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 Doug Muck, co-owner of the property was at the hearing to present
information on the proposed use of the area.
Also present were several neighbors including Laura Sandolini,
Roberta Ingram, and Glenda Downing. During the Public Hearing they
asked questions and raised various concerns about how the mining
would affect their neighborhood and properties. Muck and the board
addressed these concerns.
Muck began by showing ZBA members a large aerial photo highlighting
the proposed area to be rezoned is on the south side of Fifth Street
Road, around Salt and Kickapoo Creeks off 1575th Avenue near Area
Disposal and the bridges across the creek. The proposed area is
approximately 85 acres and near an area previously mined by Hanson
Materials. He presented several exhibits to the board to review
including a color coded plat map showing previously mined and
rezoned land, a printout of wells on the surrounding properties, a
Google Earth view of the properties, and a packet of directives for
growth in order to help address some of the possible concerns.
Muck said that if it is rezoned for extraction purposes, he must
follow several standards. For instance, there has to be a setback of
at least 100 feet from anyone's property. He also reminded everyone
that the M-3 Extraction District provides for creating borrow pits.
 It still has to be determined whether some of the land is suitable
for limestone mining, though there are some verified stone deposits.
Muck explained that throughout the county, if you drill deep enough,
you will find stone, but many limestone deposits are "not very
thick" due to elevation. He said near the Great Lakes there is a
mine three hundred to four hundred feet down from its original level
in area covered by the ocean years ago, so people there are mining
the same acre year after year.
In Logan county, the land on higher ground was not under water from
the last glacier as long as the land on lower ground, and as Muck
explained, limestone was formed from the depth of the precisions
that calcified. Muck said there are two verified deposits on both
the south side and north side of the creek, and the [lower area]
"seems to be a very unique area in that the deposits are reachable."
He asserted that some of the stone can be found between 25 and 40
feet, but as you get to higher ground, you run into more dirt and
sand before you get to any stone and when you get to about 50 feet,
it is "no longer economically feasible;" therefore, the decision
where to start mining may be based on costs.
Muck said some costs would be partially based on what it cost to
bring power lines in, but noted that he has talked to Ameren CILCO
about nearby power sources. He reminded the board that berms are
about 10 to 12-foot high and that trees block the view from the
east. Muck also said that distances to the corner of properties such
as the Downing's are about 3,000 feet on the southeast corner, 2,575
feet to the midpoint, and about 1,100 feet to the northeast corner.
He stated that he did not anticipate having anything but a road
there.
Clarifying the process that would be used, Muck said that generally
speaking when you mine you have to do something with the
"overburden," [the soil and other material lying above the stone] so
"generally speaking as you first start to dig you build berms with
it as needed, and from there on you box cut, going in and cutting
and clearing an area of the surface overburden to take the stone
out." Muck asserted that it helps lessen the type of water drill or
other any factors relevant to the depths of the pits. He said that
they did not anticipate the new pits to be as deep as earlier pits.
Muck stated that the Department of Natural Resources requires that
one files a reclamation plan that DNR has to approve and that those
mining an area have to follow, and that it also depends on how you
mine. He explained that if you mine by separating the topsoil from
the subsoil, then you put the subsoil back in first and cover with
topsoil. It is a more expensive process than if you just "dump it
back in the pit, then let nature take its course and restore it over
time."
Muck also discussed some of the elevations, which are 535 feet in
some areas, 554 feet in other areas, and 630 feet near the cemetery,
so there is a natural fall to the land. He said the higher elevation
did not appear to have deposits.
ZBA member Judy Graff asked about the truck route to get there. Muck
said after talking to Bob Sheley about it, they plan to take trucks
back out through the quarry road. Laura Sandrolini lives in that
area and inquired whether that would only be full trucks. Muck said
he has not had that specific discussion with Mr. Sheley, but that
there are some controls in place already.
Logan County Zoning Officer, Will D'Andrea said full trucks cannot
go in that way because there is an 80,000-pound restriction, but
dump trucks can. Downing said trucks coming in that way are supposed
to be empty. Thompson asked for more clarification about roads and
whether they would be in the 100-foot setback. Muck said he thinks
the roads can be put in the 100-foot setback, but says he has to
double check that.
Thompson also asked about the limestone thickness and whether Muck
anticipates it being in the two to seven-foot range on the Purviance
property. Muck said there are two strata, and they total between
twelve and seventeen feet all throughout that property, with some
having very low shale. He said it is hard to predict because if
there was a hill there or if there was something when the ocean was
there, there may be a big void there. There is "no way to predict
exactly what is there" because one cannot drill every square that is
there.
 Sandolini, who lives next to the Downings on 1575th and is closest
to the Purviance property at the top of the hill, asked for
clarification on Muck's intent for the Purviance property.
Muck says at this point; they have no intent to mine it, explaining
that he acquired it for a right of way, so that he could come down
through the property.
