Minutes - 04-12-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Allen Spalt made reference to the Environmental Impact Statement and asked if there was going to be a presentation. Craig Benedict said that the co-applicants would address the EIS. Commissioner Gordon asked for clarification on the acreage for the node totaling 180 acres. Craig Benedict showed on the map the location of the 180 acres. He noted that there was an extra 32 acres included in American Stone's Special Use Permit. Jacquelyn Gist clarified that the application for moving the asphalt plant is no longer valid because the asphalt plant will be gone within the month. Craig Benedict noted that after the 1994 public hearing, there was a request by the local governments to meet with the adjacent property owners and create a mediated process. This went on for a couple of years and the outcome of the meetings was a memorandum of agreement that was signed by American Stone Company and OWASA. The local residents did not sign the agreement. All of the conditions that were a part of the mediated settlement by the Dispute Resolution Center were included in the agreements. All of the agreements have been included in the mitigation measures to be done by either OWASA ar American Stone Company. Chair Carey said that mast of the questions raised at this time by the citizens would be answered by the presentations. He proposed holding the questions until the proponents and opponents have made their presentations. V. Statements in Support of Proposal Paxton Badham spoke on behalf of American Stone Company. He noted that American Stone Company has done follow-up on complaints they have received during the time they have been in business in Orange County. He said that most of the complaints that American Stone Company has received over the years had to da with blasting. He said that they do keep a record of the complaints to see if there is anything unusual about the blasting and also American Stone meets with the person who filed the complaint. In the mid-90's OWASA hired a consultant out of Durham to analyze American Stone Company's blasting program. He said that the summary of this report is in the updated EIS. The consultant found that there had been some minor mistakes made in some of the blasting, but the conclusion was that American Stone Company had never done anything that even approached the damage threshold. There have been nine calls complaining about blasts, one call complaining about a well problem, and one call complaining about noise in the 30+ years that they have been in operation. He explained haw the complaints concerning the well and the noise were resolved. In preparation for this meeting, American Stone Company sent out approximately 900 letters to people in the area of the quarry explaining what they were asking for in this process and inviting them to call if there were questions. They received six responses, two of which were in favor of the expansion. He listed the conditions that they have agreed to if this application is approved. These conditions are not required but are just extra things that American Stone Company has agreed to do to in hopes of satisfying some of the concerns. The conditions are as follows: - maintain a 500-foot setback instead of the 300 feet that the County requires - do a pre-blast survey on homes within 3,000 feet of the pit - compensate homeowners in the event of any damage as a result of the quarry - give telephone notification of all blast events to people who request it - install baffling equipment in the plant within two years of permitting - relocate the primary crusher down into the pit within seven years - install at least a 20-foot high berm around the new proposed areas - enclose the screens and crusher within four years of permitting - provide additional monitoring programs for groundwater, ground vibration, and air blast - give 10 acres to OWASA to locate a park and $15,000 a year for maintenance ar development - give $5,000 annually for local community projects or charity - limit the continuous noise decibel level to 60 instead of 68 that is required by the County