizes that the 1872 Mining Law provides broad rights to mine federal land, but hopes to stymie the effort through the National Environmental Policy Act. Connecticut In response to resident complaints, the Brooklyn Planning and Zoning Commission is re-examining the way it handles sand and gravel permits. According to the Norwich Bulletin, the commission is considering an addition to its regulations that would create a paper trail for annual gravel permit renewals. Currently, a zoning enforcement officer would visit a site to ensure compliance. If the operation is in compliance, it is verbally approved, but no paper trail is created. A resident investigated permits for the area operations and found that several operations were up and running with expired paperwork. Florida Fort Myers-based Schwab Ready Mix Inc. has submitted plans for a 5,025-square-foot ready-mixed batch plant to Manatee County officials, The Bradenton Herald reports. The proposed site is located in an area zoned for heavy manufacturing and is adjacent to Port Manatee’s dredge spoil storage area and the Manatee County Central Jail Facility. Residents of the area banded together to fight a Cemex-owned ready-mix plant and gathered 700 signatures on a petition opposing the plant. Hawaii The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) announced that it completed its project to replenish sand at Kuhio Beach. DLNR’s contractor, American Marine Corp., finished pumping the targeted amount of 10,000 cubic yards of sand at the end of 2006 and completed placing it shortly afterward. “This has been a great opportunity to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of new, state-of-the-art offshore sand pumping technologies to reclaim beach sand from near-shore deposits,” said Peter Young, DLNR chairperson. The project costs approximately $475,000, with state funding from the DLNR Land Development Fund. Indiana The Tippecanoe County Commissioners approved an ordinance that would allow companies to place concrete plants next to gravel pits. The Journal and Courier reports that the ordinance stemmed from residents’ complaints concerning plans to build a concrete plant south of Lafayette. The new ordinance stipulates that companies may build concrete plants if they first obtain a special exception for the project from the area board of zoning appeals. The intent is to allow the public to have an opportunity to weigh in on the board’s decisions. Kansas Shawnee County Commission Chairwoman Marice Kane conducted her last meeting in early January and thanked county employees for their assistance during her term. Kane said that she had made some decisions and cast some votes that were unpopular but she thought would be proved right in the long run. According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, her support of a new aggregates operation in her district likely cost her votes during her re-election bid. Residents near the site objected strenuously, but commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the mine. One of her fellow commissioners told her that he admired her for having the courage to make tough political decisions. Illinois According to the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers, House Deputy Majority Leader Art Turner has agreed to sponsor HB150, legislation that would reduce the annual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits from the Illinois Department of Environmental Protection Agency. Two other state legislators, Rep. Dan Reitz and Assistant House Minority Leader Mark Beaubien, joined Turner in his support of the bill. If passed, HB150 would amend Section 12.5 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act in order to reduce the NPDES permit fees paid by aggregate mines from $5,000 to $1,000 annually. While that would reduce state revenues generated via the fees by approximately $800,000, the association says that the state would receive enough revenues to implement the state’s clean water regulatory program for aggregate mines. Missouri John Harness recently sought permission to mine sand and gravel from a 35-acre tract he owns in Meramec Township and offered to donate the land to the county for recreational purposes once mining was completed. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that his permitting request was turned down by the Jefferson County Planning Commission, but would be brought before the County Commission. The landowner told the newspaper that the site is in a flood plain and is suitable for no other industrial use. Montana The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced that it has settled its enforcement action against Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. for an air-quality violation involving its Montana air quality permit. The enforcement action included a $5,250 fine. The violation centered around the size of the producer’s diesel generator. The permit set a maximum size of generator at 635 kilowatts per hour, but the company installed and operated a 725-killowatt generator. After being notified of the violation, Fisher immediately sought a permit modification to allow the use of the generator. That request was granted by the DEQ. New Hampshire With a growth ordinance and court challenge already addressed, developers are ready to begin construction on the Head’s Pond development in north Hooksett. The Union Leader reports that engineers for the project are meeting with the Hooksett Zoning Board of Adjustment to discuss an eight-hole golf course and 535 homes to be built on land belonging to Manchester Sand, Gravel and Cement Co. Since the project was introduced in 1988, there has been some opposition to it. In 2005, a Superior Court judge threw out the town’s growth management ordinance, which limited developers to five permits a year and would have made it difficult for the development to move forward. New Jersey John Lynch Jr., former state Senate president, was sentenced to 39 months in prison and a $50,000 fine by a federal judge who said Lynch “sold out” his office. According to The Record, Lynch admitted that he accepted $25,000 in payoffs funneled through two consulting firms from a South Brunswick sand company in return for his official actions and influence as a senator. A long-time associate and principal with the two firms, John E. Westlake, also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and awaited sentencing at Aggregates Manager’s press time. Between 1998 and 2002, Westlake’s firm received payments ranging from $120,000 to $200,000 from the sand company, which had sought help in securing mining rights to the state-owned land next to its property. Lynch wrote letters to the state Department of Environmental Protection vouching for the company and endorsing a plan to turn the land into a park after the sand was extracted. Texas Opponents of a Vulcan Materials quarry near Quihi agreed to drop their opposition to the project in exchange for the company’s pledge to create a buffer zone around the project, the San Antonio Express-News reports. However, the parties do remain at odds over a railroad spur that Vulcan wants to build for material transportation. Community opposition is organized through a group called Medina County Environmental Action Association. Its spokesperson told the newspaper that the state’s environmental laws were poor and that it would continue to oppose the company’s request to the federal Surface Transportation Board for permission to build a 7-mile rail line that would connect with existing Union Pacific tracks. Washington A mining operation on the banks of the Spokane River could be transformed under a proposal to build homes on the property, according to the Spokesman Review. More than 30 homes, town homes, and condominiums are expected to be built on a 45-acre site near Millwood, formerly owned by Spokane Rock Products. The developer, Coeur d’Alene’s Neighborhood Inc., said the development — to be named Coyote Rock — will include 30 waterfront lots for the single-family homes. Province News Emission levels from asphalt plants and dust suppression at sand and gravel plants are being scrutinized by the Prince George (British Columbia) City Council. The city environmental services manager recommended that the provincial government apply the same limits on emissions imposed in lower Fraser Valley. Similar caps would reduce particulate emissions by one-quarter and organic compound and carbon monoxide emissions by half. However, the Prince George Citizen reports that a citizens group, North Nechako and Heritage Residents for Clean Air, have advocated more stringent limits such as those used in the Greater Vancouver Regional District — which are less than half that in the lower Fraser Valley. State Spotlight: Ohio Passes New Mining Legislation After several years of work by members of the Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals Associa-tion (OAIMA) and its members, HB443 was passed during the final days of the Taft administration. Pat Jacomet, executive director of OAIMA, described provisions of the bill in mid-January when addressing members of the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association’s Northeast Ohio District Council at the council’s 11th Annual Mining Safety & Current Events Seminar. The original legislation, HB400 (sponsored by Rep. Jim McGregor) was incorporated into the larger bill, HB443. While the bill went through numbers readings and amendments, the association describes the final legislation as “a very positive move forward for the industry.” Following are some of the key provisions to the bill:
The final bill also includes provisions that increased the severance tax on coal. According to Jacomet, the legislature has acknowledged that much of the severance tax paid by industrial minerals surface mines has gone to reclaim coal legacy sites, and the association will be working with the general assembly to ensure that such tax proceeds are used to fund programs that benefit the industrial minerals industry. For more information on the bill, contact OAIMA, at 614-428-7954 or e-mail: rocks@oaima.org. |
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Reprinted from Aggregates Manager Magazine |
