Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/187920
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 by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com Minnesota At the end of August, work to reopen the Zavoral sand and gravel mine in Scandia had begun, according to the Star Tribune. Tiller Corp. said the 40-month project will involve mining and reclamation on 64 acres of the 114-acre site. Although the project was considered to be controversial, the Scandia City Council unanimously approved the project in February. The permits include restrictions negotiated with conservation groups and include prohibitions on frac sand production. The first stages of activity will include removal of overburden and preliminary grading, the company said. It then plans to mine 1.2 million tons of gravel. Connecticut Suchocki Sand and Gravel had some scary visitors in early September, when it hosted the inaugural Zombie Charge. NorwichBulletin.com reports that the 5K run was different than many events due to its obstacles and mud pits. In addition, "zombies" chased runners as they navigated a corn maze, hiked hills, and crawled toward tunnels. If the zombies captured the runners' flags, they were "infected." As participants arrived at the event, they were immediately transported to the aggregates operation, which had been transformed into a "doomsday scenario" complete with men in hazardous materials suits directing traffic and bloody zombies. Georgia Bluegrass Materials Co. is seeking a variance to allow its Forsyth County quarry to operate at 75 decibels, 15 decibels higher than the county code permits. According to NorthFulton.com, the operator held a meeting with community residents to address concerns and explain its reasoning for requesting the sound variance. An attorney for the operator explained that the request was needed because the quarry had been in an area zoned as agricultural, so it wasn't subject to the 60-decibel residential noise limitation. The attorney said the operation isn't seeking an increase, but needed the variance to continue operations, and ambient noise generated by the new development was impacting noise levels at the site. Ohio A nearly five-year long battle to open a quarry in Anderson Township has no end in sight. Cincinnati.com reports that Martin Marietta first sought permission to build an underground limestone mine in August 2008. Since then, the township Board of Zoning Appeals approved a conditionaluse permit, which included nearly two dozen conditions; its decision was overturned by a Hamilton County Common Pleas judge; the 1st District Court of Appeals ruled that one of the zoning board's conditions — a "good neighbor fee" that required Martin Marietta to keep a $ 1million bond and pay the township 5 cents per ton of material sold or delivered from the site — was illegal; and the township Board of Zoning Appeals declined to rule on many of the issues in that appeal. On another appeal, the township board again approved the proposed mine, but without the fee. The case was once again appealed to the Common Pleas Court, and a motion was filed to dismiss Martin Marietta's earlier appeal to the 1st District Court. New Hampshire Discussion of conditional-use permits (CUPs) at a recent Butler County Commission meeting drew comments from a landowner about a quarry operating near his property. The El Dorado Times reports that landowner Tony Newman described the operation as "grandfathered in inappropriately as a quarry." He also said that other neighbors recalled the operation being dormant for more than six months at a time, which would vacate its status as a grandfathered site. "Those gravel trucks blow that stop sign 100 percent of the time," he told commissioners. He asked them to investigate his concerns. 4 Rhode Island The town of Westerly and the local school district are partnering to perform environmental tests on the Bradford Elementary School property. According to The Westerly Sun, the school is located near Copar Quarries' operation. The school and city are working with an environmental engineering firm to perform tests in the neighborhood around the quarry to ensure air quality. One of the engineers told the newspaper that it will install air quality monitoring devices at the quarry and in the surrounding neighborhood. The operator will not be notified when tests will be conducted, and testing devices will be videotaped to prevent tampering. The state branch of the American Lung Association is also monitoring the quarry. An attorney for the operator told the newspaper that the plant is committed to being a good neighbor, and officials are doing everything "they possibly can to comply with state and federal regulations." AGGREGATES MANAGER October 2013 StateNews_AGRM1013.indd 4 9/19/13 5:58 PM