Logan County ZBA to render decisions on quarry mining project rezoning and conditional use requests tonight

 

[July 12, 2021] 

The Logan County Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing Thursday, July 8, to consider applications for a rezoning request and conditional use request for mining. Over 70 people were in attendance.

Doug and Laurie Muck, Kaylynn Arch, Woodrow and Carolyn Jones and Carri Scharf Materials Company are the petitioners.

One application is to rezone some parcels from agricultural and special district to extraction district (M-3).

The other application is a conditional use permit to allow extraction of earthen materials, sand, gravel and limestone. Other conditional uses to be considered are related materials, crushing, handling, loading, scales to produce materials and related activities on six parcels.

The hearing began with an overview of the project.

The proposed project area is north of Salt Creek, west of 900th Avenue, south of 1575th St and east of Kickapoo Creek. There are 407.8 acres in the proposed project area.

Joe and James Scharf own the company that will be doing the mining. After clearing off topsoil, they create berms. They do dredge mining, which excavates materials from water. Everything is electrical, so that means less noise. Drilling will be done by box cutting to reach the deposits. Materials are put in a crusher then separated by screening.

Eight acres would be mined each year. Once a pit is done, Muck said the company would move to another area and use the same water as they mine.

Once mined, large ponds and lakes will be created that could be used for recreation, habitats and greenspace. Muck said the area would look similar to Lincoln Lakes.

In his power point presentation, Farnsworth Group representative Brandon Lott covered the need, methods, impacts and reclamation.

A few slides showed photos demonstrating how everything might look once mining is done. There were photos of a lake near Peoria that started with a gravel pit. When things are done right, Lott said there are reclamation opportunities.

Economic trends and impacts

Muck showed several pages of economic trends in the county since the early 70s. One trend indicated labor earnings in the county have grown by just six percent.

Compared to many other areas of the United States, Muck said, the county has higher unemployment rates and lower average incomes. He concluded that the county’s economic development is not trending the right way and more jobs are needed.

Several jobs would be created from this project. Joe Scharf said there would be four to six jobs when they are working with the sand and gravel. Once they get down to the limestone, there will be about fourteen people needed. They pay prevailing wage.

Looking at the mining industry in LaSalle County, Muck said it shows for every ten jobs, fourteen other non-mining jobs will be created.

The Scharf’s currently have four places they have mined. Joe Scharf said their plants are having great sales of the material mined.

Mining has generated good revenue and sales tax for these areas. Muck said that last year Heyworth had roughly $1.45 million in sales of mined material and $69,660 in taxes generated. To give another example, Muck said if a concrete plant buys materials, even more revenue comes in.

Around Logan County, Muck said there many uses for gravel, stone and limestone. For instance, these materials are used for roads, concrete and building.

To indicate the need, Lott said mining fits in with the Logan County Comprehensive Plans looking at recreation and greenways. It also shows potential financial impacts.

Lott then showed the method used for mining and how the plant might look. Work would start in the northwest corner of the parcels and come to the south. The plant would be located somewhere in the middle. Muck said the plant site would be located over 2,000 feet from Fifth Street.

As they work to extract materials, a dredge will float in the water and “vacuum” the materials out of the water. The materials would be separated and then placed in a stockpile.

The work is regulated by the Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency. Muck also had a copy of the Illinois Service Mine Reclamation Act showing that all aspects of mining are heavily regulated by the state.

After the general overview was shared, there were several questions from Zoning Board of Appeals members.

ZBA chairman Doug Thompson asked about the thickness of the topsoil.

Joe Scharf said topsoil is five to six feet. The next 30 to 35 feet is sand and gravel. Beneath that is 10 to 15 feet of limestone.

Since there will be some need to do blasting, Thompson asked about the noise from these explosions.

With newer technology, Joe Scharf said, there is virtually no noise and very little vibration. They are not blasting in huge spaces, so explosions are much smaller than in the past and everything is contained. Those blasting know how much rock to take out and how far it is going to fall. The Scharfs intend to hire a professional blasting firm for that part.

ZBA member John Fulton asked how many discussions they have had with the DNR.

Every day, Joe Scharf said, they are working with the DNR. The DNR checks all locations the Scharf’s company is working with.

ZBA member Scott Noltensmeier expressed concerns about road impacts and having to spend money to fix roads. He also wanted to know where the semis would enter and exit.
When trucks are coming in, Scharf said the company would make sure they are under legal weight limits.

