1. RECLAMATION
A Natural Choice RIP‘NSHARE
page38
STONE,SAND&GRAVEL
REVIEWOFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL STONE, SAND & GRAVEL ASSOCIATIONSeptember/October2011
3. STONE, SAND & GRAVEL REVIEW, www.nssga.org 7
The bimonthly publication of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association
September/October 2011, Volume 27, Number 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
12 RECLAMATION – WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE CAN GET A PROJECT
APPROVED NOW
What has become clear is that reclamation plans are now a key component of any quarry
application, explains Christopher M. Hopkins, The Saint Consulting Group. It can be a tool to
attract local support for any operation by addressing the issues important to frequent opponents.
17 SUSTAINABLE MINE RECLAMATION – CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS
Wendy Schlett, GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., describes how future trends for mine reclamation
are beginning to take on a “sustainability” framework. By incorporating a sustainability focus
into mine reclamation, aggregate producers are finding that early planning with a focus on the
end use of the reclaimed mine is becoming increasingly important.
19 VALUE RECLAMATION PLANNING – SUSTAINING AMERICA’S FUTURE
ONE QUARRY AT A TIME
Quarry Lake at Greenspring, located in Baltimore, Md., effectively demonstrates how
Value Reclamation Planning from Richard Hoehn and Lyndon Hart, Hoehn Landscape
Architecture, LLC, can creatively transform quarry reclamation properties into outstanding
sustainable land uses and community assets for future generations.
21 SUSTAINABILITY – WHY REPORT?
In today’s market, a growing number of stakeholders are demanding greater disclosure and
transparency regarding companies’ sustainability initiatives. In her article, Margie P. Flynn,
BrownFlynn, discusses the benefits of reporting and how to report
on a company’s sustainability efforts and progress.
23 REFLECTIONS OF THE SUSTAINABILITY TASK FORCE CHAIRMAN
In October of 2008, Matt Stewart, Lafarge, became chair of the NSSGA Sustainability Task
Force. Upon reflecting on his three years in this role, he says what surprises him the most
about this period of time is that despite the extreme change in global economic prosperity,
sustainability has endured as a key driver for leading businesses in all sectors.
29 GRIDLOCK IS UNACCEPTABLE
NSSGA’s Pam Whitted doesn’t mince words when she says, “Gridlock is unacceptable.”
She says the gridlock that plagues America’s urban roads and highways is mirrored in the
nation’s Capital where it is preventing passage of almost any legislation. The nation is on
a collision course, she warns, unless continued enthusiastic and intense advocacy moves
Congress forward on the Road to Reauthorization.
33 AGG1 DEVELOPING ITS OWN IDENTITY
One of the lessons of past AGG1s is the complicated nature of the AGG1 Expo versus the
NSSGA Annual Convention held at the same time and in close proximity. Is it a convention
with a trade show or a trade show with a convention? Rick Feltes, Lafarge, traces the
evolution of AGG1 and the Annual Convention that now have very different purposes and
very different attendee demographics.
35 COFFEE WITH A CONTRARIAN
Recently, NSSGA launched a program to make digital communications a core vehicle for member
engagement. NSSGA’s Tim Reagan sits down to chat with “Mr. Contrarian” to see if he could
help him understand this member’s resistance to the new initiative, since “Mr. Contrarian”
seems convinced that moving to the digital world won’t work for his business.
Departments
4 Events Calendar
9 Legislative Calendar
38 Rip & Share Safety Handout
41 NSSGA@Work
44 Products & Services Guide Listings
46 Index to Advertisers
46 Advertiser.com
On the Cover:
Text TO COME
RECLAMATION
A Natural Choice
RIP
‘N
SHARE
page38
STONE,SAND&GRAVEL
REVIEWOFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL STONE, SAND & GRAVEL ASSOCIATIONSeptember/October2011
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5. 12 STONE, SAND & GRAVEL REVIEW, September/October 2011
Quarry
Reclamation
Growing up just south of Boston, my
limited knowledge about quarries was
drawn primarily from the abandoned
granite pits of Quincy, long notorious
for attracting the young, the fearless
and the forbidden.
The last of the quarries had closed
in 1963 after producing granite for
the entire region since the early 19th
Century. I knew them only as a locally
legendary hangout where the “daring”
kids went to swim during hot summer
days and nights.
There was no reclamation plan for
the Quincy quarries. One by one, they
closed and were left abandoned, many
filling with water hundreds of feet
deep. Aside from the kids who swam
in the dark waters and dove from
the steep ledges, the quarries were a
popular spot to dump stolen cars.
It took decades of public hand-
wringing – and the loss of many
young lives – before any serious
reclamation plan was implemented.
And that happened only because of a
pressing need to get rid of the earth
excavated for Boston’s massive “Big
Dig” public works project to bury
elevated highways and build a new
harbor tunnel.
Ending in 2003, more than 13
million tons of dirt and clay was
dumped to fill most of the Quincy
quarries. Today, they are home to
Granite Links Golf Club at Quarry
Hills, with spectacular views of the
Boston skyline. Golf Digest named it
one of the top new golf courses in
the country in 2004.
When my firm first started advis-
ing clients in the aggregate industry,
we found that a popular reclamation
plan submitted by our clients was to
use the quarry as a landfill when the
material reserves were exhausted. This
seemed like a logical idea. The need for
landfills was increasing, and the sig-
nificant hole left in the ground could
be filled with waste from the com-
munity in question, which could even
grow revenues through leasing out the
landfill to private companies.
