Borough gravel pits facing tougher guidelines

September 11, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Rose Johnson has enjoyed watching moose and the sounds of chirping birds from her back yard in Meadow Lakes.

But recently, the melodic bird songs have been replaced by chirping of a different kind. The persistent sound of the back-up signal on loaders and dump trucks is all that she has heard lately raising from a nearby gravel pit.

"It is constant," Johnson told the Matanuska Borough Assembly Tuesday night. "I am glad to finally see something happening to address the issues surrounding the gravel pits near residential areas."

After a long period of public testimony, the assembly unanimously approved an ordinance that imposes operation guidelines and requires gravel extraction operations to be permitted.

The ordinance calls for a site development plan to be approved by the borough before extraction can begin, including a road access plan, visual screening measures that will be put in place and noise mitigation measures.

Addressing the noise is what Johnson wanted to see done.

"I realize that development is going to happen," she said. "But when it its going to take place, there needs to be some respect for the residential neighbors in the surrounding area. Limiting the hours of operation and noise is all I really want. I support this plan because it addresses the noise issue."

Others raised concerns about the railroad gravel operation having to work in the evenings. They wondered why work is done at night for gravel trains heading to Anchorage, where city ordinance limits rail freight transportation between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Additionally, the new permitting process addresses the issues of air quality and water quality, including dust control and the impact to natural and man made bodies of water.

Reclamation of the land after the gravel extraction has been completed was another issue of concern among those who testified before the assembly. Despite the concerns, the body failed to amend the ordinance to address the issue. Instead the assembly decided to revisit the topic at a later date.

"We need to discuss the topic of reclamation," assemblyman Bill Allen said. "I favor coming back at a later date when, after some due diligence, we can create a reclamation ordinance with some teeth."

After a flurry of technical amendments made by the body, assemblyman Jim Colver made one final addition, calling for road maintenance to be part of the site development plan.

Some of the smaller gravel extraction owners objected to the plan, saying that the requirement of a site development plan and multiple permits will force them out of business.

"This is going to take all the profit from the small operator like me and put it into permits," Reed Dilly of Palmer said. "This is more suited for the large pits and not the small ones. It's going to smother the small guy and do them in."

Darrell L. Breese can be reached at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@frontiersman.com.