May 2003
Compiled by Angie Moehlman
Alabama
ELMORE COUNTY—According to The Montgomery Advertiser, the Elmore County commission is considering raising its severance tax, levied on mineral mined in the county but transported outside its boundaries. The severance tax is currently 1 cent per ton for any type of material. The commission is proposing raising the tax to 3 cents per ton for clay and gravel combinations; 5 cents per ton for sand and gravel combinations; and 6 cents per ton for rocks. The commission estimated that the increased severance tax could generate as much as $150,000 per year for Elmore County. The tax now generates $15,000 per year.
Alaska
JUNEAU—According to the Associated Press, Senate Bill 71, requiring state transportation officials to spend more on roads and less on trails and waysides, was recently passed. Senate Bill 71 lowers the share of federal highway dollars from 8 percent to 4 percent on the program Trails and Recreational Access for Alaska. The bill also limits municipalities to spending no more than 10 percent of the federal transportation funds on enhancement projects.
Arizona
PHOENIX—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of Arizona a grant totaling $275,209 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. Arizona has approximately 415 active mines and 9,386 miners. Mining operations in Arizona interested in participating in training sessions should contact Doug Martin, Arizona State Mine Inspector’s Office, at (602) 542-5335.
Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK—According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Representative Mike Ross and Representative John Boozman recently lobbied for as much as $1.5 billion for Interstate 49. The highway would extend from New Orleans to Kansas City, Mo., where it will connect with two interstates that run north to Canada, I-29 and I-35.
California
LINCOLN—According to the Sacramento Bee, Western Placer Citizens for an Agricultural and Rural Environment filed a petition with Placer County Superior Court to halt Teichert, Inc.’s, 71 million-ton mining project near Lincoln. In court documents, the group claims that Placer County failed to comply with California environmental laws protecting prime farmland and wildlife habitats and that a previously conducted environmental study was inadequate. The Placer County Board of Supervisors and the Placer County Planning Commission last year approved Teichert’s plan to mine sand, gravel, and granite from a section of its 3,455-acre spread north of Lincoln.
Colorado
CANON CITY—According to The Pueblo Chieftain, Agile Stone quarry had to temporarily shut down, but the Rock ‘N Rail freight railroad and Canon City and Royal Gorge tourist train operations will continue to operate. The gravel pit operation will be shut down for up to five weeks while equipment is replaced and retooled, which means a temporary layoff of about 15 employees.
Connecticut
CROMWELL—According to The Hartford Courant, members of Save Our Neighborhood recently filed a proposed amendment to zoning regulations that would prohibit sand and gravel mining operations in the town of Cromwell.
Delaware
WILMINGTON—According to The News Journal, the Joint Bond Bill Committee unanimously approved Governor Ruth Ann Minner’s $20 million request for emergency road repairs. According to Minner and state Secretary of Transportation Nathan Hayward, this year’s winter, which prompted federal and state emergency declarations, caused severe damage to about 100 miles of the state’s roads.
Florida
STUART—According to The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News, Florida’s delegation to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is lobbying to ensure that Florida, which now gets less than 90 cents for transportation for every dollar taxed, gets a larger return from the highway fund.
Georgia
CLAYTON COUNTY—Representatives of Newco Ventures applied for a conditional use permit to increase the size of its construction and demolition debris landfill site to 267.3 acres, according to The Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
Hawaii
HONOLULU—According to The Honolulu Advertiser, the state highway fund, the primary source for construction and road repairs in Hawaii, rose to $197.4 million at the close of the fiscal year in June 2002, which was an 8.7 percent increase over 2001. The figures are in an independent audit of the Highways Division released by the Transportation Department earlier this month.
Idaho
BOISE—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of Idaho a grant totaling $89,007 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. Idaho has approximately 201 active mines and 1,974 miners. Mining operations in Idaho interested in participating in training sessions should contact Mr. Mike Weaver, CMSP, College of Mines and Earth Resources, University of Idaho, at (208) 885-4351.
Illinois
SPRINGFIELD—According to the Associated Press, Illinois’ congressmen have submitted proposals seeking money for projects across the state. Chicago Representative William Lipinski said he expects the Illinois congressional delegation to reach a consensus on which projects the state should lobby for in the House and Senate.
