| State & Province News |
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May 2007
by , Executive Editor |
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California Vulcan Materials Co. has threatened legal action against the city of Colton, saying a proposed ordinance, designed to protect the Delhi Sands fly, would inhibit development and harm the species. According to the San Bernardino County Sun, Vulcan’s attorney said that the proposed ordinance is “essentially the same” as a 2006 ordinance that a San Bernardino Superior Court judge ordered the city to rescind because it could interfere with efforts to protect the fly. The Colton city manager told the newspaper that the ordinance addresses the judge’s concerns and that the city simply disagrees with Vulcan. If approved, the regulation would require developers who want to establish conservation areas for the purpose of mitigating impacts to the fly to first obtain a conditional-use permit. Colorado A 50-year-old man was injured in early March while working on a conveyor at the Lafarge De Beque gravel pit, The Daily Sentinel reports. The man, who was airlifted to a local hospital, sustained injuries to his head and torso, according to a Mesa County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson. The injured man was not identified, but was said to be in stable condition. According to the news report, he was working on a conveyor, trying to dislodge rocks that were stuck. When the debris loosened, the conveyor belt started moving again, and the man was pulled into the pulley section of the conveyor. Florida In response to residents, county planning staff, and a major developer, the Nassau County Planning and Zoning Board unanimously rejected an application to rezone 515 acres in Bryceville from an “open rural” designation to “heavy industrial.” If permitted, the mine would be operated by Florida Rock Industries Inc., which would have an option for purchasing the land from Red Shirt Farms landowner William Agricola. The Florida Times-Union reports that the county planning staff and an attorney for Agricola disagreed on the sequence of the application process. The attorney said that Red Shirt would first try to secure zoning and then pursue issues such as environmental impact and buffer zones. The county’s growth management director said that those issues needed to be addressed in the zoning application. Idaho State lawmakers are considering giving the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation approximately $3 million to pay for construction of a heavy-equipment bridge to Eagle Island State Park in order to facilitate gravel mining. According to The Idaho Statesman, proceeds from the gravel would be used to fund improvements at the 545-acre park, and the gravel pits would eventually become lakes. In 2006, lawmakers gave the department the authority to extract up to $15 million worth of gravel from the park to pay for improvements, including $1 million to make plans and designs for those improvements. Indiana A three-year probe into concrete price fixing in the Indianapolis area ended in late February after sending nine current or former executives to prison. The Indianapolis Star reports that the final fine was levied against MA-RI-AL Corp., a Noblesville company doing business as Beaver Materials. The company agreed to pay a $1.75 million penalty in installments during a five-year time span. The company’s co-owners, Allyn and Gary Beaver, were not charged in the investigation, but the company did get five years of probation. Iowa The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a cease-and-desist order to Pattison Sand Co., LLC, the Telegraph Herald reports. The DNR said the company began excavating a quarry site on its property and building a water intake structure on the river without the required permits. They noted their concerns about the impact of the mine on river mussels that are on the endangered species list. Company officials said that they believed they had the initial permits required to begin the project and noted that they thought some “middle ground” could be achieved on the development project, which would expand the site’s staff from 20 to 60 workers. Louisiana Phoenix Associates Land Syndicate, a public holding company, started a second sand and gravel operation at the Murphy Sand & Gravel mine in Pearl River, La., according to FinancialWire. The holding company has contracted with Cherokee Environmental Construction, Inc. for up to $20 million in aggregate and sand to be delivered during a 12-month time period. The contract is on a “per-year” basis and is expected to be renewed for a number of years, according to Phoenix. Maine Gov. John Baldacci’s proposal to consolidate the state’s 290 school districts into 26 regional districts has underscored concerns among stakeholders, including officials in Acton. According to the Portland Press Herald, the town’s school property lies on top of a valuable sand and gravel deposit, and officials are concerned about how its assets may be managed if those assets are the property of a regional district where stakeholder concerns may not receive as significant of a voice. Several years ago, town officials bartered some of the sand and gravel on school property in return for the installation of fields. Maryland Two companies, Reliable Contracting and Chaney Enterprises, sent crews to survey the soil and test for sand and gravel at the former Naval Academy Dairy, The Maryland Gazette reports. Jay Baldwin, president of Millersville-based Reliable Contracting, told the newspaper that the company wanted to use the 857-acre property for “limited mining activity.” When mining operations are finished, the companies plan to establish wetlands and bogs in the reclaimed land, the report adds. The Maryland Stadium Authority had expressed an interest in building a horse park on the site, but no funds were included in the governor’s proposed budget. Michigan The Alamo Township Board of Trustees tabled a decision on zoning for gravel pits, which would have relegated gravel mining only to areas zoned industrial or agricultural until after the zoning board decides on a proposed 165-acre mine. