June 2002
Alabama
BIRMINGHAM—Vulcan Materials Co. announced that Ronald G. McAbee, president of Vulcan’s Mideast Division, has been elected to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) board of directors for a three-year term. He was elected at the association’s annual convention in Las Vegas, Nev. McAbee has been with Vulcan since 1974 and was named president of the Mideast Division in 1999. “I’m proud to serve on ARTBA’s board because its work is critical to our nation’s economic security,” said McAbee. “Efficient transportation is one of America’s competitive advantages, and ARTBA is a key advocate for the maintenance and improvement of America’s transportation network.”
Alaska
ANCHORAGE—A city commission approved plans for a new subdivision in South Anchorage. According to The Anchorage Daily News, the Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission endorsed a plan to build the subdivision in a former 75-acre pit.
Arizona
PHOENIX—The 2000 Growing Smarter Plus law and its companion Arizona Preserve Initiative changed little in “America’s boom belt” and smart growth is still elusive, according to an article in the Arizona Republic. The newspaper reports that only 13 of the state’s 85 towns and cities have updated their general plans and won voter approvals. The program was developed as a compromise to strict growth-control measures sought by the Sierra Club and rejected by voters. The legislature may propose additional measures in bills on peripheral growth issues, but the Sierra Club, whose fund is still depleted after 2000, doesn’t plan a campaign this fall.
Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK—U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Michael P. Jackson announced that Arkansas will receive more than $30.1 million in Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funding for highway construction projects. This funding includes $26.9 million from the national corridor planning and development and the coordinated border infrastructure programs, and $3.2 million from the transportation and community and system preservation pilot program.
California
SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco International Airport is considering a plan to mine as much as 45 million cu. yds. to use as fill for its proposed runway expansion. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, three sites are under consideration for the project: the San Francisco Bar, which would be deepened from 55 ft. deep to 77 ft. deep and widened from 1,500 ft. to 2,500 ft.; a several hundred acre underwater site west of Bay Farm Island; or six commercial quarries near Vancouver, British Columbia. The proposed cost per ton for the various options ranges from $8/cu. yd. to $23/cu. yd.
SACRAMENTO—California’s sand and gravel industry restores land to primarily conservation uses, according to a new study released by the Construction Materials Association of California (CMAC). The Reclamation Survey, a pilot study of the reclamation activities of CMAC members, finds that after land has produced sand and gravel products, it is reclaimed into 44 different uses.
Conservation is the primary land usage, including open space, wetlands, wildlife habitat and native vegetation. California’s sand and gravel producers are a major source for creating and restoring thousands of acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat. The survey found that recreation was the second most prevalent land use, followed by agriculture and grazing. In addition, the study also supports the findings of the California Office of Mine Reclamation that more than 50 square miles of land from aggregate production statewide were reclaimed during the 1990s. “We are delighted to have a qualitative report that characterizes our modern day industry practices and demonstrates our commitment to land stewardship,” said Linda Falasco, executive director of CMAC.
Colorado
DENVER—Magnesium chloride, which has been slowly replacing sand and gravel as the state’s principal method of dealing with snow and ice covered roads, is causing other problems for the state, according to an article in The Denver Post. Rural electric cooperatives are upset because the chemical causes power-pole insulators to short out. A group of co-ops is pushing the state to look for ways to resolve the problem.
Connecticut
WASHINGTON—The General Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense announced that Cherry Hill Construction Co., North Branford, won a $148,035 contract from the Defense Supply Center, Richmond, Va., for miscellaneous crushed stone and processed aggregate.
Delaware
SUSSEX COUNTY—The Sussex County Land Foundation and the Sussex County Council are cooperating in a smart growth plan to purchase $1 million in farmland and development rights to preserve open spaces and wildlife habitat. According to The Smart Growth Network, the state’s policy of land conservation allows use of public funds for that purpose.
Florida
MIAMI (AP)—The Army Corps of Engineers recently issued permits that will allow mining in 5,409 acres in the Everglades for the next 10 years, more than doubling the amount of limestone quarries in the protected wetlands. The 10 companies who received the permits will pay about $46 million in fees that will be used by the federal government to purchase and improve another 7,500 acres of wetlands near the Everglades, officials said. Rock from the Everglades quarries generates 40 percent of the aggregate used in the state.
Georgia
ATLANTA—Former Georgia Attorney General Michael Bowers was hired by the Northern Arc Task Force in its effort to prevent construction of the $2.4 billion, 59-mile Northern Arc toll road through north metro Atlanta. According to the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Bowers represented the Georgia Department of Transportation for 16 years and has a detailed knowledge of the government agency. Richard Tucker, president of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and a proponent of the Northern Arc, told the newspaper that the move was not unexpected.
Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP)—State lawmakers are looking for ways to cover a more than $300 million revenue shortfall in the state’s $3.6 billion supplemental budget and are eyeing $22 million from the state highway fund. That could hurt numerous highway construction and expansion projects and could jeopardize tens of millions of dollars in matching federal highway funds, said state Transportation Director Brian Minaai. “We’ll have to go back and look at the impact on our highway fund, especially on a cash flow basis. Of course, our highway funds are obviously used to match the federal funds, so $20 million obviously represents $100 million on an 80-20 basis,” he said. “Otherwise, we’re going to have to look at reducing our repair and maintenance program even further like we had done in prior years when the fund was raided by the Legislature.”
Idaho
IDAHO FALLS—A number of sand and gravel pits within the state have faced challenges from surrounding communities. According to the Idaho Falls Post Register, a Pingree couple went to court to stop the Idaho Transportation Department from putting in a gravel pit near their home; St. Anthony residents asked Fremont County commissioners to address safety and dust concerns with a pit near a local elementary school; and Bonneville County commissioners denied HK Contractors its request for a gravel pit.
Illinois
DOWNERS GROVE (AP)—The chairman of the state tollway board said a proposed toll increase is on hold indefinitely because of political pressure. Art Philip, chairman of Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, said the group must go back to the drawing board now that lawmakers are threatening to postpone any toll increase. The board had suggested increasing the base toll from 40¢ to 75¢, an 87-percent increase. Philip warned that an increase is needed or the tollway will be in debt by 2004.
Indiana
BLOOMINGTON—The Indiana Department of Commerce recognized Rogers Group Inc. with a Half Century Business Award which honors companies that are at least 50 years old and have a history of community service. The company was started by Ralph Rogers in Bloomington. It began as a roadside crushing operation in 1908 and is now the seventh largest crushed stone producer in the United States.
Iowa
CEDAR RAPIDS—U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta announced that Iowa will receive $5.83 million in Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funding for improvements to I-80 in eastern Iowa and $2.97 million for the Edgewood Road project in Cedar Rapids. The funds for I-80 will be used to rebuild a section of I-80 in Johnson County that was constructed in 1963. This work is part of a broader, five-year project to widen and reconstruct a 7.3-mile section of I-80 from the Tiffin interchange to the Iowa 1 interchange. The Edgewood Road project will improve access to Eastern Iowa Airport by eliminating two at-grade crossings of rail lines along the road, providing the airport with the only arterial access roadway without a surface rail conflict.
Kansas
WICHITA—Koch Companies tie long-term success to continual improvements in the areas of safety and environmental performance. Toward that goal, Koch Materials Co. reported two lost-time accidents in 2001, and its agency recordable releases numbered 10 in 2001. For the year, Koch Materials sold enough asphalt to pave 125,000 lane-miles of road worldwide.
Kentucky
LEXINGTON—Legislation creating the 125-mile Pine Mountain Trail State Park is still creating controversy. A recent editorial in The Lexington Herald Leader criticizes the legislation for the appearance of creating a mining monopoly for a political contributor. Gov. Paul Patton was chastised for both the park legislation and his moratorium on new quarry permits on Pine Mountain.
Louisiana
NEW ORELANS—Following a 1999 Major Investment Study, a team of federal, state and regional planners scheduled a series of meetings with local residents to get their input on the area’s first transportation priority, a $300 million East-West light-rail corridor. According to The Times-Picayune, the light rail would link St. Charles, Jefferson and Orleans parishes with downtown New Orleans to ease congestion on the Earhart Boulevard thoroughfare.
Maine
OWLS HEAD—D.L. Overlock Excavation is promoting community goodwill through equipment investment. In an article in the Bangor Daily News, a representative talks about how the company has invested in a portable crusher to minimize the amount of material trucked through the community. It is working to improve its image as it opens a new gravel pit and provides fill material for the 30-ft. deep quarry at the former Maine State Prison.
Maryland
DENTON (AP)—The federal government has sent to the state $3 million pledged for a project to expand Maryland Route 404. In March, the state said it would contribute $4.1 million to expand the highway over a section of nearly a mile from Legion to Double Hills roads in eastern Denton. The $3 million in federal funding was part of the fiscal year 2002 federal transportation bill approved last December. The design engineering work for the project is about 95 percent complete. Work on rights-of-way purchases is about 75 percent complete. Construction is to start in spring 2003 and finish in 2005.
