FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County Planning Board members will review a staff report and vote on a proposed county dirt mine during a July 12 meeting, said Juliet Richey, planning director.
"We are making sure everything is done correctly," Richey said.
Notifications about the proposed 5-acre mine at 18264 S. U.S. 71 in Winslow have been sent to neighboring property owners, Richey said at the Planning Board & Zoning Board of Adjustments meeting Thursday.
The notifications are part of the required planning process for the mine.
State law requires the county go through a planning process because it has adopted zoning and land-use regulations, County Attorney Steve Zega wrote in a March 30 letter to justices of the peace. If Road Department officials decide not to follow the recommendations, they must file "a statement as to why we are proceeding that way," Zega wrote.
Several county departments -- including county environmental affairs and road -- have collaborated on the process so far, Richey said.
Staff plan to have a report looking at issues including infrastructure, traffic and operation hours by sometime next week, Richey said. An engineer also will look at environmental issues, she said.
Some details about the meeting -- including if some members planned to teleconference their attendance -- were unresolved Thursday. Richey didn't return a message asking whether the meeting will be held at 5 p.m.
The mine will be smaller than commercial pits, and the impact to the area is expected to be low, Richey said at the meeting. A commercial dirt mine can have hundreds of trucks on an average day, but the county likely will have a maximum of only three or four drivers using the mine, she said.
Road Department officials plan to mine an acre at a time and reclaim the property as they go, Richey said.
Dirt from the proposed mine is expected to be used on roads in southern Washington County.
Road Department employees started building road for the Winslow dirt pit without Quorum Court approval earlier this year. Construction was halted until approval, which the Quorum Court granted in May.
The project required approval because the property belongs to family members of the bridge superintendent, officials said previously.
NW News on 07/01/2016