We noticed trouble ahead, however,
when we conducted our first annual
Saint Index survey on American atti-
tudes about local development at the
end of 2005. A landfill, it turned out,
is Americans’ most unwanted type of
project for their hometown. Making
things even more difficult for our
clients: after a landfill or a casino,
a quarry is the third least-desired
type of local project. The rankings
have held pretty much steady right
through 2011.
A good reclamation plan can be
an important asset when seeking
to permit a quarry. The golf course
built atop the filled granite quarries
of Quincy, Mass., is but one of a
myriad of different post-quarry uses
that are acceptable to a community.
Across the country, various different
reclamation plans have been attrac-
tive enough to help gain community
support for a quarry project and
overcome opposition.
According to Lynne Tweed, a plan-
ner in West Des Moines, Iowa, a good,
solid reclamation plan can be the key
to getting or not getting an approval.
Martin Marietta Materials’ completed
reclamation in West Des Moines,
by Christopher M. Hopkins
Senior Vice President, Aggregates and Mining
The Saint Consulting Group
What happens in the future can get a project
approved now
6. STONE, SAND & GRAVEL REVIEW, www.nssga.org 13
Raccoon River Park, has been called
the “crown jewel” of the West Des
Moines park system. The park includes
a lake, boat ramp, a swimming beach
and a nature trail.
According to Tweed, community
acceptance of a reclamation plan
is primarily location-driven; mak-
ing sure that what is planned after
the quarry will fit in with the
future comprehensive plan for the
community.
Another key factor in acceptance of
a plan is the life span of the quarry. If
the quarry has an expected life span
of 40 years or more, the reclamation
plans will not need to be as specific as
a mine with a 10- to 20-year lifespan,
Tweed said. With the extended time,
more fluidity is needed to allow
for what will be occurring 40 to 50
years in the future and to give local
officials more flexibility to determine
what will ultimately be there. For a
mine with a shorter life span, the
current board can more accurately
predict the situation that will exist
when reclamation is implemented and,
therefore, more-specific requirements
will likely be imposed.
In Baltimore County, Md. Lafarge
created natural habitat as its reclama-
tion of a quarry site. Wetlands were
developed to meet environmental
remediation requirements, replacing
a stream, natural vegetation and
wildlife habitat.
For a community to accept a recla-
mation plan, trust is essential. One
planner in the south stated that if
a company does not have a good
reputation, especially for following
through on promises, much more
scrutiny is focused on all facets of a
permitting application. That scrutiny
is even more intense when it comes
to promises of what the company will
do far in the future, the planner said.
The best way to avoid having devel-
opment plans viewed over-critically
by local officials is for a company
to maintain its reputation as a good
corporate neighbor and to become
very involved in the communities in
which it operates.
Being involved includes maintaining
your reputation in the local commu-
nity. Instead of just writing a check
or offering a sponsorship, become
active in local schools, conduct tours
for school children that include par-
ents, have an employee coach a youth
sports team. This direct involvement
in the community allows your firm
to interact with residents, helping to
educate them about the industry.
All of the planners we spoke to
about quarry reclamation stated that
the most popular reclamation plans
they see are those that return the
site to a natural habitat. A recent
example would be Martin Marietta’s
quarry on more than 400 acres in
North Carolina, where the multiple
pits were filled with water for
breeding grounds for Canada
geese and ducks. The site
7. 14 STONE, SAND & GRAVEL REVIEW, September/October 2011
also includes additional plantings
of grass and trees that established
a feeding area for deer and other
wildlife habitat.
Santa Clara County, Calif., is now in
the process of considering a quarry
expansion where the company has
updated a reclamation plan originally
approved in 1985. The change would
allow the company to mine the area
that was planned for reclamation.
California has statewide reclama-
tion criteria that must be followed
by counties and cities. The Mining
Reclamation act of 1975 (SMARA) set
forth these criteria, which include
an audit of previously approved rec-
lamation plans to ensure that they
meet the current standards. The
new plan in Santa Clara was in part
a response to an audit stating that
the reclamation plan was not up to
current standards.
Gary Rudholn, a county planner, said
that focus on the end use is required.
The project’s Environmental Impact
Statement must include a study on
what the reclamation use will be.
Raccoon River Park has been called the “crown jewel” of the West Des Moines
park system.
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8. STONE, SAND & GRAVEL REVIEW, www.nssga.org 15
California in 1991 created the Office
of Mine Reclamation to administer
SMARA. The office offers assistance to
cities, counties and state agencies in
planning cost-effective reclamation.
According to its regulations:
OMR strives to reclaim mined lands
to a beneficial end-use through the
implementation of SMARA, prevent or
minimize the adverse environmental
effects of mining by providing assis-
tance to lead agencies and miners in the
review of reclamation plans, and mini-
mize residual hazards to public health
and safety through the Abandoned Mine
Lands program.
What has become clear is that
reclamation plans are now a key
component of any quarry application.
Along with that comes attention by
officials on the financial stability of
the applicant or whatever entity is
ultimately responsible for implement-
ing the plan. Communities often
require that bonds be posted to cover
the anticipated cost of reclamation.
Posting of such bonds can also help
ease local concerns during the per-
mitting process.
Reclamation needs to be well
thought out, planned and presented
to the community. It can be a tool
to attract local support for your plan
by addressing the issues important
to frequent opponents such as envi-
ronmentalists and defenders of the
“community character” status quo.
The Saint Consulting Group is an
international political land use manage-
ment consulting firm. ■
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