| State & Province News |
November 2007
State & Province News
by
, Executive Editor
California
Some Lakeside residents say they don’t want sand and gravel mining in their community even if it would result in a wildlife habitat. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports neighbors are panning plans from the Helix Water District, the Endangered Habitats League, and a group of private developers to create a wildlife habitat on a 460-acre property. The proposal for sand and gravel mining, along with the development of the preserve, is the result of an agreement among Helix Water District (which owns the property) and a 12-member business partnership. To develop the wildlife habitat, an estimated 10 million tons of sand would be removed from the property’s river during the next six to eight years.
California
At Aggregates Manager press time, developers were awaiting approval from the Anaheim Planning Commission for a tract map for Quarry Village. The Orange County Register reports Quarry Village would account for 1,600 homes to be built as part of the Irvine Co.’s Mountain Park Development. The development, including attached and detached homes, a fire station, sports park, elementary school, natural trail, and convenience story, would replace a sand and gravel operation.
Colorado
Jay Stoner of Stoner Homes in Fort Collins hopes to make his vision of an $800 million development a reality, according to Fort Collins Coloradoan. He has amassed 300 acres of former gravel pits that he would like to develop in a model based on San Antonio’s Riverwalk. Stoner told the newspaper that the land would require $10 million to $15 million in reclamation and earthwork prior to construction of homes, parks, bike trails, ponds, and a river could begin. His plans call for 500 to 700 housing units and an expanded transit component tying into the city’s transportation plans “that makes it possible to eliminate cars as part of the formula.” Representatives from the Colorado Department of Transportation and the transportation planner for the city of Fort Collins have met with Stoner to discuss the project.
Connecticut
At Aggregates Manager press time, Thomas Rankl was waiting for a decision from the Colchester Zoning and Planning Commission as to whether his business would receive a special permit to allow concrete and asphalt recycling. According to the Norwich Bulletin, Rankl has operated a sand and gravel mine at the site for 20 years, however the commission passed regulations last year that would require recycling operators to have a 100-acre minimum site. Although some neighbors argued against the permit, some friends and associates told the newspaper that Rankl was being treated unfairly and shouldn’t be penalized because he had an area business long before people built homes in the area.
Delaware
Not all beach sand is created equal. The Daily Times reports a mix of sand and gravel was used to replenish Rehoboth and Dewey beaches in 2005. To reverse natural erosion, 1.9 million cubic yards of replenished sand was excavated and pumped by dredging crews from about 2.5 miles offshore onto the beaches. However, quite a bit of gravel was contained in that replenishment project, and it has tended to separate from the sand, leaving a hard gravel surface along the beach. Beach replenishment is being handled through a joint effort between the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A shoreline administrator for the state said that future beach replenishment projects would be done in the fall so the gravel has time to settle deeper. New sites for dredging also will be explored.
Georgia
The Augusta Chronicle reports that Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Ray Lambert, president of Lambert Sand and Gravel Co., Inc., to the Board of Natural Resources. Environmental groups were upset that the Senate dropped Sally Bethea’s name from a list of confirmations it approved. She was dropped as a potential board member because she is a registered lobbyist for an environmental advocacy group.
Idaho
The Idaho Department of Transportation announced that Idaho Sand & Gravel will serve as the contractor on a $14 million project to rebuild a section of Interstate 84 between the Sand Hollow and Notus interchanges. Pavement in the project area was originally built with the interstate during the 1960s and received only minor maintenance in 1985 and 1997.
Maine
Proposed ordinances that would clear the way for a quarry and asphalt plant received the recommendation of the Gorham Planning Board. According to the Portland Press Herald, the town council would still need to approve the ordinances before they could be enacted. Shaw Brothers Construction is seeking to develop a 60-acre quarry and portable asphalt plant, but has encountered opposition from some neighbors. A group called Concerned Citizens of Gorham is pushing for a panel of experts to draft new rules, overhaul the town’s comprehensive plan, and enact a moratorium on industrial projects.
