Gravel pit concerns raised
By Holly Neumann
The Iola Zoning Committee discussed the Faulks Brothers’ non-metallic mining application at its Nov. 10 meeting.
The proposed gravel pit will be located on the Iola Car Show Grounds, on two separate properties along County Trunk J and Oak Ridge Road.
The south property is in the town of Scandinavia, while the north property is located in the village of Iola.
The two parcels are currently used for parking for the car show.
Mark Weinreis and Dan Brasch, of Faulks Brothers Construction, Inc. shared information on the mining and answered questions from community members who voiced concerns.
If approved, phase one of the project would begin at the south site, located at N7055 County Trunk J, in the town of Scandinavia. The parcel is 59 acres and 23.7 acres will be mined.
Once they exhaust all the materials from this site, they will move on to phase two of the project, located at 100 Oak Ridge Road, in the village of Iola.
This site is a 34.8 acre parcel, with 5.9 acres being mined.
The pits will on average be between 25 and 26 feet deep.
Truck traffic
Construction of a well on these sites is not planned at this time, as water used for dust control will come from outside sources.
Haul roads will be created within the site so trucks and machinery can travel back and forth on interior road ways, then out onto County J.
“We are trying to keep this as small as possible,” said Weinreis. “But it depends on supply and demand. We are estimating about 25 trucks a day.”
Each load will be approximately 22 tons.
Ten-foot berms will be created around the site, but at least 500 feet away from residents or barns with livestock in them.
The purpose of the berms is to reduce noise and visual impact of mine. They will be sloped and have vegetation planted on them.
Weinreis said the mining would not affect Keating Lake or the wetlands in the area.
Market demand will dictate how long each mine will be used and how quickly they can move material out. Both sites could be operating at the same time during the transition to the second phase of operation.
Currently, there are no plans for crushing on site, however there may be blasting. Residents would be given 24 hours notice of this activity.
Mining activity will be carried out over a 10 to 15 year period..
Larry Flowers questioned if there was an ultimate end date to the project.
“If the market goes to hell in a handbasket, in 30 years could this still be open,” Flowers asked.
“Potentially, yes,” said Weinreis.
Operations of the mine will be 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. until noon Saturdays. There will be no operations on Sundays, holidays or during the Iola Car Show.
Site reclamation
Once digging is complete, the berms will be pushed in to form the required slopes for reclamation.
The Iola Car Show has requested a 3:1 gradient for the final slope.
Top soil with a minimum depth of 4 inches will be spread across the site. And all berms and roads will be graded to meet the reclamation plan grades.
“I think most of us are concerned with contamination of our ground water, disruption of wildlife, the noise pollution, the air pollution, the water pollution,” said Larry Davis. “Even if it is small scale, all of those thing affect us tremendously. That is why most of us are here, to try to understand it all. I could not even put up a fence on my property because it would disrupt the free flow of wildlife. We are concerned, especially about our ground water.”
An environmental impact study will look into some of these issues.
Committee member Mike Devine wanted to know about the financial impact of the car show.
“The impact of this is meaningful,” said Joe Opperman, executive director of the Iola Car Show. “It does not even come close to replacing the show income, but I would like to remind everyone that we are one bad weather forecast away from a crisis each year. Having any stabilized income, adds strength and longevity to our operation.”
There will not be a referendum for the public to vote on this project.
The next public meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Municipal Center in Scandinavia.