Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/141834
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 Alaska The Baranof Island Housing Authority (BIHA) is seeking permission to expand its Sitka quarry from 18.8 acres to 36 acres, The Daily Sitka Sentinel reports. Safety precautions, additional product demand, and future development are driving the request, the company reports, noting that the current rock walls formed by excavation are too steep and it leaves the area unsafe for future development. If approved, the expanded operation would be able to triple its estimated reserves of 95,000 cubic yards. California The Redland City Council refused Barro Group's application to expand its Mount Cotton quarry operations, paving the way for the operator to challenge the decision in the Planning and Environment Court. According to The Bayside Bulletin, one councilor, Julie Talty, announced that she "disagreed with an officer recommendation to approve the project and urged her nine elected colleagues to refuse the application." Only one councilor voted against Talty's recommendation. Both the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection have issued approvals for the project to the Redland City Council. Connecticut NBCConnecticut.com reports that, in early June, a man was transported to a local hospital after falling about 30 feet down an embankment in a Portland quarry during the early morning hours. Police and fire department officials responded to the report of a fall victim and found that a homeless man who had been camping at the site fell down the embankment. He broke his ankle and was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Kansas In early June, Douglas County commissioners said the operator of the Big Springs Quarry, near Lecompton, can mine the area in any sequence it prefers, regardless of how the sections of the property are numbered in their permit. According to LJWorld. com, the 720-acre operation was originally divided into six phases, and the operator was required to mine and reclaim one phase at a time before moving to the next phase. When a subsequent owner challenged the sequential mining requirement, two of three commissioners agreed that the operator could mine in whatever order it preferred, as long as reclamation was completed on each phase before beginning the next. Minnesota The Legislature rejected Maple Grove's request to use extra taxes to fund redevelopment of gravel mines and pits. According to the Star Tribune, that vote delays plans to redevelop Maple Grove gravel mines and pits by at least another year. The city wanted to use extra taxes eventually generated from new corporate offices and industrial warehouses to pay for roads and other infrastructure improvements. The community has about 1,100 acres of gravel mining, and, as those reserves are depleted, wants to use a tax-increment financing district to fund the $100 million in streets, sewers, and infrastructure needed to develop about 600 acres into offices and warehouses. Missouri Through the efforts of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and community involvement, two suspects were charged with stealing 100 pounds of explosives from a local quarry. The Lincoln County Journal reports that Joshua Wilcockson and Dylan Huber had been bragging about taking the explosives. Huber told detectives that the two had been riding an ATV and drinking beer at the quarry when they observed large pieces of scrap metal lying around. They got Wilcockson's truck to take the metal and broke into a secured trailer where they found the explosives. All explosives were recovered. Missouri Summit Proppants representatives moderated a public hearing with the Missouri Department of Resources regarding its application for a permit to build a sand quarry in St. Genevieve County. According to the St. Herald Genevieve Herald, more than 120 people, including State Sen. Gary Romine, State Rep. Kevin Engler, and three county commissioners, attended the meeting. The operator's proposal for a 75-acre mine site drew concerns about noise, truck traffic, public safety, streams and wildlife, groundwater, air quality, health, and property value. The operator repeatedly made pledges to be a good neighbor during the meeting. AGGREGATES MANAGER July 2013 StateNews_AGRM0713.indd 7 7 6/17/13 12:57 PM