Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/351731
State & Province NEWS by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief AGGREGATES MANAGER August 2014 4 State & Province NEWS by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com To keep up to date with this breakdown of news in the United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates. Massachusetts Dive teams recovered the body of a Rhode Island teen who went missing while swimming in a Massachuse s quarry. e Associated Press reports that the body of 18-year-old Nentor Dahn was found on July 7 in about 60 feet of water and 10 feet from the highwall of Fletcher Quarry in Milford. Witnesses say Dahn jumped about 50 feet from a ledge the previous a ernoon. He and friends had been swimming in the privately owned quarry. New Mexico e Sante Fe County Commission postponed a decision regarding the creation of a mining zone that would allow an Albuquerque company to develop a sand and gravel operation on La Bajada Mesa. According to the Albuquerque Journal, about 600 people a ended the commission's meeting, which included more than six hours of testimony from applicants and more than 50 members of the public speaking against the plan. e application received a recommendation for approval from the county staff . e proposed site is in an area zoned for residential and agricultural use, but it is set to be rezoned under the county's sustainable growth management plan. Connecticut Members of the newly formed Congamond Lake Environmental Protection Organization have appealed Suffi eld Zoning and Planning Commission's approval of a special permit renewal for a local sand and gravel operation. e Journal Inquirer says the appeal claims the commission acted beyond its authority when it unanimously approved a permit renewal for Lake Road Materials LLC. Further, it claims that the permit was expired and the site had been abandoned for 10 years. It called the permit approval "arbitrary and capricious." Arizona A permitting snafu could change the way Mat-Su Borough works with contractors, the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reports. Until now, the general contractor was responsible for ensuring the gravel used in area road projects was permitted, but the borough may now take a closer look at that process. The issue came to light with regards to the pit supplying a $6 million project to extend local roads. When the borough inspected the property, an offi cial noticed gravel trucks on the site. An inspection of the gravel com- pany's permit showed that it expired in 2010. An area assemblyman told the newspaper that the ensuing work stoppage was unfair, and she wanted the permit to be issued as "expeditiously as possible." Borough offi cials said it could be issued within 17 days. North Dakota The U.S. Department of Labor fi led a lawsuit against Jamestown-based North- ern Excavating Co. and its owner in early July. It alleges the company denied federal offi cials entry to the mine site at least three times since May, the Associ- ated Press reports. Court documents indicate that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) received complaints of several violations, including failure to provide protective equipment for workers. An inspector visited the site, but was turned away by a company employee shortly after MSHA received the complaint. The gate was locked, and the inspector was unable to access the site. The next day, the inspector returned to serve the operation with an order to halt operations "but everything was locked and no one was there." An inspector returned weeks later and was again denied entry by an employee. He said, however, that the mine had clearly been in operation during the time of the shutdown. MSHA is waiting for a judge's ruling on its lawsuit, which accuses the company of violating its right to access the mine. A spokesman for the agency said that, if it is denied entry again, it would enlist the help of U.S. Marshals to accompany them to the site. Illinois In mid-July, Thornton Quarry served as a feature destination on the Southeast Environmental Task Force's Brown Bag Eco-Tour, entitled "Deep Tunnel Tour and Thornton Quarry." According to the Southtown Star, the four-hour tour stopped at Thornton Quar- ry to view the stormwater reservoir before visiting the pumping station and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's site. Quarry experts served as tour guides, and tickets were sold at $25 per person.