Aggregates Manager

April 2017

Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/803901

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 7 of 47

by Therese Dunphy | Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com 6 AGGREGATES MANAGER / April 2017 To keep up to date with news from the United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates. STATE & PROVINCE NEWS ILLINOIS The city of Marengo approved Super Aggregate's request for an annexation agreement for a proposed 510-acre quarry, as well as its special-use per- mits, the Northwest Herald reports. The operator agreed to pay 5 cents for each ton excavated or produced on the property. That 20-year agreement is expected to generate more than $2.5 million in revenue for the city. LLINOIS Illinois aggregate producers who accept clean construction debris at their sites may soon face additional regulation. Gov. Bruce Rauner is backing a bill in the state legislature that would require ground- water testing near quarries that accept such material from their construction sites. According to the Chicago Sun Times, supporters of the measure say it will protect wells near the sites, particularly in Will County, where nine quarries accept clean construction debris. Operators have long argued that groundwater testing is not nec- essary, and the Illinois Pollution Control Board agreed with them. It considered arguments for testing and ruled it unnecessary. Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan are challenging that ruling. NEW YORK The St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agen- cy (IDA) was awarded $500,000 in state funding to refurbish three rail side tracks at the Benson Mine site in Star Lake. According to the Watertown Daily Times, the funding is part of $25 million in rail and port im- provement projects through Gov. Cuomo's Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program. The side tracks connect to the larger Newton Falls rail line, which IDA wants to get running so that crushed stone and sand can be transported from the Benson Mines site. Total cost for the project is an estimated $588,000, with the difference to be covered by the Benson Mine Corp. and other financing. "There's a coordinated effort to try to improve the infrastructure and economic development projects in southern St. Lawrence County," IDA Execu- tive Director Patrick Kelly told the newspaper. NEW JERSEY The Bernards Township Committee faces decisions in how to proceed with the prospective redevelopment of the Millington Quarry. The Bernardsville News reports that the planning board recommends that the quarry should be designated as "an area in need of redevelopment." Vari- ous committee members have different ideas on whether the planning board or the township committee should be tasked with preparing a redevelopment plan. A presenta- tion by the township attorney on the legal implications of having either body handle the task was delayed when the attorney had to leave a recent township meeting early. A township ordinance calls for the site to be rehabilitated to allow 2-acre housing, and a long-running plan shows the pit eventually filling with rainwater to serve as a private lake. Shopoff Realty Investments, which has contracted to buy the property from the quarry, would like to pursue a mixed-use project with homes, retail, agricultural, and recreational options. MINNESOTA Minnesota produced $3.3 billion of nonfuel minerals in 2016, ranking fifth in value among the states. According to the Star Tribune, the state's mines produced 4.4 percent of the nation's non-fuel minerals, with iron ore, sand, gravel, and crushed stone leading the list of minerals mined from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The state's production was exceeded only by Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and California, according to the report from the U.S. Geological Survey. MICHIGAN Stoneco of Michigan won numerous community relations awards from the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), The Monroe News reports. A total of 70 awards were given, with Stoneco receiving silver awards for its Newport, Maybee, and Denniston Quarries and bronze awards for its Ottawa Lake Quarry and the 100th Street, Moscow, Patterson, and Zeeb Road Sand and Gravel sites. "It is an honor to re- ceive these awards from the NSSGA as recognition for all the hard work Stoneco does to have a positive impact in our communities," Stoneco Regional Vice President Rick Becker said in a statement. MARYLAND A Frederick County operator that uses an inactive quarry to collect wa- ter and pump it to a nearby active quarry for dust control had a pump malfunction that caused wash water to flow into adjacent tributaries, sparking a neighbor to file a complaint. According to the Frederick News Post, the county Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources alerted the state Department of the Environment, which assessed the operator with a $2,500 fine. The operator told the news- paper that it planned to build a wall between the waste water and clean water ends of the pool and had pumped water out of the quarry to build the wall. Preparations strained a cable and broke it. The pump floated to the wastewater side. Since then, the embankment has been completed, and a new pump has been installed.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Aggregates Manager - April 2017