May 2002
Alabama
BIRMINGHAM—Vulcan Materials Company announced that Harri J. Haikala has been named assistant general counsel. Prior to joining Vulcan in 1997, Haikala was a partner at the law firm of Burr & Forman LLP in Birmingham. Haikala is a graduate of North Carolina State University. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from Tulane Law School.
Alaska
ARLINGTON, Va.—MSHA awarded the state of Alaska a grant totaling more than $42,800 for training, education and other mine safety and health activities. Alaska has approximately 96 active mines and more than 1,400 miners. The amount is part of an overall grant program of nearly $7.8 million being made this year to 44 states and the Navaho nation for the same purposes. States participating in the grant program provide a variety of instruction, from entry-level training to annual refresher courses.
Arizona
TUCSON (AP)—City officials and a citizens group, Citizens for a Sensible Transportation Solution, are offering conflicting transportation proposals to voters. The city’s plan, which focuses on street and congestion improvements, will go before voters this month. The citizen group’s plan, which calls for a light rail option, will be on the November ballot, if enough support is shown.
Arkansas
ARLINGTON, Va.—MSHA awarded the state of Arkansas a grant totaling more than $95,000 for training, education and other mine safety and health activities. Arkansas has
approximately 180 active mines and 3,050 miners. The amount is part of an overall grant program of nearly $7.8 million being made this year to 44 states and the Navaho nation for the same purposes. States participating in the grant program provide a variety of instruction, from entry-level training to annual refresher courses.
California
TULARE COUNTY—A movement to change mining-permit reviews may be reborn in Tulare County. According to The Fresno Bee, a management plan for the county’s mining resources, that was finished in 1996 and never adopted, is regaining momentum. The county’s Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission recently heard from the authors of the draft and the long-awaited review of the draft policy could happen as early as this summer.
santa clarita—The County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously against Transit Mixed Concrete’s 56.1 million ton mine proposal in Soledad County. According to The Daily News of Los Angeles, the supervisors found that the traffic studies performed for the proposal did not properly analyze the effect of more than 700 daily truck trips on Soledad Canyon Road. Santa Clarita city officials spent $1.5 million to derail the mine plans.
Colorado
DENVER (AP)—A proposal to require some local governments to enforce growth plans died in a House committee after opponents said it would create additional regulation for businesses. Senate Bill 120, killed on a
5-4 vote in the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, was nearly identical to provisions contained in bills approved by the full House during last year’s regular session and the first of two special sessions. It would have required 26 counties and 75 municipalities to adopt enforceable growth plans that considered elements including environmental quality, land use and essential public services. Within five years of adoption, the plans could be changed only by a two-thirds vote of the governing body.
Connecticut
BURLINGTON—A local man proposed a gravel-mining operation in Burlington’s Whigville section. John Hebert is seeking permission to use his 10.5-acre property as a gravel mine. According to The Hartford Courant, he wants to mine 89,000 cu. yds. of gravel.
Delaware
DOVER—The Delaware Department of Transportation celebrated its 85th anniversary on April 1. In 1917, the Delaware General Assembly officially created the state DOT by passing the Highway Act of 1917. The passing of the legislation formed a centralized highway department with the authority to build and maintain a “permanent” highway system extending throughout the state.
Florida
MIAMI—The Miami-Dade County Commission is revisiting its plan to tax the
aggregate industry, according to The Miami Herald. Two commissioners told the newspaper that they want to look at a proposal to levy a 15¢ per ton impact fee on all materials
excavated along the county’s lake belt. The fees would be used to pay for upgrades to two
water plants in Hialeah. Under the proposal, producers could be hit with $30 million in fees over the next decade.
BARTOW—CC Calhoun’s plan to turn more than 300 acres northeast of Polk City into a sand mine made progress toward that goal. According to The Ledger, county commissioners voted to recommend approval of the land use change. The recommendation goes to the state Department of Community Affairs, which has to give final approval to the plan.
Georgia
ATLANTA (AP)—William G. Hasty, a former state legislator and a staunch supporter of the controversial Northern Arc proposed for metro Atlanta, has been elected chairman of the board of the Department of Transportation. Steve Reynolds was elected vice chairman and assured the board the 59-mile, $2.4 billion highway—referred to as Northern Arc—from Bartow County to Gwinnett County “will be under way very shortly.”
Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP)—Lawmakers are looking for ways to bring Hawaii’s gas prices, among the highest in the country, more in line with the national average. A House-passed measure that would establish a gasoline price cap has not been heard by Senate committees. Those committees have instead sought to set up an investigative committee to study how gas prices in Hawaii are set and make recommendations on how to bring down prices.
