Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85635
NEWS State & Province by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief LOUISIANA Connecticut Oak Ledge Properties withdrew its application to continue activities on its 77-acre site in East Haven. Th e New Haven Register reports that the developer had planned a mixed- use development, but withdrew its application on the same day a new application would be due to extend its current operations. Th e planning and zoning commission chair- man told the newspaper that the developer no longer can conduct blasting or crushing. It is now limited to selling stockpiles of crushed stone already on the property. MAINE The Bangor Planning Board unanimously approved a request St. John Enterprises said it plans to invest $32 million to upgrade Madison Parish Port Commission facilities in Tallulah, La., and to create approximately 450 jobs over the next fi ve years, Workboat reports. Th e plant was expected to be online and delivering two new barges by late February. According to St. John CEO Ron Lewis, he has a contract to build six new 195- by 35-foot deck barges for a sand and gravel customer. Minnesota At Aggregates Manager's press time, plans for Tiller Corp.'s proposed Zavoral mine were under review. Th e company is seeking permission for extraction and hauling, followed by reclamation. It does not plan to wash or process material on the site. Th e St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Scandia's project advisory committ ee planned to review a prelimi- nary draſt of Tiller's environmental impact statement. Th e 64-acre pit has not been mined since the 1980s. from Randy Gardner to expand his 6.98-acre quarry operation by an additional 5.25 acres. According to the Bangor Daily News, the board also extended the operation's conditional-use and site development permits for three more years. It did, how- ever, limit operating hours to 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Some neighboring resi- dents expressed disappointment over the decision, but several sent letters of support to the city planning offi cer. MISSISSIPPI Th e Mississippi Supreme Court ordered the city of Batesville to take another look at a request from Mem- phis Stone and Gravel to operate a gravel pit in the southern part of Jackson. Th e Associated Press reports that its decision reversed earlier decisions by the state Court of Appeals and a Panola County judge. Justice Ann Lamar said the court could not determine from the case record how the city reached its conclusion that the pit would be legal and added that the board of aldermen should allow both the operator and its opponents to present evidence to support their positions. Finally, she said the aldermen should then provide more specifi cs on whatever conclusion it reaches. 8 AGGREGATES MANAGER January 2012 MISSOURI The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considering a proposal that would allow To keep up to date with this breakdown of news in the United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates. fi ve operators to dredge an additional 1 million tons of sand and gravel from the Kansas River each year and increase the number of dredging sites. According to The Kansas City Star, the companies can currently dredge 2.2 million tons of sand and gravel from 10 sites. Those same companies — including Kaw Valley Cos., Holliday Sand & Gravel, Penny's Aggregates, Master's Dredging, and Meier's Ready Mix — want to dredge 3.2 million tons a year from 13 sites. Some environmentalists are speaking out against the proposal. A spokesman for the Corps said it will take a year for its deci- sion process to be complete. Missouri Mining engineering students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology have developed an interesting fundraiser: fright nights at S&T's Experimental Mine. Th e university reports that Th e Haunted Mine has been held every year since 1997 and serves as the main fund- raiser for mining engineering activities and student organizations. Min- ing engineering students volunteer to work at the event and earn funds for the organization of their choice, including the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration; Women in Mining; the International So- ciety for Explosives Engineers; and the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association; as well as the university's mine rescue and mucking teams.