Massachusetts
QUINCY—A good deed never goes unpunished. That seemed to be the lesson for William Lyons of W.E. Lyons Sand & Gravel. According to The Patriot Ledger, Lyons leveled a field for the construction of baseball and soccer fields. During the process, he excavated and processed material and sold the sand to the local highway department, raising charges of misconduct from one community leader. The matter was resolved when community center leaders supported Lyons and said that they did not oppose sale of the sand because Lyons was performing $35,000 worth of work for free.
Michigan
LANSING—The Michigan Asphalt Paving Association endorsed efforts by the Michigan Department of Transportation to obtain long-term pavement performance warranties on major reconstruction jobs planned this year on I-94 and Telegraph Road (US-24). MAPA says it believes that a close public and private sector cooperative effort can ensure that roads are built to high quality specifications developed in joint discussions, and that those roads can then be guaranteed to last by the contractors.
Minnesota
LE SUEUR—Despite an offer to give away a historic home and provide $20,000 in moving expenses, Unimin Corp. could find no takers for its offer to preserve a home listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the Star Tribune, the sand and gravel company offered the community up to $200,000 over 20 years for historic preservations, but residents declined saying the agreement would have prevented them from pressing objections or claims against the company’s mining and blasting operations. The building was torn down on April 1.
Mississippi
McCOMB (AP)—State environmental officials are taking steps to shut down a gravel mine on the Bogue Chitto River reportedly operated by a Louisiana gravel company. DEQ officials said Arrowhead Sand and Gravel Inc. of Bogalusa has no permits to operate the mine. The mine is located on a gravel bar on the west side of the river below Stallings Bridge in Walthall County. The water-filled gravel pit connects directly to the river by a channel wide and deep enough for a motorboat. Violation of the Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law can result in penalties of up to $25,000 a day. Violation of the state gravel mining law can result in a fine of $1,000 per violation.
Missouri
ST. LOUIS (AP)—Officials at Holcim Inc. say they are not deterred by a decision that could slow down its $600 million project to build the nation’s biggest cement plant which will be located on the Mississippi River. The Missouri Clean Water Commission recently withdrew a water certification the company had already won. The certification is needed to win approval for the project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The commission ruled the Missouri Department of Natural Resources failed to hold a required public hearing on the certification and did not require Holcim to provide detailed plans for dealing with wetlands on the project site. The company said it would reapply for the certification.
Montana
BOZEMAN—The Southwest Montana Building Industry Association won a victory in its lawsuit against the city of Bozeman in Gallatin County. According to The Smart Growth Network, the association brought a lawsuit against the city over its steep developer impact fees. The city first imposed impact fees in 1996 and then more than doubled them in 1998. District Judge Ted Mizner invalidated the increase last summer and now the ordinance itself. The judge ordered the city to refund the additional money for the fees. An attorney for the city announced its intention to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court.
Nebraska
ELBA—A miner was killed on March 29 at Tri-County Sand & Gravel’s Elba Pit, according to a preliminary accident report from MSHA. Russel Coufal, a haul truck driver, encountered a problem with the truck bed’s hoist mechanism. Several people were checking the hoist cable linkage under the truck as the driver partially raised the bed. The bed unexpectedly lowered, crushing the victim between the bed and the truck frame. He had just over a year of experience at the mine.
Nevada
RENO—U.S. Aggregates, Inc. announced that on April 1 the U.S. Bankruptcy Court here issued an order approving on a final basis a $17.5 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facility between U.S. Aggregates and certain of its pre-petition lenders. The DIP financing facility, which consists of $10 million in revolving loans and $7.5 million in letters of credit, will enable the company to operate its business in the ordinary course for one year, or until the sale of its assets is completed, whichever comes first. The company also announced that the bankruptcy judge had issued an order approving bidding and other sale procedures for the proposed sale of the company’s assets pursuant to Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. A key element of the process is a competitive bidding auction where parties can bid for the assets of the entire company or those of its Western or Southeastern business. Finally, the company announced that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 expired without inquiry by the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice. The waiting period pertained to the notices filed in accordance with anti-trust laws by U.S. Aggregates and Oldcastle Materials Inc. regarding the pending sale of U.S. Aggregates’ assets. Expiration of the waiting period was a condition to the sale of the company’s assets to Oldcastle Materials, which remains dependent on the results of the competitive bidding process.
New Hampshire
LONDONERRY—Truck drivers will face stiff fines under new traffic rules set by the town councilors. According to The Union Leader, the rules are intended to lower road repair costs and relieve congestion in local neighborhoods. More than two dozen roads will become off limits to trucks during business hours. Violations of the rule will be accompanied by fines of $100 to $1,000. The ordinance also requires that trucks loaded with sand and gravel, asphalt or stone must be secured by a tarp.
