Colorado

CalX Minerals bought the mining claims and permit for the Mid-Continent Quarry near Glenwood Springs. According to a press release from the Bureau of Land Management, the company will be quarrying the site on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Grinding will occur around the clock in an indoor operation. The material will be pulverized into rock dust for use in the company’s coal mining operation where rock dust is often used to reduce the danger of explosions in coal mines.

Illinois

According to The Pantagraph, gravel pits in McLean County would have to be about 1,000 feet from housing and schools under a proposed zoning ordinance. The proposal also requires a distance of 2,000 feet between stockpiles and housing and schools. In contrast, the current setback from such properties is 1.5 miles. A zoning officer told the committee in a memo that an evaluation of dust, noise, and other issues indicates that setbacks of 1.5 miles are excessive. Other changes include clarifying the definitions of buffer zones and mining and quarry operations. The county’s land-use committee voted 4-2 to forward the ordinance to the McLean County Board. At press time, the county board had not voted.

Iowa

The Grant County Planning and Zoning Commission clarified why it approved a conditional use permit last year. The Telegraph Herald reports that the board voted 4-3 to clarify the 15 conditions included in its permit for Kowalski-Kieler Inc.’s proposed sand pit in Potosi Township. The committee was forced to re-visit the issue after a ruling by Circuit Court Judge Michael Kirchman that the conditions set in the original conditional-use permit were unclear. For the past 18 months, some area residents have been fighting to stop the pit and have cited issues ranging from its impact on tourism and aesthetic issues to safety and health concerns.