Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/610317
State & Province Province NEWS To keep up to date with news from the United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates. by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com AGGREGATES MANAGER December 2015 8 Georgia Berry College reportedly purchased three land lots just north of Redmond Circle near a former Florida Rock Quarry from the Central of Georgia Railroad. According to the Rome News-Tribune, the land was purchased for $498,000. Illinois The Marengo City Council agreed to move forward with an annexation agreement and rezoning request for a proposed quarry. Northwest Herald reports that Jack Pease, owner of Su- per Aggregates, presented his plans to the city and asked for annexation of 80 acres, zoning of 255 acres for manufacturing, and a special-use per- mit for mining to develop a quarry. The operator bought the 255-acre property earlier this year for $4.7 million. Pease told the council that the operation would function much like its neighbor, Prairie Material Ag- gregate. The matter will eventually proceed to council and be discussed at a public hearing. Pennsylvania Mining consultant Meade Gunnell withdrew a petition to have a 132-acre property rezoned from offi ce-institutional to a conditional use of general industrial. According to The Independent Tribune, public outcry against a proposed granite quarry and asphalt plant began after an Oct. 20 Harrisburg Planning and Zoning Board meeting. The following day, a Facebook page, entitled "No Mining in Harrisburg" was created and gained more than 1,700 members. The consultant had agreed to conditions on the property, including monitoring of air quality and providing the town with quarterly air quality reports; leaving 72 acres as a buffer zone; and providing an "impact fee" of a half cent in addition to the normal sales tax rate. Despite the conditions, the public voiced concerns about traffi c impact and air quality. California Blue Mountain Minerals recently enjoyed some posi- tive mainstream press. The Modesto Bee reported that limestone quarried by Blue Mountain is spread on crop- lands to enrich the diets of poultry and cattle, as well as providing nutrients in grass plants that make up some California wine. The 46-employee company is the larg- est limestone producer in Northern California. It produces more than 500,000 tons per year, but the privately held company declined to cite more specifi c tonnages. The operation's limestone is also used in emission controls on coal-fi red power plants, glass plants, 35 feed mills, and more than 100 farm supply stores. Indiana Students from South Putnam Middle School recently spent the day at DePauw Nature Park. According to the Banner Graphic, the fi eld trip is hoped to be the fi rst of many and was highlighted by trails, learning stations, and a dedicated park ecologist, Vanessa Fox. Fox and Park Superintendent Jeremiah Sutherlin have been conducting surveys regarding opening the park to the local community as the university studies usage, development, and management of the park. It consists of 520 acres of wilderness that formerly served as a Hanson Aggregates quarry. Opened in 1917, the land was donated in 2003 from Hanson Building Materials to DePauw University. Since then, the university has purchased adjacent land to form the current property, which includes man-made ponds and streams, as well as underground caves. Kentucky A lawsuit about a zoning change to allow an underground mine is headed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, The Winchester Sun reports. The Southwest Clark Neighborhood Association fi led no- tice it was appealing Clark Circuit Judge William Clouse's last two decisions in the case. He previously ruled that the Clark County Fiscal Court acted properly in 2014 when it approved a zoning change request from the Allen Co. for 165 acres near the Ken- tucky River. He ruled that magistrates acted properly and reason- ably, based on the information and evidence presented. He also denied the association's claims that it was not afforded due pro- cess and that the fi scal court's action was barred by the Planning Commission's bylaws. Tennessee Lt. Col. Stephen F. Murphy, commander, Nashville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, penned a letter to The Tennessean, noting that he and the Corps take safety seriously with regards to a proposed limestone quarry and its impact on the adjacent Old Hickory Lock and Dam. Mur- phy notes that the Corps conducts an extensive annual inspection of the dam. He also explains that preliminary information provided to the Corps indicates that vibration levels coming from the quarry are within an acceptable range of what the dam was built to withstand. Finally, he notes that the Nashville District is reviewing any impacts to aquatic resources associated with the construction of the quarry.