To keep up to date with this breakdown of news in the

United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates.

Alabama

Limestone Creek Sand and Gravel, LLC, applied to the Huntsville Natural Resources Department for an air permit for a proposed plant on Newby Road. According to al.com, the Natural Resources Department’s preliminary report is that the plant’s proposed controls would meet all applicable city air pollution control regulations. The deadline for public comment had not expired at Aggregates Manager press time, but a public hearing was to be scheduled if enough comments related to air pollution and its effects were received.

Arizona

The Maricopa County Air Quality Department agreed to a $1 million settlement with Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. with part of the fine being invested into the community. KPHO.com reports that the department charged the operator with violating multiple air pollution laws over a 2.5-year period. The settlement agreement stipulates a portion of the enforcement fines will fund air quality outreach and education in the community. “Fisher Sand and Gravel is relieved to finalize this settlement and to move forward with a clean slate,” company spokesman Karl Gentles told the television station. “Fisher is a different company today than it was two to three years ago. We have made great strides with our environmental compliance and significant operational improvements.”

California

Azusa residents overwhelmingly voted in support of Vulcan Material Co.’s mining plan, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports. In a special election, the measure passed by a more than 2-to-1 margin. “We have always been…committed to working with the community, and these election results are an example of what can be accomplished when a community works together,” Vulcan spokesman Peg Casey told the newspaper. “Clearly, the voters have spoken.” Opponents of the plan successfully placed a referendum item on the ballot for the special election after the city council approved the plan in a 4-1 vote last July.

Indiana

The Union County Zoning Appeals Board tabled action on a permit application for a portable asphalt plant. The Palladium-Item reports that Dave O’Mara Contractor Inc. purchased a 22-acre site from Tri County Sand and Gravel to serve as a local site for its asphalt plant, but the company’s permit request drew a standing-room-only crowd when it went before the zoning appeals board. The property is zoned for agricultural use and would require a variance for the plant. Amy O’Mara Boswell, vice president of the company, told the newspaper that she would sell the property if the company did not receive a variance for it.