Idaho
ARLINGTON, Va.—MSHA has awarded the state of Idaho a grant totaling more than $88,500 for training, education and other mine safety and health activities. Idaho has
approximately 204 active mines and 2,200 miners. The amount is part of an overall grant program of nearly $7.8 million being made this year to 44 states and the Navaho nation for the same purposes. States participating in the grant program provide a variety of
instruction, from entry level training to annual refresher courses.
Illinois
BLOOMINGTON (AP)—The federal government has awarded a $24.3 million grant to Bloomington to improve runways and taxiways at Central Illinois Regional Airport, Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) announced. The federal money will be matched with $1.2 million each from the city and state government, said the airport’s executive director Mike La Pier. The money will pay to extend the airport’s main 7,000-ft. runway to 8,000 ft. and to widen it from 100 ft. to 150 ft. Another runway will be strengthened, La Pier said.
Indiana
STINESVILLE (AP)—As part of an ongoing effort by a local promotions group, money is being raised for a life-size stone sculpture of a stone cutter near the town’s entrance. The sculpture would welcome visitors and promote the town’s historical significance in the limestone industry. The carving would depict a limestone carver from the 1900s and proclaim Stinesville as home of the “Quarry Lads,” the mascot for a high school that closed in 1964.
Iowa
DES MOINES —Doug Bailey, vice president, L&W Quarries, Inc., was elected president of the Iowa Limestone Producers Association during the Association’s 57th Annual Convention. He brings to the position 25 years of limestone industry experience.
Kansas
TOPEKA—The Kansas Aggregate Producers’ Association (KAPA) co-sponsored a Land Reclamation Award program with the Kansas State Conservation Commission. The program was announced last month at Martin Marietta Aggregates’ Big Springs Quarry. It recognizes accomplishments by both public and private entities in the field of land reclamation throughout the state. According to KAPA, it hopes to eventually name the award the Governor’s Land Reclamation Award.
Kentucky
PIKEVILLE—At press time, the state Senate was about to vote on House Bill 556, the Pine Mountain Trail Act. According to The Lexington Herald-Leader, the bill, proposed by Gov. Paul Patton and passed 95-1 in the House, would create a linear state park running the length of a 125-mile-long mountain ridge across Eastern Kentucky. While one of the bill’s sponsors says it is intended to protect existing quarries, a local developer has complained that its intent is to eliminate competition for the existing producers.
FRANKFORT—Newly elected officers of the Kentucky Crushed Stone Association
include : Jim Yager, Yager Materials, Inc., chairman of the board; Quentin Walker, Jr., M.A. Walker Co., vice chairman; and Lori Harper, Rogers Group, Inc., treasurer.
Louisiana
WASHINGTON—Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Co., Pine Bluff, Ark., won a $ 4.02 million contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Miss., for work on dikes and cap-outs along the Mississippi River around Shreveport.
Maine
WILTON—A gravel mining project on five acres of old farmland continues to face resistance from neighbors. According to the Central Maine Morning Sentinel, residents are challenging the property owner’s plans to use and refuel a portable crusher at the site. Past complaints about the project and town procedures have resulted in numerous appeals. In a negotiated settlement, the property owner agreed to a list of conditions in order to move forward.
Maryland
WALDORF—Chaney Enterprises’ concrete plant in Hollywood, Md., recently received the award for “Maryland Quality Initiative Concrete Plant Production Facility of the Year for 2001&Mac226;” from the Maryland State Highway Association (SHA). Chaney Enterprises’ Hollywood Concrete Plant received the honor for its exemplary performance in the combined areas of product quality, adherence to and cooperation with state regulations, environmental friendliness, safety, operational efficiency and service ability.
Massachusetts
BOSTON (AP)—When Boston’s new downtown expressway opens in 2004 or 2005, it will be more than just a traffic artery—it will also have an electronic brain, a central nervous system, eyes and nose. The Central Artery’s Integrated Project Control System, or IPCS, will be the nation’s largest and most sophisticated system for monitoring collisions, car fires and traffic jams. It will also be the most expensive. Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. won the contract in 1999, saying it could build the system for $104 million. Recently, the firm told project officials that it will need an additional $91 million to finish the job, due to delays and complications.
Michigan
TRAVERSE CITY (AP)—A coalition of environmental groups has filed suit to block a bridge construction project they fear would encourage sprawl in the scenic Boardman River valley. The project, with an estimated cost of $30 million, includes building a 200-ft.-long bridge over the river to create a new east-west route south of Traverse City. The lawsuit against the Grand Traverse Road Commission was filed in circuit court. Plaintiff groups include the local Coalition for Sensible Growth, the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, the Sierra Club and the Michigan Land Use Institute. The suit contends the project would violate the Michigan Environmental Protection Act because of its effect on the Boardman River valley and the Mitchell Creek watershed, and because the county has not pursued other alternatives.
