Permitting – January 2014

Conveyor Approved for Quarry
Lehigh Cement Co. is expected to meet all of its federal and state requirements for air pollution emissions under a draft permit for its proposed conveyor belt transportation system, at its Carroll County, Maryland plant. The proposed conveyor belt system would move limestone from a quarry in New Windsor to the company’s plant in Union Bridge, according to the Carroll County Times.

With the conveyor system at maximum production, the company is projected to emit no more than 22.09 tons of total particulate matter per year – less than the 25 tpy that would trigger strict federal emission requirements for the company. The company is also expected under the permit to meet the state’s limit for respirable crystalline silica emissions.

Lehigh will also meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ground-level concentration of particulate matter, officials said.

The draft permit addresses only particulate matter and crystalline silica emissions because the Maryland Department of the Environment, the state agency that would issue the permit, determined the New Windsor limestone operations would not affect other emissions by the company, such as sulfur dioxide and mercury emissions.


Railroad Spur Proposed
O&G Industries plans to transport crushed rock from its New Milford, Conn., quarry by rail, according to the New Times.

The firm has a special permit application before the town’s Zoning Commission to approve the construction of a railroad siding at the northeast end of O&G’s Boardman Road property. The siding would be 3,000-ft. long, with 1,600 ft. on O&G property and 1,400 ft. on neighboring CL&P property.

The terminus would connect to the Housatonic Railroad tracks that run parallel to River Road. Housatonic would likely transport the crushed rock to points south within the state, according to Ken Faroni, O&G’s director of planning and permits.

Faroni estimated one string of 40 cars would be transported by Housatonic once a month. The work to install the siding on the O & G property would take several months to complete, he said.


Quarry Accused of Permit Violation
The Franklin-Simpson, Ken., Planning and Zoning Commission, which approved a conditional use permit for a controversial rock quarry last year, directed the county building inspector to investigate allegations that quarry operators are violating the permit, according to the Park City Daily News. Simpson County building inspector Joe Perry will inspect the property off Ditmore Ford Road where Franklin firm Charles Deweese Construction is in the process of building a quarry after Franklin attorney Tim Mefford gave a presentation at a recent commission meeting. In his presentation, Mefford made the case that Deweese has run afoul of the permit’s regulations.

Deweese officials have sought the 87.68-acre quarry site as a source of rock to be mined for road projects and agricultural lime, but the proposed location drew heavy criticism from several community members who are concerned about possible harm to the surrounding environment.


Sand Operation Seeks Permit
Landowner Hilton Properties Limited Partnership is proposing a sand mine on 63 acres in Wilmington, N.C. The parcel adjoins the General Electric property and is located about two miles off Castle Hayne Road.

A meeting was recently held to explain the upcoming proposal and field questions about the project. The meeting is required before an official application to rezone the property, currently classified rural agricultural, can be submitted.

The rezoning would change that to heavy industrial, with a special-use provision for high-intensity mining. Since the special-use permit would be required along with the rezoning, Andrea said the request would
go through the New Hanover County’s conditional-use rezoning process.

Related posts