Mat-Su Borough denies B&E

BY BRIAN O’CONNOR

Frontiersman.com

WASILLA — A gravel pit formerly operating without a valid permit has been denied a rapid administrative permit, which would have allowed them to continue operations.

Representatives from the B & E Sand and Gravel company will instead have to seek out a conditional use permit from the borough planning commission, a process which could eventually take months and will require a public hearing, borough officials said.

Borough officials determined that the gravel pit operations didn’t fall under the purview of the administrative form of the permit. A separate permitting process related to a landfill at the property — which local residents and officials say has been operating without any permit for years — hasn’t been decided yet, according to Alex Strawn, Mat-Su Borough Development Services Manager.

“That’s next on my agenda,” he said. “We want to get that garbage cleaned up or permitted.”

The conditional use permit is more detailed said borough planning director Eileen Probasco.

“It’s more thorough, and there’s the public hearing in front of the Planning Commission,” she said. “That makes it more intense.”

At the same time, commissioners will have the opportunity to place conditions on the permit, potentially requiring things like environmental impact surveys, or limiting noise levels, according to Probasco.

Local residents, like Dave Robinson, who works and lives in the neighborhood along Pittman Road where the gravel pit is located, said they were eager to hear a final decision on the landfill permit.

“The reason I was concerned about it was because of the dump,” he said.

Part of the refuse stored in the landfill pre-dates construction code reform, meaning it could contain asbestos and other toxic materials. In particular, he cited portions of the condemned North Slope Restaurant, formerly of Eagle River, housed in the dump.

“Anchorage has been dumping in the Valley for years,” he said. “The reason they did was because it was cheaper to take it there than to take it elsewhere.”

Robinson said he personally doesn’t object to the gravel pit — he’s purchased gravel from them before — but shares at least some concerns related to its operations.

“There are certain rules they have for a gravel pit,” he said. “There’s the aquifer level. What concerns me is if they have an oil spill or something and they contaminate all our wells.”

Most residents have wells extending as little as 40 feet into the ground, making them more susceptible to possible contamination, said Robinson who drills residential water wells for a living.

A contract between B & E and Scarsella Bros. Inc., relies in part on gravel provided from the B & E pit to complete a contract to extend Machen Road valued at $2.8 million. Representatives from Scarsella Bros. have in the past said the construction process was padded in order to allow for such delays.

The construction site appeared idle Monday afternoon.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.