Minnesota
ST. PAUL (AP)—Minnesota motorists would pay at least 6¢ more for a gallon of gas under a bill that passed the Senate. The provision was part of a 10-year transportation funding package expected to raise about $5 billion to build roads, bridges and help transit systems. The state would borrow $1 billion over 10 years for highways, repaying the loan with a gas tax that would rise 6¢ per gallon, to 26¢, on June 1 and with inflation in subsequent years. Top administration officials have said they would recommend Gov. Jesse Ventura sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The apparent agreement between the Senate and administration puts pressure on the House, which has been considering raising gas taxes gradually to about 25¢ per gallon by about 2010. The tax would drop back to the current rate by the year 2031. That plan would spend $1.25 billion on roads over the next decade.
Mississippi
JACKSON—High school students recently had a chance to learn about the four “R’s” in school—Reading, ’Riting, ’Rithmetic and Roadbuilding. Through Highway Construction Career Days, students were able to explore the highway construction industry. The event, held March 26 and 27, showed students a few of the many possibilities and rewards of a career in construction. The Federal Highway Administration, the Mississippi Asphalt Pavement Association, the Mississippi Roadbuilders Association and the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) sponsored Highway Construction Career Days.
Missouri
JEFFERSON CITY (AP)—A proposal asking voters to approve more than $700 million annually in new transportation taxes won an endorsement from the House Transportation Committee. A $475 million transportation funding plan now awaits debate in the Senate, and the Senate Transportation Committee chairman has expressed a hesitancy to ask voters to approve a tax increase much larger than that. House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Koller said he will take his estimated $718 million tax plan to the House floor with a willingness to compromise. His plan would raise the state’s 4.225 percent sales tax by seven-eighths of a percentage point to 5.1¢ on a dollar. It also would raise the state motor fuel tax to 20¢ a gallon from the current 17¢. Much of the new revenue would go to state and local road and bridge projects.
Montana
WASHINGTON—The Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Montana reached an $87 million settlement with six mining companies to build a water treatment plant to clean up the Berkeley Pit, part of the Silver Bow Creek Superfund site on Montana’s Clark Fork River.
Nebraska
FALLS CITY—Richardson County’s best-known unpaved road is finally getting noticed on Capitol Hill. According to the Omaha World-Herald, U.S. Rep Doug Bereuter has asked a congressional subcommittee in March to earmark $2 million in the next federal budget to pave the road. The road has been No. 1 since 1996 on Nebraska’s list for help from the Public Lands Highways Discretionary Funds program.
Nevada
RENO—A recent three-day conference, entitled “Disarming Disagreement—Cultivating Common Ground,” was designed to encourage dialogue on policies and issues involving Nevada’s vast public lands. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the conference addressed issues of water, wilderness, off-road vehicles, grazing, mining, recreation and endangered species. “There just seemed to be a real need to start getting folks who have opposing views on land use to get together and start talking to each other—and more important, listening to each other,” said Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga (D-Fallon) who organized the first summit three years ago. The goal is to “look for solutions instead of rehashing old gripes,” and to head off hostilities before they escalate into heated rhetoric and confrontation, de Braga said.
New Hampshire
CONCORD—Sen. Bob Smith asked state Department of Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray to convene a meeting of the Interstate 93 Corridor Study board of directors. At a recent meeting, officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked state officials to consider mitigation projects in Dunbarton, Deerfield, Bow, Chester, Pembroke, Allenstown and Chichester. The $330 million highway project calls for about $10 million to be spent on mitigation project. The mitigation money will reimburse communities for public land damaged by the highway work.
New Jersey
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)—James P. Fox, a longtime political aide to U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, was sworn as the state’s transportation commissioner. Fox, who was appointed Feb. 12 by Gov. James E. McGreevey, took the oath of office after a unanimous vote of
approval from the state Senate. After serving on the staff of former Gov. Jim Florio, Fox went to Washington as a top aide for U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Torricelli.