Sandolini then asked for clarification: If he ran a road down the
Purviance property, would it be on the farther side? Muck replied
that it would be as far south as you could go, pointing on the photo
to a drainage ditch and a tile that runs over to the creek that does
not drain as well as it should.
Sandolini said her concern is with the truck traffic, noting that
she has lived there for over 20 years and has lost animals on that
road because of semis that go pretty fast. She says that when they
get to the hill, "they are barreling" down the road.
Sandolini feels it would be nice if the trucks had to come in and go
out the back way, and Muck said he would not object to that. Muck
said it is a matter of getting trucks down there and out because it
is a road that has been used for a long time. He said he is not
talking about making a new public road; any new roads would simply
be access roads to come up and come out. Muck said that the nearby
trees would screen it from some of the properties, but Downing
replied that it will not screen neighbors from the part that has
already been rezoned. She said some neighbors will be looking right
at a mining operation.
When Muck asked if there were more questions, Sandolini explained
that a couple years ago, after the Hanson quarry closed and Logan
County had the drought. She repeatedly called the Illinois Water
Survey to ask if her property drew from the Mahomet Reservoir and
was told that it did not. She asked the IWS whether she needed to be
looking for another source of water since some wells were drying up.
She was told she was probably okay, but would be in a lot better
shape if the quarry was not there. When Sandolini told them the
quarry had been closed, she was told she had nothing to worry about.
She was told the quarry would draw a lot of water.
 Muck said the Illinois Water Survey people were not told the entire
accurate story about the size of the pits in the old quarry and that
the pits filled up with water in a year. Muck pointed out that he
paid $14,000 for a hydrological study that showed that from the edge
of the pit there was assumed to be 50 to 60 feet of depth. From the
edge of the pit, there would be a radius of about five feet. He said
as you backfill that, it moves from the edge of the pit; when the
edge of the pit is backfilled, it stops the drawdown effects as
water fills down in the pits and the water table is restored. Muck
said there is no impact at all from former pits and even when there
is active mining, they only do about 10 to 20 acres a year, which
would have little effect on the water.
Muck told Sandolini that the hydrological study indicates that she
would be out of the range of influence and that it would not have
any impact on anything more than 565 feet from the edge of the
mining pit. He feels the people from the Illinois Water Survey are
guessing about the distances. Since they have not been out there to
drill and have not looked at anything besides well records, they
would be estimating where the water table is.
Muck said pits would provide a reservoir effect for the area. When
pits are partially empty, they will take water when there is
flooding, keeping areas and land downstream from flooding so
quickly, which would be a benefit to farmers and other residents.
Thompson wanted to know if Muck has any plans about leasing the
property for extraction and Muck said he is talking to two potential
operators to get this rezoned, though negative experiences in 2012
drove some operators away. Muck said he would need to buy some new
equipment and reported that some of the people that worked at the
old plant are still looking for mining work, so he would plan to
interview some of them. He explained that the permit process would
take six months to a year, and he has not started it. Muck said
there is one permit that cost over a quarter of a million dollars,
and he hopes he does not need that one; other permits are not nearly
that expensive.
Roberta Ingram, who lives near Sandolini, expressed concern about
the mining itself and wants to know how much harder the rock is than
what was previously mined. She wants to know how much more
dynamiting will need to be done. Muck said it should be roughly the
same, though he is not sure what depths they were dealing with.
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Muck said there are other methods of extraction, such as using a
100-foot-long hoe that simply scoops up the stone. Muck acknowledged
that there will be noise and vibration, but is not sure how far it
would extend.
Ingram also expressed concerns about her foundation cracking or
windows shattering. She wonders what will happen to her property and
if something happens; she wants to who will take care of it.
Muck stated that when they were blasting within about 200 feet of
another house years ago, there was no significant damage to the
house. He reported that one of the last mining studies he had (from
a mining company in West Virginia) said that miners could drill
within 300 feet of a house. The study found that the heating and
cooling in the winter and summer did more damage to the house than
the blasting did.
Sandolini inquired whether there is some regulation about how much
noise there could be and how often they could blast. She said an
occasional boom in the backyard is okay, but multiple booms every
day would be too much. Muck said everything is very heavily
regulated by the EPA and the Department of Natural Resources, and
that there are noise and vibration standards; inspectors regularly
come in. He said that when one neighbor had a complaint about the
noise levels by Hanson, Hanson adjusted the level after testing the
noise level.
When Muck last worked with Hanson, he required Hanson to meet all
the demands for berms, landscaping, and water provision. Muck said
many neighbors near the previous operation would say when they had
issues; they were often able to get them resolved. He wants people
to communicate with him about any problems and try to resolve it,
avoiding a costly lawsuit.
Thompson asked a question about a property nearby and whether its
zoning was indefinite, but Muck said it expires next year, and he
plans to renew it in October 2016. He said there are no plans to
mine that spot for now, but it is zoned agriculturally and would
have to be rezoned. D'Andrea explained that with future rezoning,
any additional land area used for driveway access associated with
the mine would have to be rezoned.