Indiana
LAFAYETTE—According to the Journal and Courier, city officials and members of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce support an increase in the federal gasoline tax. They hope for an increase in federal funding, and also hope the highway bill will include funds for a four-lane highway connecting Lafayette and Logansport.
Iowa
DES MOINES—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of Iowa a grant totaling $108,578 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. Iowa has approximately 269 active mines and 2,632 miners. Mining operations in Iowa interested in participating in training sessions should contact Dr. Karen Poole, Bureau of Community Colleges, at (515) 281-3671.
Kansas
TOPEKA—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of Kansas a grant totaling $76,706 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. Kansas has approximately 183 active mines and 1,974 miners. Mining operations in Kansas interested in participating in training sessions should contact Mr. Lee Graham, Kansas Small Mine Safety Program, at (620) 665-4991.
Kentucky
FRANKFORT—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of Kentucky a grant totaling $603,327 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. Kentucky has approximately 737 active mines and 20,031 miners. Mining operations in Kentucky interested in participating in training sessions should contact Phillip Johnson of the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals at (502) 573-0140.
Louisiana
BATON ROUGE—According to The Advocate, Louisiana DOT Secretary Kim Movassaghi recently predicted that economic development in the state will continue to lag behind neighboring states if Louisiana does not spend far more to modernize its transportation system. Movassaghi also said that the state is currently in a repair mode, instead of providing funding for new construction.
Maine
SANGERVILLE—According to the Bangor Daily News, the use of sludge to manufacture topsoil for reclaiming portions of the Barrett Pit has significantly affected groundwater in down-gradient monitoring wells. In spite of the altered water chemistry in the monitoring wells, Department of Environmental Protection officials believe it has not affected the quality of Black Stream, a tributary of the Piscataquis River.The gravel pit overlays a sand and gravel aquifer.
Maryland
BALTIMORE—According to The Daily Record, a new group called Marylanders for Better Transportation, comprised of more than 100 corporations, trade associations, and chambers of commerce, is pushing to make the issue a priority for voters.
Massachusetts
SWAMPSCOTT—According to The Boston Globe, representatives of the Coalition for the Health of Aggregates Industries recently filed an article for a May town meeting that would restrict Aggregate Industries from operating the quarry after 5 p.m. on weekdays and after 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Currently, the quarry operates until 10 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Aggregate Industries said it may take legal action against the town if Town Meeting members approve the proposal to limit the quarry’s operation hours.
Michigan
BRIGHTON—According to The Detroit News, the Sunset Sand and Gravel pit has reached a depth where further excavation will reach an aquifer that will fill the pit with water, creating a lake. Currently, the sand and gravel site is zoned natural resources. To build homes on the site, the property would have to be rezoned residential for single-family homes on less than 2-acre plots, allowing 22 lots for home construction surrounding the lake.
Minnoseta
MINNEAPOLIS—According to the Star Tribune, Governor Tim Pawlenty recently proposed that, in spite of state’s deficit, state spending will provide at least $1 billion more for transportation over the next five years. Pawlenty plans to cut programs, positions, salaries, and services at the DOT, in an estimated $42 million a year in savings. The savings would pay the debt on $550 million in 20-year highway bonds which in turn, would be matched by federal funds, increasing the total program to between $1 billion and $1.2 billion.
Mississippi
CITY—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of Mississippi a grant totaling $58,834 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. Mississippi has approximately 109 active mines and 1,409 miners. Mining operations in Mississippi interested in participating in training sessions should contact Ken McCarley, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, at (601) 961-5515.
Missouri
JEFFERSON CITY—According to the Missouri Limestone Producers Association, Senator Delbert Scott introduced Senate Bill 630, which would eliminate the requirement for sources of air emissions to obtain basic operating permits.
Montana
BILLINGS—MDU Resources Group, Inc., announced McElroy and Wilken, Inc., a privately held ready mix and sand and gravel company serving northwestern Montana, was acquired by Knife River Corporation. McElro and Wilken will be operated as a division of JTL Group, Inc., a Knife River subsidiary with headquarters in Billings, Mont. McElroy and Wilken, with headquarters in Klaispell, Mont., is an aggregate mining and ready mix supply company with annual revenues of approximately $8 million.