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that Aggregates Industries wants to start a sand and gravel operation in a residentially zoned area bordered by U.S. 131 and a golf club. A township supervisor told the newspaper that it makes sense to review the zoning issue after the zoning board makes up its mind about the Aggregates Industries’ permit request, however, many residents have said that zoning issues should be decided prior to acting on specific permit proposals. New York Tilcon New York Inc. will spend $40 million to reduce noise, dust, and truck traffic surrounding its West Nyack quarry, according to an announcement by company and town officials. According to the online version of The Journal News, the joint agreement between the two groups stemmed from a public hearing during which some residents complained to representatives of the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Although the DEC promised the public extended time to offer comments, it renewed Tilcon’s permit before allowing additional input. The producer then voluntarily stepped up to address neighbor concerns, despite receiving the permit. North Carolina On Feb. 19, a 50-year-old truck driver (working as a car dropper) with 16 years of mining experience, was fatally injured at a crushed stone operation in Union County. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), he was moving two loaded railroad cars, by gravity, from the plant area to the main siding. The cars struck a 35-ton haul truck as it crossed the tracks, pinning the car dropper between the lead rail car and the truck. The truck driver received minor injuries. Ohio West Milton gravel pit operator Milton Materials LLC, of Ludlow Falls, has faced scrutiny in regards to its application to allow it to release up to 11.52 million gallons of groundwater per day into the Stillwater River. According to the Data Daily News, the plant manager said that the higher discharge is intended to cover emergency situations, not to increase discharges on a daily basis. Ohio Mar-Zane Materials, a subsidiary of Zanesville-based Shelly & Sands, is seeking permission to expand its 4-acre site in Enterprise into a 186-acre site for wet and dry mining. The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Mineral Resource Management will conduct a public meeting regarding the company’s application. At Aggregates Manager press time, it had not been scheduled. Oklahoma Holliday Sand and Gravel’s Bixby plant did booming business for road-grade sand used to spread upon streets during inclement winter weather. Tulsa World reports that after one bout of February storms, the company supplied up to about 8,000 tons of sand for Tulsa streets. The sand is dredged from the Arkansas River, pumped to shore, and run through a classifier before being sold for approximately $3 per ton. The sand is commonly mixed with rock salt to improve traction on icy roads. Pennsylvania At Aggregates Manager’s press time, Hanson Aggregates PMA Inc., Glacial Sand & Gravel Co., and Tri-State River Products Inc. were reviewing a proposal from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would limit their ability to dredge along the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers to 10 years and would require them to use a more sensitive mussel survey technique in order to protect clubshell and northern riffleshell mussels and their underwater habitats. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, new 10-year permits were sent to the three companies in late January. The companies have already appealed five-year state permits issued last summer because they contain provisions requiring fish sampling to determine if dredging adversely affects habitat. Utah Owners of Pettro Sand & Gravel in south Provo are trying to strike a deal with neighbors who oppose its plans to expand mining operations. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the company is asking the Utah County Commission to rezone a chunk of property estimated to contain $12 million in gravel reserves. Neighbors claim that the company dug into a critical environmental zone without the necessary permits. Owner Scott Pettro told commissioners that he would build neighbors a park and deed it to them if he is allowed to complete the mining project. Homeowners say they want him to stop mining and to reclaim the hillside. In the meantime, commissioners have delayed action on Pettro’s request. Vermont Townshend voters will be asked to approve a total of $940,289 for municipal and highway budgets, an 11.35-percent increase from the previous fiscal year. The Brattleboro Reformer reports that the highway budget increased by 12 percent because of a wage increase and rising costs for sand and gravel. According to one local official, the cost for sand and gravel has more than doubled during the last four years. Washington In early March, State Sen. Cheryl Pflug (R-5th District) issued a statement regarding S.B. 6011, a measure that would block gravel removal from Maury Island for environmental reasons. According to U.S. States News, Pflug said, “Let’s be honest. This is about shutting down the Maury Island gravel pit. It is classic NIMBY. It isn’t about the environment.” Stating that the bill is a misuse of environmental policy, she added that, “The state desperately needs gravel for road