New Jersey
NEPTUNE—The board of Hanson PLC announced that Andrew Dougal, chief executive, decided to retire from the company. Alan Murray, president and chief executive officer of Hanson Building Materials America, will succeed him. “Andrew…has led the transformation of Hanson into a successful focused building materials company—now the largest producer of aggregates in the world,” said Christopher Colling, chairman. “Having made a tremendous success of running our American business, (Murray) is the ideal person for the job.”
New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE—In a lawsuit filed by the Rio Arriba County Commission, the group alleges that the state Highway and Transportation Department approved a “sham transaction” with the owners of a Cebolla gravel mine to avoid county mining regulations. According to the Albuquerque Journal, the commission sued the mine owners and the Highway Department because gravel mining on the property is a new operation and must obtain permit approval under the county’s sand and gravel mining ordinance. The landowners deeded the 87-acre site to the Highway Department with a stipulation that the property returns to them when a local highway project is complete or by December 2007, at the latest. The Highway Department argues that state lands generally are not subject to county regulations so the permits are unnecessary.
New York
ALBANY COUNTY—Carver Sand & Gravel, LLC, purchased the state’s last brick-making plant. According to The Times Union, the company purchased the 107-year-old plant for a little less than half a million dollars. At presstime, former employees had not been called back to the plant.
North Carolina
ORANGE COUNTY—The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to grant American Stone Co. a permit to continue mining for an additional 30 years. The permit expanded American Stone’s operating hours to include Saturdays.
North Dakota
BISMARCK—MDU Resources Group, Inc. announced that Granite City Ready-Mix, Inc. and the related companies of Granite City Concrete of Watkins, Inc., Granite City Concrete of Little Falls, Inc., and Granite City Transport, Inc., have been acquired and will become part of Knife River Corp., the construction materials and mining subsidiary of MDU Resources. “This acquisition will enhance our construction materials services in Minnesota,” said Terry Hildestad, president and chief executive officer of Knife River Corp.
Ohio
CLEVELAND—Oglebay Norton Co. reported its results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2002. Revenues for the period were $61.9 million compared to $65.7 million in the year earlier period. Operating income was $1.5 million compared to an operating loss of $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2001. John Lauer, chairman and chief executive officer, said “Continued weak general economic conditions caused demand to remain soft for several of our end-use market applications, which has partially offset the positive impact of restructuring in the first quarter.” The company’s Great Lakes Minerals segment was closed for most of the quarter, with plant upgrades being made at both the Cedarville and Calcite quarries.
Oklahoma
TULSA (AP)—Oklahoma’s roads and bridges are falling apart as maintenance is delayed by a lack of state funding, state Department of Transportation officials say. “As long as state funding levels remain where they are,” said Gary Evans, acting division engineer for the department “our highways will continue to deteriorate.” Department of Transportation spokeswoman Terri Angier said the department receives $110 million every year for maintenance, about a quarter of what it needs. She said that while the state takes in $1 billion a year in transportation revenues, most of that money is diverted to state needs other than transportation projects and repairs. A bill pending in the state Legislature would require that 15 percent of all motor vehicle taxes go to the Department of Transportation. This would give the state an additional $57 million a year for maintenance.
Oregon
ROSEBURG (AP)—Douglas County will give $2.2 million to Sutherlin to help the city to improve its Interstate 5 interchange. The Oregon Department of Transportation has $4.5 million set aside for the $7-plus million interchange project. In order for Sutherlin to get ODOT’s $4.5 million, it had to show it could come up with the remaining funds. Construction will be done in phases over the next four or five years. The $2.2 million is a gift to Sutherlin, not a loan.
Pennsylvania
TITUSVILE (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 in Crawford County. Supervisors voted to allow expansion under specific conditions, which include the company agreeing to stricter monitoring and obtaining state or federal approvals.
HARRISBURG—Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary for Mineral Resources Management J. Scott Roberts announced that a Pennsylvania mining company was selected for a national award by the Interstate Mining Compact Commission (IMCC). Pennsy Supply Inc. was honored for public outreach for its “Rockman” curriculum.
Rhode Island
NEWPORT—Speaking before the Northeastern Association of State Transportation Officials, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) said that he was working to ensure that $4.4 billion is not cut from the states’ transportation budgets. Chafee, a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety, co-sponsored the Highway Funding Restoration Act. “In fiscal years 2000, 2001 and 2002, our nation reaped the benefits of record-level funding for surface transportation, as Highway Trust Fund receipts reflected the consumer habits of economic boom times,” Chafee told more than 300 transportation officials. “We will be able to (counteract the economic decline) using money that is in the Trust Fund, already earmarked for this purpose.”
