Land commission grants formal quarry permit hearing to Saxony Lutheran High School

Saxony Lutheran High School will get to make its case against one of two nearby proposed limestone quarries in a formal hearing granted Monday by the Missouri Land Reclamation Commission.

The commission found that concerns about students' health and the school's livelihood raised by Saxony during a Jan. 27 meeting in Jefferson City deserved a hearing in connection with a mining permit request by Strack Excavating.

It denied requests for a hearing on a permit for a second, similar quarry planned near the school by Heartland Materials.

The decision to grant a hearing on the Strack permit and not the Heartland Materials permit came in response to differences in the specific proposals, said Jenny Frazier of the Missouri attorney general's office, counsel to the commission.

Strack's mine plan allowed for mining up to 55 feet away from the property line bordering the school, but Heartland Materials' mine plan included a self-imposed buffer zone of 1,100 feet between mining activity and the school property line.

Four commissioners voted during a closed session meeting Monday in favor of granting a hearing to the school on the Strack permit, two voted against it.

Several groups requested hearings on the each of the quarries. In its action Monday, the commission granted the formal hearing to the school itself but denied formal hearings to other groups. Requests for hearings on both the Strack and Heartland Materials permits from Public Water Supply District No. 1 and Save Our Children's Health Inc. of Fruitland were not granted by the commission because the commission felt those groups did not demonstrate enough evidence to warrant a hearing.

This map overlay shows the location of the proposed Strack quarry near Saxony Lutheran High School.

"It's a mix of emotions," said Saxony Lutheran principal Dr. Craig Ernstmeyer. "We are appreciative to be granted the hearing. That was our goal, but we are disappointed with a portion of today's decision, realizing the fact that this is step one."

Since the hearing request on Heartland Materials proposal was denied, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will now move forward with issuing its mining permit.

School board members will discuss their options to appeal Heartland's permit at their next board meeting Feb. 15. The school has already filed appeals against air emissions permits for both Heartland and Strack granted earlier this year by DNR, said its attorney Steve Jeffery, a St. Louis lawyer who was the DNR's general counsel from 1987 to 1993.

Before mining operations can begin, the company must obtain permits for air emissions, water use and mining.

"We will continue to work to protect our children's health and safety," Ernstmeyer said.

The school has 187 students enrolled.

In the meantime, Danny Dumey, a partner in Heartland Materials, said his company would like to sit down and meet with school officials.

"We're gratified" with the commission's decision, Dumey said. "It's another step forward. We're going to do everything it takes to be a good neighbor and we can coexist."

Ernstmeyer said school officials will be willing to talk with Heartland Materials "at the proper time."

Moving intersection

According to the permit application, Heartland Materials' mine site is 161 acres, with an open pit mine of 17 acres.

In response to traffic concerns, the company has pledged to relocate the intersection of County Road 601, where the school is, and U.S. 61 further to the north in an effort to make it safer, Dumey said.

J.W. Strack of Strack Excavating said he will move forward with his plans. His attorney, Brian McGovern, had no comment.

Strack's mine plan indicates an entrance off U.S. 61 to the 76-acre site with an open pit mine of 20 acres.

While the commission may consider a record of noncompliance as a reason to grant a hearing, Strack's previous warnings and notices from DNR were not a factor in its decision, Frazier said.

In the past 10 years, Strack Excavating has received two notices of violation and two letters of warning: One was failure to submit paperwork while the other three incidents pertained to emissions, according to DNR records.

Both the school and Strack must now wait for the state's Administrative Hearing Commission to appoint an officer to the case and set a date for the hearing.

A formal hearing will mean more in-depth testimony from both sides before an independent hearing officer who will then make a recommendation to the Land Reclamation Commission on whether to approve the permit.

In September, the commission granted a separate hearing request for Strack's proposed expansion of a quarry near Dalhousie Golf Club, which has also met opposition from local residents. A date for that hearing has not yet been set.

Southeast Missouri Stone Co., operated by Delta Companies, recently applied for a permit to reopen a limestone quarry near Oak Ridge at a site it mined years ago. DNR is accepting public comment on the application for a 38-acre quarry west of Interstate 55 off County Road 427.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

County Road 601, Cape Girardeau, MO