New Mexico
TAOS (AP)—The Bureau of Land Management has agreed to move a gravel-mining operation away from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in response to a lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by the Taos-based Amigos Bravos environmental group. It charged the mine violated the national Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Amigos Bravos announced that U.S. Judge Martha Vazquez of Santa Fe approved the settlement that calls for the BLM to close the gravel mine that it approved just a few hundred yards from the rim of the gorge. Congress designated the upper Rio Grande Gorge as a wild river under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act when the law was enacted in the 1960s. The law prohibits activities that detract from its wild character. Matt Bishop, a lawyer who represented Amigos Bravos, said BLM officials told Amigos Bravos the gravel mine was just outside the designated river corridor and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act didn’t apply to the mining activity. Bishop said Amigos Bravos filed the lawsuit last year because “the plain language of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act directs agencies not to approve projects that adversely affect wild and scenic rivers, even when it’s on land adjacent to the corridor.”
New York
BUFFALO—Opponents of Buffalo Crushed Stone are once again lobbying for the operation to move its entrance to the northern section of the quarry. According to The Buffalo News, residents blame the quarry for high levels of asthma and other respiratory ailments suffered by area residents. Company officials have said that they would consider moving the entrance, but members of one citizens group said that moving the entrance might just transfer the problem from one area to another.
North Carolina
SANDY MUSH (AP)—State officials have issued a mining permit for Hanson Aggregates to open a quarry in Rutherford County. The company must now obtain state air and water quality permits. Hanson has faced some opposition in the community. The county denied its building permits for storage and office buildings, but was ordered by a judge to issue the permits.
North Dakota
BISMARCK—MDU Resources Group, Inc. announced that Thorson, Inc., a privately held asphalt and aggregate company serving northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, has been acquired by Knife River Corporation, the construction materials and mining subsidiary of MDU Resources. Financial details of the merger were not disclosed. Thorson, Inc., headquartered in Bemidji, Minn., is a prominent asphalt supplier in the area. The company supplies and places asphalt and aggregates for a variety of projects, including county, state and federal roads; airports; driveways; and commercial parking lots. The company has average annual revenues in excess of $20 million, holds an estimated 23 million tons of aggregate reserves and operates asphalt and aggregate crushing plants throughout the region.
Ohio
SPRING VALLEY TOWNSHIP —Martin Marietta Aggregates plans to locate a gravel pit in Spring Valley Township are moving along. According to the Dayton Daily News, the company has submitted an air permit application for the proposed pit. Township trustees approved zoning last fall, but the approval is facing a legal challenge.
Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—Management of state highway maintenance in Oklahoma’s two largest counties will return to the state Department of Transportation following the collapse of a maintenance contract with a Virginia company, officials said. The company, VMS, Inc., of Richmond, Va., notified the Transportation Department that it was ending its five-year contract to maintain state roads and highways in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties after just one year. ODOT Director Gary Ridley said VMS, whose contract began Sept. 1, has not performed up to expectations since December. The company made management changes but transportation officials noticed a “drastic reduction” in services last month, Ridley said. Ridley said ODOT hopes to replace VMS’s services sooner than the proposed Sept. 15 termination date.
Oregon
SANTA CLARA—Lane County Commissioners voted 4-1 to deny Eugene Sand & Gravel’s application to rezone 575 acres of farmland for aggregate mining. According to The Register Guard, Mike Alltucker, company president, told the newspaper that the decision may lead to the dismantling of the company. Its current mine is nearly tapped out, and Alltucker said that the company might consider selling all or part of the business.
Pennsylvania
TITUSVILLE (AP)—Oil Creek Township supervisors agreed to grant Hasbrouck Sand and Gravel a conditional use permit that will allow the company to expand mining operations at its site along Route 8 in Crawford County. Neighbors of the site said the expansion could cause more noise, truck traffic and dust. But supervisors voted to allow expansion under conditions, which include the company agreeing to stricter monitoring and obtaining state or federal approvals.
Rhode Island
COVENTRY—Legislation filed by state Sen. Leo Blais would authorize local restrictions on gravel removal and processing and allow the town to regulate trucks serving gravel operations. According to The Providence Journal-Bulletin, the bill would allow the town to enact zoning and licensing requirements for any earth removal and gravel processing operation. It would also allow the town to regulate storage, water protection, building, engineering, use of explosives and transportation of material from any gravel removal site.
South Carolina
COLUMBIA—A guest columnist for The State told the newspaper’s readers that it needed to invest in its highways in order to boost tourism. With $14.5 billion in annual economic activity, tourism accounts for 8.1 percent of the state’s annual gross product. E.L. Pooser told readers that “Our transportation system needs improvement, and if we don’t do something soon, things will become worse.”
South Dakota
BROOKINGS—While most transportation experts are concerned about the condition of the nation’s paved roads, two South Dakota State University staff members are making a name for themselves as experts on gravel roads. Ali Selim and Ken Skorseth literally wrote the book on gravel road maintenance. More than 7,000 copies of the book have sold so far. The Federal Highway Administration, which provided $100,000 to develop the manual, is expected to order another printing.
