Houston gets first look at gravel project

HOUSTON — In advance of Thursday’s public hearing, Ben Jones rejected the criticisms about the application for a gravel operation on his Parks Highway property.

“It’s all being over run,” Jones said. “This is not a pit. It is an extraction to make the property flat for development.”

The application now in front of the Houston City Council would allow Mat-Su Gravel Products to excavate 1.5 million cubic yards of soil and aggregates over 10 to 12 years. The affected 50 acres sit on a 69-acre parcel on either side of the Parks Highway just north of the fireworks stands.

Until recently, the application would have gone to the Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission then assembly for approval. According to code compliance officers Pamela Ness and Robert Guertin in an earlier interview, the operation would violate the borough’s ordinance governing earth materials extraction in two areas.

First, the application calls for a 20-foot buffer of natural vegetation between any mining operation and Cheri Creek. The borough requires 100 feet of buffer around any open water source.

Second, there are plans to dig a pond in the middle of the property and to have it fill up without diverting Cheri Creek. As far as the code compliance officers are concerned, this shows the mining operation will go into the water table, a direct violation of the borough’s regulations.

However, because the purposed operation is in Houston, it is not subject to the borough’s mining restrictions. Houston is exempt from the borough’s new gravel ordinance, and the city is in the process of gaining back complete powers of planning inside its boundaries. The application goes to the borough planning department simply for a recommendation before the city council decides its fate.

Asked how he responds to the environmental concerns that may not be covered by the city’s more lax regulations, Jones pointed to the application’s approval by the Army Corps of Engineers and the notice of intent filled to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Army Corps determined the area likely contains wetlands, but the mining operation would not discharge fill material into the water. The notice of intent to the EPA is for storm water discharge, and Jones said the EPA has approved their application.

“We are going down to 8 feet from the water table and nothing more,” Jones said. “We have to send weekly reports on everything we do to the EPA.”

As for the pond, Jones said it will be filled by underground springs and will not penetrate the water table directly.

At the borough, Guertin said he would have see a hydrology report before determining if that was possible or not.

Jones, who lives in the area, said a certain amount of springs in a five-acre pond are unavoidable on his swampy land. He said he’s gone through all the channels he could to make this the best project he can. At some point, he said he has to be able to use the land he pays taxes on.

“We’re not coming out here to destroy the land. I just want to take the gravel off the front part of my land into useable commercial lots,” Jones said. “The city has indicated they want this to turn back into commercial property. Do you want a house along the Parks Highway? I don’t think so.”

Both sides will present their case to the city council 5 p.m. at Houston City Hall on Thursday. The vote on the application has been delayed until July 16, as not enough council members will be present at the meeting on Thursday.

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