Nebraska
LINCOLN—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of Nebraska a grant totaling $63,382 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. Nebraska has approximately 171 active mines and 961 miners. Mining operations in Nebraska interested in participating in training sessions should contact Dr. Darrell Jensen, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Nebraska Safety Center, at (308) 865-8256.
Nevada
LAS VEGAS—According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jeff Fontaine, newly appointed director of the state Transportation Department, states his top priority is to reduce traffic congestion in Southern Nevada. Fontaine is asking the Legislature to create an additional deputy director’s position to be based in Las Vegas.
New Hampshire
WILTON—According to The Union Leader, the Wilton Planning Board deferred making a decision on the expansion of a quarry operation until the matter can be examined by an independent engineer. Granite State Concrete applied to expand its 22-acre operation to more than 120 acres. The expansion faces considerable opposition, and opponents brought in geologists that claim current blasting has affected several wells in the area. The independent engineer will examine the effects of blasting, land reclamation, groundwater drainage, dust, and other issues.
New Jersey
TRENTON—The New Jersey Concrete and Aggregate Association recently recognized concrete projects in its 40th Annual New Jersey Concrete Awards. The grand award winner was Ocean City for the Longport Bridge project.
bridgewater—According to the Courier News, a 42-year-old man was killed when a 300-lb. steel plate fell on him while he was repairing a machine at the Stavola Rock Quarry.
New Mexico
TORRANCE COUNTY—According to the Albuquerque Journal, gravel pit owners Everett and Alma Loyd and their son Nathan were issued a nonconforming use certificate by Torrance County planning and zoning officer Larry Stefan. Neighboring residents had protested plans to expand work at the pit, but decided against an appeal.
New York
BUFFALO—According to The Buffalo News, Buffalo Crushed Stone asked the town of Farmersville for a general liability endorsement of the company as the primary insuree on the town insurance policy for a gravel pit used occasionally by the town. In the past, the town provided a certificate of insurance to the prior owner, Lancaster Stone. The town has not decided whether or not it will grant the request.
North Carolina
McDOWELL COUNTY—According to the McDowell News, Representative Mitch Gillespie announced the approval of small urban fund transportation projects for McDowell County. The state Board of Transportation approved the following projects: repair shoulders and install new guardrail and replace dilapidated guardrail along Nix Creek Road; add pedestrian traffic signal indications at an existing traffic signal at intersection of U.S. 70 and South McDowell Ave.; and widen and install curb and gutter on Pleasant Gardens School Road from U.S. 70 to the school drive.
North Dakota
BISMARCK—According to the Grand Forks Herald, the North Dakota DOT requested public comments regarding the 2004-2006 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.The STIP is a three-year program of transportation improvements to be funded with federal highway and transit monies. Improvements include state and county highways, urban streets, roadway safety features, bikeways, and busing programs.
Ohio
CLEVELAND—The Federal Transit Administration approved $3.9 million in funding to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority for the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project in Cleveland.
Oklahoma
TULSA—According to the Tulsa World, U.S. Representatives John Sullivan and Brad Carson rejected a transportation funding option that would result in an automatic increase in the federal gasoline tax. By making the change retroactive to 1993 when the gasoline tax was last increased, the current gasoline tax would increase about 5 cents from 18.4 cents a gallon.
Oregon
EUGENE—According to The Register Guard, the state Land Use Board of Appeals sent a plan for a proposed gravel mine back to county officials. The appeals board mostly backed the Lane County Commissioners’ reasons for denying Eugene Sand and Gravel’s request to relocate near area farms, but returned the issue back to the county for more investigation.
Pennsylvania
HOWARD—According to the Associated Press, contractor Duane Garner, who plans to create seven housing lots in Bald Eagle’s foothills, is fighting a plan by Two Rock Mine owner James Cowan to expand his sandstone mining operation from five acres to 113 acres.
Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE—The Rhode Island DOT and the Federal Highway Administration sponsored the 3rd annual Rhode Island Construction Career Days April 23 and 24. More than 40 schools sent nearly 1,500 students interested in learning a trade to the hands-on opportunity. Participants operated backhoes, crane simulators, jackhammers, and excavators under the supervision of professional operators.
South Carolina
GREENVILLE—According to The Greenville News, a report from Clemson University’s Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs states that South Carolina ranks 48th in the nation on spending per mile of state-maintained roadways. The report also predicts a growing gap between the state’s highway needs and funding unless new revenue sources are designated.
South Dakota
PIERRE—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of South Dakota a grant totaling $54,487 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. South Dakota has approximately 147 active mines and 1,305 miners. Mining operations in South Dakota interested in participating in training sessions should contact Dr. Charles Kliche, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, at (605) 394-2344.
Tennessee
NASHVILLE—According to the Associated Press, Governor Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee DOT announced top road projects for Tennessee. Projects include funding to purchase right of way for the Reelfoot Spillway Bridge in Lake County; Phase II funding for preliminary engineering for improvement to the North Broadway interchange on Interstate 640 in Knox County; funding to purchase right of way for the Trenton Northwest Bypass in Gibson County and the Lexington Bypass in Henderson County; Phase II funding for preliminary engineering for the Interstate 240/Interstate 40 interchange in Shelby County; preliminary engineering for a 6.8-mile Ocoee River Gorge bypass, which will attract federal money through the Appalachian Regional Commission; a rest area in Unicoi County,; and an entrance to Celina High School.
Texas
SAGINAW—Koch Materials’ Saginaw asphalt plant received the STAR status, a designation under the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program. The award was given for outstanding operational records and safety programs.
Utah
SPANISH FORK—According to the Deseret News, Spanish Fork officials refused a county request for the city to annex a former gravel pit area for the second time. City ordinances would have to be changed in order to annex the property. Terry Diehl of Spanish Fork Associates LLC wants to sell the gravel pit to W.W. CLyde Companies, which in turn would let one of its subsidiaries, Geneva Rock, operate it.
Vermont
CASTLETON—According to the Associated Press, a quarry worker was injured when he was helping unload four large slabs of slate from the back of a trailer at Ruby’s Pit quarry. The worker was on the trailer when the slabs fell on him. Each slab weighed about 1,600 pounds. The injured worker was in his first week on the job at the quarry. The slate was being trucked into the operation for milling. The Mine Safety and Health Agency will be conducting an investigation.
Virginia
VERONA—According to The Daily News Leader, an Augusta County quarry that opened during the 1960s to help build Interstate 81 may reopen to help rebuild the highway if Pounding Mill Quarry Corp. can get a special use permit.
Washington
NORTH BEND—According to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, King County issued a grading permit to Cadman, Inc., for the operation of a gravel mine and processing plant. The county’s decision was based on an environmental impact study paid for by Cadman but administered by King County.
West Virginia
CHARLESTON—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration awarded the state of West Virginia a grant totaling $535,860 for training, education, and other mine safety and health activities. West Virginia has approximately 725 active mines and 17,590 miners. Mining operations in West Virginia interested in participating in training sessions should contact Charles Johnson, program manager, West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training, at (304) 558-1425.
Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE—According to The Daily Reporter, a bill to lower the prohibited alcohol concentration to 0.08 received a public hearing at the State Capitol last month. The bill would bring Wisconsin into full compliance with the congressional 0.08 mandate included in the 2001 U.S. DOT Appropriations Act. By complying with the mandate, Wisconsin will be eligible for incentive funding and would avoid the withholding of $7.8 million of federal highway construction funding in 2004 and $16.5 million in 2005. If Wisconsin enacts the legislation by July 15 of this year, the state will be eligible for up to $3,169,055 in federal funding this year.
Wyoming
CHEYENNE—According to the Associated Press, a report by the Center for Interdisciplinary Transportation Studies ranked Wyoming’s highway system No. 2 in the nation for its overall efficiency. The study was based on 12 indicators, including revenues and expenditures, pavement and bridge conditions, urban congestion, accident rates, and lane width.