The Kansas Aggregate Producers’ Association reports that Gov. Mark Parkinson signed a sustainability bill that amends Kansas city and county zoning laws to require a simple majority as opposed to a supermajority for the approval of surface mining operations.

“Senate Bill 253 will really allow for sustainability and provides for rational extraction of our natural resources. It is a good step in the right direction for producers to ensure access to the aggregate sources and sites that have been denied in the past,” said Ramon Gonzalez, sales manager for N.R. Hamm Quarry in Perry, Kan., and current KAPA president.

The bill is needed because surface sources of quality aggregate have been used up over the last 80 years and access to natural resources is fast diminishing.