 Glenda Downing then shared several comments and posed some
questions. She started by making it clear that she has nothing
against the mine or Mr. Muck, but would be more demanding than she
was last time. Downing gave the ZBA members a script and pointed out
that a lot of it said, "I think" and "it's my opinion." She is
worried more about the process of rezoning for M3 extraction.
Downing would like to see the Logan County Board put more
specific conditional uses in place, so everyone would know the
specific conditional uses for mining extraction. She asserted that
Mr. D'Andrea can reference information for other counties on mining
extraction that the county could use to help find requirements
suitable to Logan County.
Downing mentioned that she found a Livingston County ordinance for
mining extraction online that has very exact specifications and
requirements for what needs to be done and feels that what Logan
County has now is a "band-aid." Downing said she was not sure if any
of the plans submitted by Mr. Muck would have to be followed once
the conditional use permit is granted. Downing stated "I am sure
that Muck has all intentions of following his plans, but untimely or
financial circumstances could change his plans."
She asked the zoning board to adopt a specific conditional use
ordinance and make recommendations to the board. Downing expressed
continued concerns that neighbors share about a loss of well water,
damage to their homes, loss of property value, public safety, and
even underground water for crops.
Downing then posed some specific questions:
- If Logan County does not have specific special conditions
for rezoning mining extraction property, does Muck have to abide
by the plans?
- If Logan County does not have a specific conditional use
ordinance, what happens when the owner of the mine changes?
D'Andrea replied that for both questions, with any plans that
were brought in as part of the conditional use, the layout of
the plan would have to be complied with. If property were to be
sold, so too, anything included as part of the application would
have to be enforced no matter who the operator is.
Downing also asked who to contact for reimbursement if her well
goes dry. Downing said that she just had her house appraised.
She asked who to contact if she cannot sell for the appraisal
amount or close to it because it is within one-quarter mile of a
mining company.
Thompson told her to contact the operator of the lease.
Downing wanted to know if D'Andrea has suggested having a
detailed ordinance like Livingston County. D'Andrea said the
Planning and Zoning Committee and County Board have received the
ordinances of Livingston County and other boards concerning
quarry regulations, but at this point [the board] has not
adopted specific resolutions. He told Downing to talk to the
county board about the concern.
Downing asked where trucks have to stop near natural gas
pipelines. Muck told her pipelines are buried and with previous
mining, gas was shut off and they moved the pipeline. Muck said
that the lines have to be replaced about every 15 to 20 years
and cleaned out every two or three years.
Downing stated that with the continuous flow of heavily loaded
trucks driving fast on the "s" curves, she believes it is
dangerous for trucks to pull out. She is asking for some more
controls from the zoning board and Logan County Board to protect
the neighbors, citizens, and taxpayers. Downing urged the zoning
board to consider adopting a specific conditional use ordinance
and make recommendations to the Logan County Board before any
mining extraction conditional use permit is issued. Downing
closed by saying "I hope you consider these concerns. My
neighbors are here tonight, and they have the same concerns."
 Muck said that he has also lobbied for specific conditions after
looking at other ordinances. He said that you cannot just "copy"
the ordinances because some are tailored for specific
geographical conditions that may not apply to Logan County. By
illustration, Muck said the city of Lincoln adopted the BOCA
building code many years ago, which talks about light, sound,
and skyscraper issues, and not all apply to Lincoln. He agrees
that reasonable additions need to be composed and have
specifics. Muck said some Logan County Board members feel that
they want to tailor every instance specifically, and he does not
feel they can do it this way.
Downing said that ideally, descriptions should be tailored to
fit the property.
Muck addressed concerns about crop water and noted that the
tiling helps with drainage, but in areas around the pits,
drainage is not typically a problem.
Muck also said he does not like trucks going fast down that
road, but it cannot be well controlled unless better limits are
set.
Before putting it to a vote, Thompson listed six items to
consider about rezoning:
- Existing uses and zoning of the nearby property.
- Extent to which property values are diminished by the
particular zoning restrictions.
- The extent to which destruction of property values
promotes the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of
the public, and how one offsets the other.
- The gain to public vs. hardship to property owner.
- Suitability of such property for zoning purposes if
overburden is not excessive. 6. Length of time the property
has been vacant.
When it came to a vote, the board unanimously approved
the motion to approve rezoning for M-3 Extraction.
ZBA members present at the meeting were Doug Thompson,
chairman; Judy Graff, Derek Martin, and Rick Sheley. Logan
County Zoning Officer Will D'Andrea was also present.
The matter will now go to the Logan County Board with two
recommendations to approve.
The Logan County Board Regular voting session takes place on
Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Logan County Courthouse.
[Angela Reiners]
Past related articles
09/04/2015 -
New mining request makes first rezoning hurdle with Regional
Planning Commission
05/21/2015 -
Logan County Board: Land approved M-3
05/16/2015 -
Logan County considers rezoning land for mining limestone
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