construction and for the 520 Bridge. The cost overruns in state transportation are astounding. If you won’t let us take this gravel from Maury Island, we’ll have to take it from other communities.” Wisconsin The Richfield Town Board took the unprecedented step of sending a letter to approximately 70 families living near the former Wissota Sand and Gravel Co. pit near Scenic Drive in response to a flier distributed by the Highway J Citizens Group. According to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the letter describes claims in the citizen group’s flier as both “false” and “irresponsible.” The group’s flier asserted widespread mercury contamination and health threats due to the disposal of muck from a municipal lagoon into the former gravel pit. “There was never a mercury contamination problem with these soils,” the letter says, noting that the state Department of Natural Resources approved land disposal of the sediment based on testing that found an insignificant amount of metal in the muck — less than one-tenth of one part per million of mercury. STATE SPOTLIGHT California Falls Behind in Permitted Resources An updated report on aggregate availability in California has spotlighted the state’s difficulties in securing permitted reserves for future use. In early March, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported how the state-wide problem is affecting the local market, noting that during the next 50 years, the San Gabriel Valley will produce less than one-third of the sand and gravel that it needs for construction purposes. Demand is soon expected to outpace supply largely because land use regulations limit extraction, state geologist John Parrish told the newspaper. “People don’t want mines nearby,” he added. “There’s been a reluctance on the part of cities and counties to permit aggregate mines because of its heavy-industry nature.” According to the report from the California Geological Survey, entitled “Aggregate Availability in California,” approximately 4.34 billion tons of permitted aggregate resources lie within the 31 areas studied. The same report calculates that 50-year demand will be roughly 13.5 billion tons. Of the 31 areas studied, only the Yuba City-Marysville aggregate study area in north-central California had permitted aggregate resources equal to or greater than the area’s 50-year aggregate demand. Twenty-five of the 31 aggregate study areas have less than half of the permitted resources they are projected to need. Four aggregate study areas — North San Francisco Bay, Sacramento County, Fresno County, and northern Tulare County — are projected to have less than 10 years of permitted aggregate resources remaining. The report also said that projected annual consumption of aggregate for a study area could change rapidly, noting that “if a neighboring region runs out of aggregate and begins to import aggregate from another region, a 20-year supply can quickly drop to just a few years.” An earlier version of the aggregate availability report was completed in 2001. During the five years between the compilation of the two reports, the 2006 version notes that 18 of the 31 study areas experienced a decrease in permitted aggregate resources, with six of those 18 areas registering decreases of more than 50 percent. Those six regions include the Glenn County, North San Francisco Bay, Temescal Valley-Orange County, Western Merced County, Southern Tulare County, and Yuba City-Marysville aggregate study areas. Total permitted reserves for all 31 areas decreased from 6.848 billion tons to 4.343 billion tons, a loss of 2.5 billion tons. In contrast, 12 areas had increases in permitted aggregate resources. Most of the increases are due to newly permitted or expanded mining operations. Significant increases (exceeding 50 percent) occurred in the Eastern Merced County, Palm Springs, San Gabriel Valley, and Shasta County aggregate study areas. In areas where aggregate supply is short, such as in the San Diego area, the report says that the price of Portland cement concrete-grade sand ranges from $20 to $22 per ton. In the Yuba City-Marysville region, where there is a relatively abundant aggregate supply, the price of Portland cement concrete-grade aggregate is $7 to $8 per ton. During an interview with the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Stephen Bledsoe, president of the California Construction and Industrial Minerals Association, noted that transporting aggregate more than 30 miles doubles the cost of getting material. “Since somewhere around 60 percent of the materials go to public works projects, we’re increasing the costs to ourselves and not using tax dollars effectively,” he explained. Province News The Ministry of Natural Resources met with aggregate producers in the North Bay and surrounding areas to notify them that they will now be required to pay an 11.5-cent fee for each ton of aggregate mined. The North Bay Nugget reports that the ministry employees told aggregate producers that they had until June 30 to apply for a license and to grandfather their operations. Numerous producers spoke against the measure, noting that they were small operators who would feel a significant impact from the fee. Others noted that they had existing contracts and would need to factor the fee, as well as additional paperwork costs, into the prices of materials they were already committed to providing. Athabasca Minerals Inc. reported an increase of permitted land holdings in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. According to the Canada NewsWire, the company has established a budget of $1.6 million to evaluate the mineral potential of the permitted lands. |
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Reprinted from Aggregates Manager Magazine |
