5.7. SR 01-25-1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . . ITEM 5.7. COMPREHENSIVE GRAVEL MINING STUDY TO BE CONDUCTED IN ELK RIVER The Elk River City Council has authorized a gravel mlnlng study within the City limits. There are approximately 2,600 acres of land in Elk River owned or leased by 9 different gravel mining companies. This land lies along both sides of north Highway 169. City Staff, with the cooperation of the mlnlng companies, have started this study, which consists of three components: 1) An Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW): The EAW will be used as a scoping document to identify potential impacts from mining. This document will be available at Elk River City Hall and the Public Library beginning the week of February 8, 1993. A meeting to gain public input on the EAW is tentatively scheduled for the week of March 8, 1993. Time and location of this me'eting will be published in the Elk River Star News. 2 . An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): The EIS will further analyze the impacts of gravel mining and the alternatives to alleviate negative effects from it. The time and location for meetings regarding the EIS will be published in the Star News. 3. Planninq Study: The Planning Study will look at the issues of future elevations of roads and gravel mines, traffic, and land uses after mining. The process described will be expensive, however, the mining companies have agreed to pay for it. The City and the miners will benefit mutually from this study. A similar environmental process would be required for most of the mining companies to start a new gravel mine or expand an existing one. There is a great cost savings to the miners by doing the environmental review jointly and sharing costs. For the City, it makes absolute sense to consider gravel mining comprehensively versus one pit at a time. Other cities have developed comprehensive plans for mining areas, but typically after the mining has taken place. Elk River has the opportunity to develop plans and consider the impacts as a whole, prior to the resource being depleted and the land being negatively and irreversibly altered.