Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/674527
AGGREGATES MANAGER / May 2016 3 May 2016 Vol. 21, No. 5 aggman.com /AggregatesManager @AggMan_editor Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Therese Dunphy Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Online Editor: Wayne Grayson editorial@aggman.com Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Production Designer: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@aggman.com Construction Media Vice President, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com 3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com Corporate Chairman: Mike Reilly President and CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operations Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Russell McEwen Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President of Events: Stacy McCants Vice President, Audience Development: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: aggregatesmanager@halldata.com. Aggregates Manager TM magazine (ISSN 1552-3071) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly, LLC copyright 2016. Executive and Administrative offices, 3200 Rice Mine Rd. N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Subscription rates: $24 annually, Non-domestic $125 annually. Single copies: $7. We assume no responsibility for the validity of claims of manufacturers in any advertisement or editorial product information or literature offered by them. Publisher reserves the right to refuse non-qualified subscriptions. Periodical circulation postage paid at Tuscaloosa, Alabama and additional entries. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Aggregates Manager, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Community Opposition Takes a New Tactic by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com EDITORIAL I t's interesting to see how far communities are willing to go when fighting a quarry greenfield development or expansion, or, occasionally, each other. If you are looking for an indicator of economic recovery, look no further than the nearest permitting effort. In recent months, numerous operators have encoun- tered resistance to permitting efforts. - In Rapid City, S.D., Croell Redi-Mix Inc. encountered opposition to its effort to expand its Perli Quarry. - More than 100 people attended a public hearing to oppose Frontier Stone's proposed quarry in Batavia, N.Y. - In Statesville, N.C., city council members faced dozens of residents wearing "Elmwood Strong" t-shirts when they heard about an annexation petition that would pave the way for a quarry. - Opponents of Little River LLC developed a website with photos of both on- and off-road trucks involved in accidents to generate opposition to a proposed Little River, N.C., operation. At about the same time, the Board of Trustees of Sister Bay, Wis., passed a reso- lution to allow the village staff to purchase land that had been operated as a quarry by Sister Bay Properties LLC (see State and Province News, page 6). Last fall, the quarry owner tried to expand the operation, but the village board would not ap- prove a zoning code amendment that would have allowed the expansion. This year, they unanimously passed the resolution to purchase the property and shut down the quarry. To cover the cost, the village is refinancing bonds, seeking a developer for the site, and will use "debt smoothing" to make minimum payments if the prop- erty isn't sold. It's taking quite a gamble to put an end to mining in the area. And, while many communities are willing to spend thousands to fight quarries, one of the most interesting community battles I've ever seen was the one between two cities — Duarte and Azusa, Calif. When Vulcan Materials made changes to its operation there, including a progressive approach to mining a mountain using mi- crobenches for more natural looking reclamation, the city of Duarte fought the plan tooth and nail. In the end, it spent an estimated $600,000 contesting Vulcan's en- vironmental impact report and going after the neighboring community. Fortunately, Duarte's efforts were ineffective, but when communities invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight a responsible operator who would run a good opera- tion, create local jobs, and increase the tax base, these communities themselves are the ultimate losers.