The entrance to the plant would be on Fifth Street near Area Disposal. Muck said they may put a concrete pad near the entrance to keep the road in better shape. The exit would be through the quarry road out to Route 10.

At the July 7, Regional Planning Commission meeting, Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp had also posed several questions related to road use that included asking where materials would go.

Muck said trucks would go along the boundary of Area Disposal with traffic going out the quarry road towards Route 10. He estimates around 750 vehicles a day go through that route already.

With more truck traffic coming through, Aukamp has safety concerns about those curves. He would like to look at the curve on 700th Avenue to check for safety of trucks turning there.

Aukamp wanted to know how many loaded trucks would be coming each day from the plant. He does not want to have to do upgrades after trucks start coming through.

On some days, the Scharfs said, 50 to 100 trucks may come through. Since the road is in a flood plain they know there may be days it cannot be accessed.

Once the ZBA had asked several questions, they opened the floor up for public comments.

Several citizens who live near the proposed project area expressed concerns.

Jill Awe has lived near the proposed project area for over thirty years. She said blasts do structural and cosmetic damage to homes and mining pollutes the air with silica dust. Her research has shown the water would be contaminated and too dangerous for people to swim in. Awe also feels the application is too vague and feels it is so wide open the company could possibly operate however they want. She asked the ZBA to vote against it.

Robert Awe had questions about what would keep empty trucks from going east to west from Fifth Street instead of the quarry road. He feels the impacts outweigh the benefits.

The entrance and exit would be on the quarry road and Joe Scharf said it would be the preferred route.

Noltensmeier asked Aukamp to address the issue.

Though Aukamp does not have any county roads directly affected by the project, he is working with Broadwell and West Lincoln Townships who have jurisdiction over these roads. He hopes they can develop the entrance and exit routes and get some road improvements to make them safe. Aukamp said state statutes would not prevent trucks from using the road currently. However, road commissioners and township boards could put weight limit signs up since nearby roads already have seasonal weight limits.

Glenda Downing lived near the proposed project area for 40 years and still owns property there. She said this quarry will be closer to homes than the previous one. Some of her concerns were about the property being in a flood plain, the silica dust being hazardous to those living near the mine, and the noise levels from mining. When the explosives are used, Downing also expressed concern the house foundation may crumble.

Several other residents who live near the proposed project area shared similar concerns. They are worried about possible adverse effects on their properties and home foundations, their property values, environmental impacts and health hazards from dust and water pollution. Some feel there needs to be more research on the long-term impacts of the mining.

Since the area is close to West Lincoln Broadwell and the Elks properties, one resident is concerned about how it would affect all those people.

Scharf said state agency regulations keep his company from polluting the air or water. For example, the EPA regulates water effects and if pollution is found in the water, it must be corrected.

The Illinois Department of Resources has vibration limits and Muck said they can measure the vibrations if someone wants them to.

When Rocky Ford was being mined, Muck said, he never heard complaints about people getting sick from silica dust. The tree lines help control dust and dust does not come up from the crusher. Additionally, Muck said much of the work is done below ground.

Another concern was whether the company reimburses property owners if there is damage to their homes due to the excavation process.

Noltensmeier asked who would be liable for the damages.

If it is proven his company is liable for the damages, Joe Scharf said they would take care of the problem.

When blasting is done, Muck said they must be at least 150 feet from property lines.

Among the many concerns expressed, there were a couple people who said they felt this project could be beneficial to the county.

Brent Hellman farms in the county and said the materials mined would be useful for the county. Currently they must drive out of town to get those products. He sees the mine as a positive addition to the county and hopes concerns can be addressed.

Stan Komperda of Highlander Renewable Energies has worked with renewable energy projects in the area for the past ten years. He said having a local source of sand, gravel and limestone would be good. With all the projects being planned in the county now, Komperda said over a million cubic yards of limestone would be needed. Most of the materials help with fixing the roads out in the rural areas both inside and outside project boundaries.

Once the public comment part of the hearing was complete, Thompson said the ZBA would need to have another public hearing. That would give them time to decide whether the project fits in with zoning ordinance requirements.

The next public hearing on the issue will be today, Monday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m. at West Lincoln Broadwell. At this hearing, ZBA members will discuss and vote on whether to recommend approval of the applications.

The ZBA’s recommendations will then be brought forward to the county board, who make the final decision.

The Logan County Board is expected to vote on whether to approve the rezoning requests and conditional use permits at the Regular voting meeting on Tuesday, July 20.

[Angela Reiners]