[Vision2020] Banned uses in the Groundwater Protection Zone Part 1

[Mark Solomon]

Phil,

First, you are reading from an older draft of the 
ordinance, not the one currently being 
considered. Specifically, in the section you 
quote, #1 has been significantly changed. #4, 
which you discuss, is the same. The current draft 
can be found on the county's website. 
http://www.latah.id.us/Dept/BOCC/DraftLandUseOrdinance.pdf

The primary purpose of a mining prohibition is to 
protect the flow of groundwater in the Overlay 
Zone. For a technical discussion of the same, 
please refer to the geological/hydrogeological 
background section of the research proposal 
submitted by Latah County to IDWR. It can be 
found at http://www.pwcn.org

For a real-life example of how mining can change 
groundwater flow, go to the somewhat new granite 
pit at the intersection of Nearing Loop Rd and 
Saddle Ridge Road. It's become a good pond site 
but may no longer pass as much groundwater as it 
used to. I've heard anecdotally (no, I didn't 
follow through with personal interviews) that at 
least two neighbors with wells saw a noticeable 
drop in static water level when the pit was 
created.

The commissioner appointed taskforce that drafted 
the ordinance (I was one of the members) 
contacted the local rock-crushing business and 
asked them directly if the proposed prohibition 
would effect their current or future operations. 
They said no. There is almost no exposed basalt 
in the overlay zone, the first economic 
requirement for a viable rock crushing outfit as 
the removal, storage and replacement of 
overburden is not cost -effective.

You raise a good point that could use 
clarification in the draft regarding storage of 
rock, etc not being used in association with 
"mining, refining, processing of mineral 
resources ". Thanks for the thorough read... 
that's how good public comment works. I will 
bring this issue to the taskforce at our next 
meeting 6/27, 5:30, Room2B, Latah County 
Courthouse. Public welcome.

Mark Solomon

>One of the biggest failures in the current 
>planning round in what has been termed the 
>Groundwater Protection Zone surrounding Moscow 
>is the false assumption that by returning a 
>NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) set of regulations, a 
>higher environmental purpose can and will be 
>served.  Further, it is assumed that by banning 
>uses in the rural area outside of Moscow, the 
>area will remain as a pristine rural green belt 
>for the community.
>
>Before people jump on that bandwagon, I suggest 
>that they debate and consider the wider 
>implications of what the regulations as proposed 
>mean.
>
>5.02.07 Prohibited Uses
>1. Feedlots, dairies requiring a commercial 
>shipper’s license, or other types of similar 
>year round/continuous confined animal management 
>operations.
>2. Sanitary or industrial landfills
>3. Industrial wastewater treatment
>4. Mining, refining, processing and/or storage 
>of mineral resources including, but not limited 
>to: asphalt hot mix plants, ore mills, rock 
>crushers and concrete batch plants.
>5. Processing and/or storage of toxic materials, 
>poisonous gases and/or radioactive materials.
>
>
>First I will address item 4 since it’s an industry I know well.
>
>There are no metals resources or ore deposits of 
>a toxic or dangerous nature in the Groundwater 
>Protection Zone.  Nobody is going to come to the 
>area surrounding Moscow and build an open pit 
>heap leach gold mining operation or a giant 
>copper mine with possible acid mine drainage or 
>potentials for off site leakage of process 
>chemicals.  So any ban on mining or minerals 
>processing is directed at calling for no mining 
>of industrial minerals that are inert and a ban 
>on the storage of those types of minerals.
>
>So what are the industrial minerals that these 
>folks are trying to ban and why would somebody 
>mine them here or store them here?
>
>Sand and Gravel, crushed basalt, clay, cement 
>and a series of what are termed place valued 
>minerals that go into bulk construction and 
>industrial applications are what exist in the 
>Groundwater Protection Zone.  So what is being 
>banned is production and storage of construction 
>materials that are inert and are not toxic.  And 
>the regulations make it illegal not just to mine 
>these products outside of the city limit; they 
>make it illegal to store them.
>
>Who does this regulation impact?  I think that 
>most people immediately think that they are 
>trying to put a stop to giant evile mining 
>companies, but the reality is that this 
>regulation is actually focused on small local 
>minerals providers, on landscaping businesses, 
>on construction businesses and similar folks. 
>No giant outside company is going to enter the 
>Moscow area to mine sand and gravel or try to 
>enter the crushed rock market.
>
>So, how will these impact landscapers?  They 
>will not be authorized to store decorative 
>stone, sand, top soil or other mineral products 
>for just one example.  This is very interesting, 
>since the move also exists to require 
>xeriscaping, low water use yard development, 
>which is heavy on the use of river rock, gravel, 
>shaped decorative stone and cement.
>
>Construction requires the use of mineral 
>products and construction related businesses 
>store minerals on their properties as a matter 
>of course.  Storage of bags of sand or cement 
>will now be legal in the city limits, but not 
>once you cross the line into the rural county 
>areas.  The average house uses 150 tons of 
>construction minerals and the yard for that 
>house uses even more and that does not include 
>any other building or roads or other 
>construction.
>
>The addition of a ban on Asphalt plants and 
>cement plants are obviously aimed at paved road 
>construction and repair.
>
>All of this impacts providers of these 
>materials, but how does it impact the average 
>citizen?
>
>The answer to that is pretty simple, it costs 
>everybody in the area more to live here and 
>materially degrades the regions environment.
>
>Just a simple example exists in sand and gravel 
>used by every single resident of Moscow.  Most 
>people do not realize that though our area has 
>numerous sand and gravel deposits, our source 
>for that material comes from 100 miles away, 
>trucked here from along the banks of the Salmon 
>migration route on the Snake River.  The town’s 
>annual consumption of 250,000 tons of sand and 
>gravel is the highest priced such material in 
>the State of Idaho, since it is not produced in 
>the local area, but must be trucked long 
>distances.  In Idaho Falls or Boise, the price 
>of Sand and Gravel is from $6.50-7.00 per ton, 
>but here in Moscow an average ton of sand and 
>gravel will cost between $10-18.00.
>
>So the community absorbs a collective cost of 
>over two million dollars to avoid having a plant 
>in the local area, but by doing so, they also 
>burn large amounts of fuel to move that material 
>into the area and transfer the place where the 
>materials are taken from lands which will have 
>little impact on regional environmental quality, 
>to ground right beside the migration route of 
>ESA listed species.  Half a million gallons of 
>fuel will be burned dragging that sand and 
>gravel up here for the use of this community, by 
>people who love to scream that they oppose 
>fossil fuel waste.  Silt will not be dropped on 
>dry Palouse hillsides; it will be placed next to 
>the River habitat of ESA listed fish.
>
>But the community gains the wonderful advantage 
>of being able to say, they have no mines in the 
>Moscow area.  Out of sight and out of mind, the 
>actual costs to the environment can be safely 
>hidden and the NIMBY crowd can feel they have 
>little or no impact on the planet, since the 
>operations and the distribution of minerals they 
>use every day are safely out of sight.  And the 
>warm and fuzzy feeling that saying that our 
>community has banned mines and minerals has to 
>be worth several million dollars, doesn’t it?
>
>
>I will deal with some of the other banned uses 
>on following posts, but would love to see debate 
>on the subject on this list.
>
>Phil Nisbet
>
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