Michigan
Alamo Township will receive $100,000 to pay for legal representation as it fights Aggregate Industries in its quest to operate a gravel mine there. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that the funds are being provided by the Michigan Township Participating Plan, an insurance plan with 1,400 participating townships across the state. Grand Rapids-based Craig Noland will represent the township in all legal proceedings in the case. A township supervisor, Bob Vliestra, told the newspaper that he was concerned if the amount would cover a prolonged legal battle. The township’s annual budget is $400,000, and future funds above the insurance account may need to come from a millage request, he added.
Missouri
Dredging will continue along the Missouri River in Kansas City, according to The Kansas City Star. A spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that while there are concerns about channel bottom erosion, it was doing its best to balance impacts on the river with the area’s economic growth. Three companies applied for permits to dredge along the river, but Kansas City-based Holliday Sand & Gravel Co. was the only company to receive a permit. The company was also the only one already dredging along the river. Its three-year permit will require Holliday to reduce the amount of sand it mines and to use a GPS system to monitor where dredging occurs. The Corps is allowing additional sand and gravel mining downriver in Lexington, Mo., where the channel bed has been stable, to make up for cutbacks in the Kansas City portion of the river, the newspaper reports.
New Hampshire
The editorial board of the Concord Monitor is calling for steeper fines on overweight trucks. The state currently fines truckers 2 cents per pound for running overweight, with a minimum fine of $100. The courts also levy a 20-percent surcharge. A truck carrying four tons more than the allowable limit would pay a total fine of $192, the editors report. In comparison, the same truck would pay a $320 fine in Massachusetts. The editorial called for steeper fines, along with increases for repeat offenses.
New Jersey
James Haas Jr., owner of Southampton-based Haas Sand & Gravel Co. Inc., was indicted on charges of making a false contract payment of $25,000 or more and two counts of falsifying records. According to The Star-Ledger, Haas dumped more than 400 loads of contaminated soil at a farm in Moorestown and tried to conceal it with the falsified documentation. Haas was hired as a subcontractor for the state Department of Transportation for a bridge project where a large quantity of contaminated soil was stored at the site. The soil was to be taken to a Department of Environmental Protection-approved facility, but the Burlington County Landfill refused to accept the soil because it already had an adequate supply of contaminated soil to be used as daily cover for the landfill.
New York
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is reviewing public comment on a proposed Lindley gravel mine to determine if a public hearing on the project is necessary. The Star-Gazette notes that the state agency ruled in June that the mine would have no major negative effect on the environment and does not require a full environmental impact statement. If the mine proceeds, it would be owned and operated by Glenn O. Hawbaker; however a group of residents formed a group called River Road Citizens Committee and submitted a petition to the Department of Environmental Conservation asking the agency to reverse itself and to order a full environmental impact statement.
New York
The Town of Yorkshire Planning Board announced plans to seek a bond to protect the village water supply and postponed action on Glacial Aggregates’ special-use permit application for gravel mining north of Lime Lake, the Buffalo News reports. Glacial Aggregates obtained a mining permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation before the town enacted a zoning ordinance to prohibit the mine. In May, a Cattaraugus County jury awarded the company a $190,000 judgment from the town as well as permission to begin mining. Glacial Aggregates’ owners have offered to meet with village officials to discuss the water impacts, have offered to drill a well for the village, and have offered to provide financial assurance or forgive the $190,000 judgment, but officials have refused to talk with them. Board members have suggested a $1 million bond, but agreed they did not know if that would cover the cost of a new water supply system if it were necessary.
North Dakota
Grand Forks-based MnDak Concrete has paid a civil penalty of $30,760 and has taken steps to correct alleged environmental violations associated with the company’s gravel mining operations in Sanders and Black River Townships in Pennington County, according to the Grand Forks Herald. During 2005 and 2006 inspections, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found that discharges of sand, waste cement sludge, and other sediments from mining operations were entering nearby wetlands. The agency also found that the facilities were operating without the proper permits for wastewater discharges, construction activity, and the disposal of cement waste. The company subsequently acquired the proper permits.
