Agenda - 10-14-1993 - D 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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American Stone Company Orange County 1.0 PURPOSE AND NEED Section 113A-8 of the North Carolina Environmental Policy Act authorized the governing bodies of all cities, counties, and towns to require private developers to prepare and submit detailed statements of impact for major development projects. Pursuant to this article and in the interest of encouraging the wise, productive, and beneficial use of the natural resources of the State without damage to the environment, maintain a healthy and pleasant environment, and preserve the natural beauty of the State" (G.S. 113A-2), Orange County has developed its own guidelines for impact statements. These guidelines can be found in the Orange County Environmental Impact Ordinance (September 1990). A county Environmental Impact Statement is needed for all projects that either "require certain state permits, or require a local land use permit for development within environmentally sensitive areas" and are expected to cause a "significant environmental impact". Need for an environmental impact statement is determined by submittal of an Environmental Assessment questionnaire to Orange County authorities. A completed copy of the questionnaire can be found in Appendix A. Since this proposed project "involves surface or subsurface extraction activity requiring a Mining Permit from the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources", preparation of an Orange County Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required by the ordinance. The purpose of this EIS is to describe the environmental setting of the project, discuss any major environmental impacts that may occur as a result of the project, and identify reasonable alternatives to minimize or avoid those environmental impacts. The project which this EIS addresses involves the expansion of the area of mining activities at the American Stone quarry, construction of a new asphalt plant and the relocation of SR 1104 at NC 54. Because of current demand and the anticipated requirements for mined products from this quarry, it is considered necessary to expand the surface area available for extraction of materials to prolong the supply of stone for the area. The expanded mining area necessitates the relocation of SR 1104 to the east of the existing American Stone Quarry reservoir. Quarry expansion can not go significantly deeper because the steep grades which would result would make transport of materials out of the pit difficult. For this 1-1