Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/120734
State & Province NEWS To keep up to date with this breakdown of news in the United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates. by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com Alabama An Alabama attorney is unhappy that the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) approved Vulcan Materials Co.'s permit request for an operation in Madison County, and he's doing his level best to incite citizens to hold their feet to the fire. "We don't just need to let (Vulcan) monitor themselves," attorney John Harrison said in an AL.com report. "That's like leaving the fox in charge of the hen house." Instead, he's saying neighbors should monitor the operation. He said some residents are purchasing their own seismographs, while others are creating an inventory of dated photos of their homes and foundations. Still more are talking to an administrator with Alabama Waterwatch, a volunteer-driven, water-quality testing program. California The protracted fight between the cities of Duarte and Azusa may be nearing an end as the second appellate district court affirmed the Los Angeles Superior Court's decision against the city of Duarte, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports. Duarte had claimed — among other things — that the Azusa Rock Quarry's mining plan had a faulty environmental report, but the courts rejected that contention. The court also ruled that Azusa would be awarded legal costs incurred in fighting Duarte's lawsuit. Duarte has the option of appealing the verdict to the state supreme court. Florida The state's proposed $9.1 billion budget includes plans for an 11-percent increase in transportation spending as the state tries to increase jobs, build more roads, and get the state's ports ready for the Panama Canal expansion. According to the Bradenton Herald, projects include $532 million in additional lanes on Interstate 75; $154 million in additional lanes and reconstruction of the Homestead extension of the Florida Turnpike; $69 million in additional lanes on the Veterans Expressway in Hillsborough County; $27 million for the expansion of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard; and $25 million in additional lanes and reconstruction of State Road 823. Ports also benefit from the budget with Miami slated for $30.6 million, Tampa for $26.7 million, Manatee for $19.5; and nearly $100 million for other ports in the state. "The construction industry was the most hurt by the recession," Rep. Ed Hooper, chair of the House transportation appropriations committee, told the newspaper. "So the industry will only be helped by more spending." 6 AGGREGATES MANAGER April 2013 Illinois The Woodford County Board deferred a decision on Peoria Concrete Construction Co.'s request for a special-use permit to mine farmland adjacent to its facility near Bayview Gardens. The Peoria Journal Star reports that a question on the language of the zoning code led to the delay. Peoria Concrete and its neighbors reached an agreement about the expansion in January, and the Woodford County Zoning Board of Appeals approved the agreement. A decision is expected soon. Michigan Approximately 80 people attended a community forum hosted by U.S. Silica to address neighbor concerns about its proposed 120-acre silica mine near Ash and Berlin townships. According to The Monroe Evening News, neighbor concerns led the Ash and Berlin planning commissions to table action on the operation for three months last fall. U.S. Silica released an environmental impact report that indicated the mine would "not cause harm or impairment to the general public." Minnesota Minnesota lawmakers recently heard testimony on the state's silica sand mining in what may be the first phase of a potential fight over the state's role in the process, the Associated Press reports. Although permitting decisions are typically left to local jurisdiction, busloads of critics flooded the Capitol and asked for a statewide study of health and environmental impacts; a temporary moratorium on new mines and processing facilities; and improved statewide oversight and regulation. "We feel (local governments) are best suited to decide the local land use issues," Mike Carson, director of land use affairs for Tiller Corp., told an AP reporter. "They are each unique, and each of them should be studied on their own so that all the local issues and concerns can be dealt with." A state Senate bill was also introduced. If passed, it would place a moratorium on new mines until March 1, 2014.