Ohio
Industrial Realty Group LLC (IRG) has announced that it will buy a former quarry site located on nearly 1,000 acres in Lorain County. The Morning Journal reports that the company’s plans for the quarry site are primarily residential. The purchase follows a prior bid from Trans European Securities to build a $1.5 billion resort. Despite the county’s investment of $450,000 in infrastructure engineering, that project never got off the ground. IRG paid $22 million to buy former quarries in South Amherst, Amherst Township, and Brownhelm Township, as well as an active quarry in Erie County. Those assets were purchased from American Stone Industries Inc.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has no authority over water trapped in mines, a judge ruled in a lawsuit involving what could be millions of gallons from the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer. According to The Oklahoman, the ruling allows Meridian Aggregates to continue to capture water that springs up from the aquifer into quarries in the Mill Creek area. The judge said that the water board lacks authority, in part, because the company is drilling for stone rather than water. The judgment may not be completely favorable, however, one part of the six-page ruling alludes that the water board may be able to place restrictions on water that accumulates in quarries.
Oregon
Eugene Sand & Gravel sold all of its Oregon operations to Oldcastle Materials Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The Register Guard reports that the deal includes Eugene Sand & Gravel as well as Green & White Rock Products in Corvallis, Viking Red-Mix in Florence and Bandon Concrete in Bandon. Mike Alltucker, former CEO of Eugene Sand & Gravel, said that the company was sold because the family’s third generation opted to pursue other business options. Alltucker will continue to oversee the operations and will take on oversight of Egge Sand & Gravel, another Eugene-based business that was acquired by Oldcastle approximately one year ago. Alltucker noted that the integration of the two companies — longtime business rivals — would be a challenge. “I’m reminding everyone we all need to wave with five fingers now,” he told the newspaper.
Pennsylvania
A two-step beach replenishment project is underway at Lighthouse Beach at Presque Isle State Park. According to Erie Times-News, 2,800 tons of sand are being removed from tomobolos — a buildup of sand from the shoreline that touches or nearly reaches the breakwaters. After that sand is redistributed along the beach, a shipment of 31,400 tons of new sand will arrive via a lake freighter from Smelter Bay Aggregates Inc., based in Thessalon, Ontario. Lafarge North America will haul the new sand and dump it a North Pier stockpiling site where it will be put down along various beaches.
South Carolina
The Greenville County Council approved Vulcan Materials Co.’s request to rezone 106.2 acres it owns. The Greenville News reports the company will now be able to expand its Lakeside operation by 55 acres. Roger Dunlap, Vulcan’s regional vice president and general manager, told the newspaper that the approval would allow the company to mine the site for an additional 20 to 30 years and the jobs of the site’s 30-plus employees would be protected. The company agreed to run a city water line to an area in the community where there had not been access to public water. It also agreed to establish a citizens advisory committee to address future needs and concerns of the quarry’s neighbors.
Washington
Central Pre-Mix and the Yakama Nation were at odds over jurisdiction at one of the mine company’s sites in Toppenish. According to the Yakima Herald-Republic, tribe officials issued a stop-work order in late July, saying that Central Pre-Mix had expanded its operations beyond its permitted location and voicing concerns about water impacts. The company filed for a tribal water permit, which typically takes about five months to acquire, but resumed mining in mid-August. A spokesman for Central Pre-Mix told the newspaper that the company doesn’t believe the tribe has jurisdiction to issue a stop-worker order in this situation. The tribe’s water code director didn’t comment on the company, but did not that the tribe could impose fines up to $5,000 per day for unpermitted work on the reservation.
Province News
A recent Supreme Court decision stopped a quarry and concrete batch plant from being built near Sleeping Giant Hill in McLean, in the Yukon Territory. The Yukon News reports a citizens group, the McLean Lake Residents’ Association, brought the case to the court in July. In his 31-page judgment, Justice Ron Veale noted that the city government should have performed hydrological and hydrogeological testing before making its decision.