South Carolina
DORCHESTER COUNTY—Providence Development Partners filed a lawsuit against the Dorchester County Council, alleging that the council disregarded its own procedure to approve an ordinance that increased the minimum lot size on a development from 7,500 to 14,500 sq. ft. The increase caused the company the loss of a multimillion-dollar land contract for a planned subdivision. According to The Smart Growth Network, the council is also considering a planned development ordinance that would allow developers to build on smaller lots in exchange for setting aside green space and easing the strain on the county infrastructure.
South Dakota
BISMARCK—At the James L. Oberstar Forum on Transportation Policy and Technology Luncheon, transportation officials discussed the issues necessary to reauthorization of transportation funding. Several key points were made: funding must be adequate and reliable; funding must be flexible enough to meet each state’s transportation needs; private sector funding should be encouraged; and the nation’s surface transportation system should emphasize security.
Tennessee
NASHVILLE—The Indiana Department of Commerce recognized Nashville-based Rogers Group Inc. with a Half Century Business Award. The awards honor companies that are at least 50 years old and have a history of community service. The company was started by Ralph Rogers in Bloomington, Ind. It began as a roadside crushing operation in 1908 and is now the seventh largest crushed stone producer in the United States.
Texas
MIDLOTHIAN—A worker died from injuries sustained in an accident at TXI’s Midlothian Quarry and Plant on March 30, according to a preliminary accident report from MSHA. Juan R. Hernandez, along with three other employees, was in the process of clearing an overloaded clinker drag conveyor. When an access door was opened, hot clinker spilled into standing water, generating steam that resulted in first and second degree burns to 40 percent of the victim’s body. Hernandez, who had nearly 30 years of mining experience, died on April 5.
Utah
NORTH SALT LAKE—Residents who battled former gravel operators have waited two years for the former pit to be developed and continue to wait. According to The Deseret News, a development group has withdrawn from a project to develop the former mining site.
Vermont
MONTPELIER—As the state Legislature prepares to adjourn the 2002 session, the House and the Senate have yet to finalize transportation funding. At press time, the Senate was on the verge of voting out its version of the transportation bill, which had been finished by the House only days earlier. Therefore, the Senate, which typically waits for House action on the major budget bills, already has written its version and was prepared to put in a conference committee to negotiate a compromise.
Virginia
VIRGINIA BEACH—In an unusual move, City Commissioners voted to deny a controversial sand-mining pit proprosal that developers had withdrawn from consideration. According to The Virginian-Pilot, the developer, Princessboro Development Co., asked for and received approval from the council to withdraw the project in late March. A week later, the council voted against the tabled project at the urging of a council member who heard the group planned to resubmit its proposal later in the year. The action prevents developers, who were blindsided by the 9-0 vote, from reintroducing the proposal for at least one year.
Washington
SNOHOMISH COUNTY—Traffic issues are becoming an issue in the area’s effort to comply with the state’s Growth Management Act, according to The Seattle Times. The newspaper reports that, as required under the act, the county has identified 160,000 acres of mineral lands to be conserved for future mines. While the county has produced several maps analyzing which sites are best from various points of view, none have addressed traffic considerations. Several cities have joined together in the East Snohomish County Cities Coalition to ask the county to redo its minerals resources plan to reflect traffic limitations.
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 American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). Senator Robert C. Byrd and former Senator Jennings Randolph were named the state’s top public officials for their advocacy of transportation development and investment.
Wisconsin
VERONA—Despite community protest, the Dane County Board voted not to overturn a decision by the Dade County Zoning and Natural Resources Committee to grant a permit to Payne & Dolan for a sand and gravel operation here. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the board voted 23-13 to uphold the committee’s decision. The producer can now operate a 117-acre gravel pit south of Verona.
Wyoming
GREEN RIVER (AP)—Wyoming’s largest soda ash producer plans to lay off 90 employees by July 15. About 10 percent of the work force at FMC Westvaco will be laid off for the fourth round of job cuts there over about a year and a half. Eighteen people were laid off in February 2001 and another 100 accepted incentive packages to resign in May 2001. FMC officials said the layoffs will improve efficiency. “This has been a difficult year; however, we believe that with this reduction we have reached the right level of employment to support this work and meet our financial goals,” FMC Resident Manager Jim Pearce said.