On March 9, the operation of gravel or sands pits was approved by the Village of Scandinavia Plan Commission on plans submitted by Stacy Jo Salan for Murphy Concrete & Construction.
The Conditonal Use Permits allows operation of the quarries off Shady Drive.
Scandanavia Pit is an open pit sand and gravel pit that has been mined in the past by various operators (previously Bartels Pit) and now is anticipated to be operated by MCC, Inc. (Murphy Concrete & Construction). It consists of sand and gravel material that is excavated and mined for the production of specification concrete and asphalt mixes.
The intent of the project is to continue utilization of the pit while concurrently expanding the pit into the remaining four parcels that have not yet been zoned for extraction through Waupaca County Zoning. The expansion consists of ~36 acres (less berms and setbacks) of land north of Shady Drive, which will allow the operator to mine the remaining material prior to final reclamation of the sand and gravel pit location. This will consist of the excavation of the bank material to the west of the existing slope face until the limits of the expansion are reached throughout the entire pit.
Summary of conditions
Hours of operation 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, no operations on Sunday or holidays.
Route to and from the gravel pit restricted to portions of Shady Drive and State Road 49.
No hauling during spring road limit.
Use of pit is for extraction and trucking of material only. No crushing, processing, or blasting allowed.
Hotmix/coldmix processing Is not allowed but may be determined later with a new application and public hearing.
If noise become a problem, MCC will work with village officials and residents to mitigate issues.
MCC, Inc. shall establish a point of contact for both village and residents of Shady Drive to help mitigate issues and address concerns with both the property to be mined and ongoing road maintenance for Shady Drive.
All loads must be tarped.
Complete the reclamation plan as provided.
The operator must comply with all state and federal requirements intended to regulate surface waters.
The operator must comply with will all federal and state requirements related to wetland regulations.
Site operation plans
The following sections will delineate how the expansion of the pit will be operated by MCC, Inc.:
A. Pit Commencement & Cessation – expansion operation will commence once zoning permit is updated and approved through township & Waupaca County. Cessation and final reclamation could be a period between 15-20 years dependent upon market need and activity of pit.
B. Water Need & Utilization – water needed at the site will be minimal due to the processing nature and the fact that the pit will not be excavated below the water table of the surrounding area. Material will be excavated / dug out with loader on-site and loaded into trucks to be delivered to a central processing location. Water may be needed for site dust control; however, most of that process will be performed by a mobile water truck that moves from pit to pit for dust control purposes.
C. Hazardous Materials or Waste Materials – hazardous materials will not be stored on site and there will be no hazardous wastes produced as a result of this mining activity. The potential for oil / diesel fuel to be spilled from trucks / equipment will be present; however, measures will be taken to ensure that spill kits will be on-site and spill prevention training will be done to mitigate such occurrences from happening.
D. Transportation Routes – “pit run” material that is extracted from the site will be transported utilizing either quad-axle dump trucks (average ~73,000 pounds) or tractor trailer dumps (average ~80,000 lbs). This truck traffic will be utilizing Shady Drive west to STH 49 south to STH 54 as the designated truck route. These trucks will be utilized periodically when material is needed to be delivered from the pit to the processing location. Hours of trucking will be scheduled in accordance with the hours of operation of the pit per the permit.
E. Noise | Dust | Vibrations – berms on the property will be utilized to mitigate most noise & dust that is produced on-site. In the event that dust from the haul roads or site becomes an issue, MCC will have a water truck to suppress dust that is generated from activities on-site. Due to the fact that this is a sand and gravel pit – no blasting will occur at the location. Material will be mined from site from a bank with either a front-end loader or an excavator.
F. Mining Process & Equipment – sand and gravel “pit run” material will be mined from a bank by utilizing either a front-end loader or excavator to mine the material and load into a quad-axle dump truck for tractor trailer dump to be transported to a central processing location in the Fox Valley. **No processing will be done on the site – crushing and washing of material will be done at final processing location**
G. Operational Screening Measures – berms and vegetation from existing pit will be continued through the expansion to make the entire pit uniform in nature and to suppress noise, dust, and nuisance views from general surrounding public.
H. Lighting Plan – at this point in time, there is no plan for lighting needed on-site unless night operation is part of the expansion permit. If lighting is needed, small light plants will be used with portable gas generators built into the lights – making them self-sustainable.
I. Security Measures – sand and gravel pit has had and will continue to have a security gate across the entrance to the location that will have an MCC, Inc. lock on it to secure the location against outside entrants. Fencing will not be used; however, berms and vegetation should create an exterior barrier to deter entrance from the exterior.
Site reclamation plans
Upon completion of mining activities at the location – the following reclamation measures will take place:
A. All manmade refuse will be removed from the site and disposed of in a professional manner.
B. Final grading of the site will be performed in accordance with WDNR Reclamation standards in a 3 to 1 slope as delineated in the attached reclamation map (Attachment C)
C. Areas at the site to be reclaimed to active wildlife habitat will receive the necessary topsoil to promote growth of a sturdy habitat.
D. A seed mixture will be applied according to recommendations of subcontracted seeding / landscape company along with mulch and fertilizer to promote successful planting and growth.
E. All vegetation / planting will be monitored to ensure proper growth and stabilization of the site for future growth and success of reclamation.
F. If needed during reclamation, erosion control measures will be placed to minimize erosion on property; however, site is considered internally drained so erosion off-site will be negated by design of pit.