by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief

Arizona 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the expansion of a Benson sand and gravel pit owned by Huachuca Concrete Inc. According to the Arizona Daily Star, the BLM issued its decision after a “finding of no significant impact” based on an environmental assessment by the agency. The mine’s operating plan has been modified to require the use of a soil binder on roads to reduce dust and water consumption. Operating hours for the crushing operation and wet plant are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

California 

A planned land swap between the federal government and a regional water agency could help expand gravel mining in the Santa Ana River wash. The Press-Enterprise reports that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would transfer to the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District at least 315 acres near existing gravel mine pits, which are expected to be leased for mining. In return, the district would give the BLM about 320 acres east of the mining area to be used for habitat conservation. Endangered species in the area include the San Bernardino kangaroo rate and the Santa Ana River woolly-star, a flowering plant. The water district currently leases land to Robertson’s Ready Mix and Cemex Inc., which together have paid it about $1 million during the past two fiscal years.

Georgia 

Georgia Limerock Co. LLC is trying to have 854 acres in Houston County rezoned for use as a limestone quarry. The Sun News reports that the land is zoned as agricultural/residential, and the company wants to have it reclassified as general industrial. If approved, site development could begin this fall, with the operation opening in early 2010. Approximately 15 jobs would be created and an estimated $4.5 million in property and equipment investments would be generated. Slightly less than half of the site was previously mined from the 1920s to the 1970s. A 25-foot wooded buffer would separate the mining area from adjacent property owned by Georgia Limerock Co., while a 200-foot wooded buffer is planned to separate the mining area from other properties.

Kansas 

Lafarge North America Inc. won a $3.2 million construction contract for road work near Andover, the Wichita Business Journal reports. The project, the largest on the Kansas Department of Transportation’s list of winners, will consist of 0.8 miles of grading and surfacing work.

Maine

Pike Industries has appealed a decision by the city of Westbrook to strip it of its legal right to operate a quarry that has been existence since 1968. According to Mainebiz, the city’s zoning board of appeals ruled that it has no legal rights to operate the quarry it bought from Blue Rock Industries in 2005, and served Pike with a cease-and-desist order. Pike’s motion indicates that since 1971, the city has not found a reason to object to the quarry operation and has issued various permits over the years “in furtherance of the quarry use.” “All we want is basic fairness,” Jonathan Olson, regional manager for Pike Industries said in a statement. “The city granted a permit for quarrying operations at that site more than 40 years ago… Now, suddenly after 40 years and under pressure from some powerful interests, the city is claiming that we never really had a permit and can no longer operate the Spring Street Quarry. This defies common sense. It puts our business in a competitive disadvantage and could cost the city jobs and tax dollars.”

Massachusetts

The Becket Land Trust has turned an abandoned quarry into a feature on its hiking trails. Ken Smith, president of the land trust, told The Republican that the abandoned trucks and equipment making up the former Hudson-Chester Quarry are part of the areas history. The land trust created 7 miles of trails, including portions of the former quarry.

Michigan

Caledonia Township and Kentwood Excavating Inc. settled a 3-year-old lawsuit and cleared the path for the producer to begin operations for its proposed sand and gravel operation. The Grand Rapids Press reports that operating conditions include a 250-foot buffer zone around the perimeter of the property, limitations on hours of operation, and vegetation around the operation. The company must also pave the street leading to the operation and construct a bike path along it.