PERMITTING – DECEMBER 2020

Colorado Quarry Would Produce Material for Landfill
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Royal Gorge Field Office is considering a proposal to mine unconsolidated clay, sand and gravel material approximately 10 miles north of Salida, Colo., just east of the Chaffee County landfill, according to the Ark Valley Voice.

Chaffee County is proposing to develop 40 acres of BLM-managed lands. “This proposal will help Chaffee County operate the landfill without having to truck cover material from other locations,” said Royal Gorge Field Manager Keith Berger. “We welcome and appreciate the public’s comments as we evaluate the proposal during the scoping process.”

Under the current proposal, the area would be accessed through a landfill and no processing would take place on the site. The mineral materials will be used to meet the state of Colorado’s requirements for daily and final cover on the adjacent, active landfill that is managed by the county.


Solar Farm Could Partner With Gravel Pit
The developer of a proposed East Windsor, Conn., solar farm that could be the largest in the Northeast will appear at a public hearing before the Connecticut Siting Council as it seeks approval for the project, according to the Hartford Business Journal. Gravel Pit Solar, a 120-megawatt solar installation backed by $50 billion global investment firm D.E. Shaw, would cover 485 acres.

The developer is seeking a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need to build, operate and maintain the project, which already has contracts to provide energy to utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and intends to sell the balance to municipal light departments or other commercial customers in New England.

While Gravel Pit Solar is named for the 61 acres of sand and gravel quarry land at the site, the majority of the property on which the panels would be mounted is agricultural fields, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

Gravel Pit Solar applied to the Siting Council, which has statewide jurisdiction over energy projects 2 megawatts in size or larger, in late July. The council’s final decision will be based on whether it finds that the proposed project’s public benefits outweigh any adverse environmental effects.


California Quarry Under Microscope
The Santa Clara County, Calif., board of supervisors voted unanimously to direct county staff to develop and implement a plan for better monitoring and enforcement of use-permit conditions at Stevens Creek Quarry, according to the Los Altos Town Crier.

The vote came after an independent review by Harvey Rose Associates, at the request of Supervisor Joe Simitian, identified several deficiencies in the County Department of Planning and Development’s oversight of the quarry. The site is located in the unincorporated area just outside Los Altos and Cupertino.

“The review pointed out multiple concerns with the department’s oversight,” said Simitian, who represents the district that includes Stevens Creek Quarry.

The quarry is a bluestone aggregate mining operation that consists of two areas, Parcel A and Parcel B. Parcel A contains offices, a truck scale, a recycling facility for concrete and asphalt, and the city of Cupertino’s compost distribution facility, with operations governed by a conditional-use permit. Parcel B contains surface mining activities, including crushing of rock mined at the quarry, with operations guided by a mediated agreement.


Lehigh Hanson Seeks Approval for Canadian Operation
Submissions from Bearspaw, Alberta, Canada, residents potentially impacted by a proposed Lehigh Hanson Materials Ltd. aggregate operation were collected by Rocky View County, according to Cochrane Now.

Better known as the Scott Pit to area residents, it’s the third time the company has sought approval for a gravel pit. Previous applications were turned down by Rocky View County council in 1994 and 2010.

Lehigh Hanson has applied to redesignate 600 acres at the northwest corner of Burma Road and Rocky Ridge Road, near the west border of the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to establish the aggregate operation.

While it has failed in the past, this time around the company is proposing to burrow a conveyor system beneath both 144th Avenue and 85th Street to address the truck traffic issue identifying as a concern in the past.

According to an overview of the proposal, Lehigh Hanson proposes to mine the property over 25 to 30 years in six phases and would limit open excavation to be no more than 60 acres at any point in time. If approved, the company anticipates commencing site preparation in 2022 with aggregate extraction beginning in 2024.

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