Tennessee
NASHVILLE—According to the company, Rogers Group has sold its Ewing Quarry in southwest Virginia to Elmo Greer & Sons. The transaction was effective on March 27. Eastern Division Vice President Mark Stephens lead a team that included Scott Alexander and Russ Oldfield to evaluate, gain approval, negotiate and execute the transaction. The majority of the quarry’s employees were offered positions at Oak Ridge. The sale was part of the company’s strategic plan to redeploy non-strategic assets into stronger markets.
Texas
AUSTIN—According to the Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association (TACA), the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) recently proposed an Air Quality Standard Permit for temporary rock crushers based on its interpretation of H.B. 2912. In numerous meetings with TNRCC, TACA stressed that the commission’s interpretation of the portable plant language did not comply with its legislative intent. However, according to TACA, the TNRCC was unwilling to alter its position. While the association worked with TNRCC to develop a standard permit for portable rock and concrete crushers, the proposed draft was “not exactly what the industry would call the best available answer to the problem” according to TACA. In fact, the association says that the proposed draft standard permit, which will eventually replace the old permit-by-rule , can be construed as far more restrictive than the previous operating requirements for portable plants as regulated by the TNRCC.
Utah
DAVIS COUNTY—Fluor Ames Kramer, the contractor for the Legacy Highway, has proposed a new site for mining the 2 million cu. ft. of gravel needed for the highway, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The contractor has not formally requested a conditional use permit from the county for the property located on North Hills Drive, but will first await the outcome of the case before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which seeks to stop construction of the Legacy Highway.
Vermont
BENNINGTON (AP)—The western leg of the Bennington Bypass is on schedule to open in September 2004, but nothing else is settled about a highway project that has been on the books for more than 40 years. The bypass is designed to alleviate bottlenecks in downtown. It is planned in three stages: The western leg connecting New York Route 7 to U.S. Route 7 northwest of downtown Bennington; a northern leg connecting U.S. Route 7 with Vermont Route 9 northeast of town; and the final southern leg connecting Vermont Route 9 with U.S. Route 7 southeast of town. The $48.1 million western leg is the first section to be built. According to state estimates, the 4.6-mile western leg will reduce downtown traffic by 14 percent when completed. That includes an anticipated 75-percent reduction in downtown truck traffic. On average, the project will cost about $10 million a mile. Eighty percent of the project is being paid by federal funds, 20 percent by state funds—$9.6 million of the cost of the western leg will be paid for by state money.
Virginia
ARLINGTON—MSHA has scheduled a series of public meetings as it collects information to assist in its deliberations concerning asbestos rules. “Existing rules governing
asbestos exposure in mines need review in light of current knowledge,” said Dave Lauriski,
assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. Visit MSHA’s website at www.msha.gov for details.
Washington
PASCO—A 90-acre tract of undeveloped land features a sand and gravel deposit that could be worth $1 million a year for 30 years, according to The Spokesman-Review. The land, which is owned by the Washington Parks and Recreation Commission, is generating a lot of industry interest. The commission has
approved the possibility of selling the sand and gravel, but development would most likely take a couple of years for bidding, environmental assessment and public hearings.
West Virginia
CHARLESTON—The New River Gorge Bridge and the Interstate Highway System were selected as West Virginia’s top two transportation infrastructure projects of the 20th century by the Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). Sen. Robert C. Byrd and former Sen. Jennings Randolph were also named the state’s top public officials for their advocacy of transportation development and investment. The selections were revealed at an event hosted by the Contractors Association of West Virginia. ARTBA, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, conducted a
national survey to help identify the top two transportation infrastructure projects and public officials of the past century in all 50 states. The survey was sent to members of Congress, the nation’s governors, state transportation department heads, newspaper editors, state and local chambers of commerce executives and college history professors.
Wisconsin
VERONA—By a 4-3 margin, the Dane County Board’s Zoning and Natural Resources Committee approved a conditional use permit for a new sand and gravel operation. According to the Capital Times, the permit will allow Payne & Dolan, one of the state’s largest gravel companies, to develop a 30-acre gravel pit on the site. The decision came after a three-hour meeting that featured more than 60 separate votes by the committee, most concerning specific conditions placed on the producer.
Wyoming
JACKSON—State airport officials are lobbying for increased funding, according to the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. They say the airports need money for runway extensions and paving projects, crack sealing and heavy equipment. While the Wyoming Department of Transportation has doubled the aeronautics appropriation to $8 million, state airport officials are uncertain their needs will be met.