Gravel miners weigh in on ordinance

PALMER — In the process of reshaping one of the Mat-Su Valley’s biggest economic engines, representatives from the gravel mining industry made their case about changes to the Mat-Su Borough’s comprehensive earth materials extraction ordinance.

The executive director of the Alaska Rock Products Assoc., Tom Healy, opened a work session this past week with the borough assembly. He said a lot of time has been spent working on the basis of a code change, and the industry supports much of the document.

However, there are still some areas of concerns, Healy said, including some of the 40-plus amendments the borough planning commission has proposed.

In particular, he pointed to the amortization process for operations currently working under non-conforming grandfather rights. The proposed ordinance would require these operators to submit a plan within 20 years or the date indicated on their original applications on how they will bring their mines into conformance.

“The ultimate extinguishment of legal non-conforming status is of concern,” Healy said.

Also a concern, he said, is the reclamation requirement of eight inches of topsoil and a performance security bond to back that up. Ultimately, the ordinance as written will increase the price of gravel and put a heavy burden on smaller operators.

Marc Cottini, an engineer who owns the property underneath a small gravel mine, represented small operators. Most of these operations are owned by one party who then hires contractors to extract gravel. Requiring a performance bond is not feasible with this arrangement, he said.

Bonding, plus the expense of drafting a new amortization plan, would simply be too much for small operations to incur, Cottini said. Instead, Cottini suggested allowing smaller mines to keep grandfather rights, and a bond should not be required until an operator fails to follow their reclamation plan.

Representing the large operators was Wes VanderMartin of Anchorage Sand and Gravel. The majority of his comments were directed toward the proposed amendment from the planning commission to disallow mining under the water table. This recommendation came despite the stringent permitting process in the new ordinance for such operations.

“It’s not like they can just go out there and arbitrarily dig,” VanderMartin said.

Mining under the water table actually causes less environmental impact, he said, as more gravel can be extracted from a smaller area. Larger tracks of land are harder to come by, and dredging extends the life of each mine.

There is about $250,000 worth of studies done before a dredging operation can start, and wells will monitor the water levels during the operation, he said.

“Ultimately, the burden is on the operator,” VanderMartin said.

There was no public comment allowed in the session. The assembly took no action on the ordinance and indicated there will be plenty more work sessions before a vote takes place.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.