Bryant Creek Gravel Mining

[catman70]

I posted the first topic under Bryant Creek, but suppose it is just as applicable to this topic. Anyway, here it is:

We (my family and I) recently became aware that there's a gravel mining company applying for a 10 year permit to mine Bryant Creek for gravel somewhere downstream of Warren Bridge. We were curious to know more about the present situation – exact location, permit process/status, etc.– as well as who to contact to have our voices heard, whether pro or con.

If anyone has any input on this topic/situation please reply.

(Thanks, Minnow!)

[Kyle Kosovich]

Hello I saw the post yesterday on the gravel mining and had to do some reseach on it. I grew up on that river and do not want to see it get jacked up by a gravel minning opp. If any of you have been on that stream I'm sure you would agree.

Apparently the applicant Spring Creek Materials, owned by Travis Morrison, wants to

build a few floodpain pits for gravel removal and remove gravel from one gravel bar. The biggest problem

is the way he has constructed floodplain pits in the past. He constructs the pits close enough to an

eroding bank on an outside bend that the erosion breaches the buffer between the pit and the channel during

a flood and gravel pours into the pit. This is a serious problem since the pit is deeper than the bottom

of the creek channel, gravel from the bottom of the creek erodes into the pit. This is known

as "headcutting" with the stream bed dropping for long distances upstream. When the bed erodes in this

manner the banks become less stable, and they tend to collapse and erode more. It's great for the operator

because the pit then has a fresh supply of gravel to mine. There is no minimum distance required between

the pit and the stream channel, so the DNR has been powerless to stop it at the other locations this

excavator mines. They recently renewed a permit on Spring Creek a little north of Twin Bridges where he

operated 2 pits this way for years.

Please be a hero, and pass this on to other Stream folks they should be

aware of what's going on.

>>>This is what DNR has to say about it>>>>

The Land Reclamation Program appreciates your concerns with the permit

> expansion for a new sand and gravel mining site sought after by Spring

> Creek Materials in Ozark County. We encourage the public to take part

> in the application process of new gravel mining permits or sites.

>

> We have your comments of concern on file. The staff director of the

> Land Reclamation Program will take your comments into consideration when

> making the decision to grant or deny the permit expansion. The

> department’s Land Reclamation Program can not simply deny this permit

> application based on requests. The permit application is in compliance

> with the provisions of The Land Reclamation Act and an application that

> meets the standards of the Act must be recommended for approval.

>

> As stated in the public notice there is an option for you to request a

> public meeting or a formal hearing. If either of these requests is

> desired they must be submitted by the end of the public comment period

> which is Thursday March 27, 2008. These requests may be submitted by

> e-mail, facsimile or regular mail. If the company agrees to participate

> in a public meeting then a meeting will be scheduled.

>

> If a hearing is requested, you must provide evidence that the operation

> of this site will unduly impair your health, safety or livelihood. If

> no evidence can be provided the permit expansion will be approved. If

> you believe that you have credible evidence you may submit a request for

> a hearing. The hearing request would be presented to the Commission at

> one of their regularly scheduled meetings. The Land Reclamation

> Commission meets every two months in Jefferson City, Missouri. As the

> petitioner, the burden of proof would be on you to prove that operation

> of this site will unduly impair your health, safety or livelihood. If

> the evidence is conclusive that your health, safety or livelihood will

> be unduly impaired, the Commission may grant a hearing.

>

> If you wish to request a public meeting, formal hearing or have any

> other questions please feel free to contact me by phone at (573)

> 751-4041, by e-mail at chris.thiltgen@dnr.mo.gov or by mail at

> MDNR/DEQ/LRP, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, Missouri 56102-0176.

>

>

> Chris Thiltgen

> Environmental Specialist

> Missouri Department of Natural Resources

> Land Reclamation Program

> Telephone: (573) 751-4041

> Fax: (573) 751-0534

> chris.thiltgen@dnr.mo.gov

>

I just recieved this so I am not sure if there is still time to save it. It looks like if there is time then we might be able to prove this > If a hearing is requested, you must provide evidence that the operation

> of this site will unduly impair your health, safety or livelihood.

Not sure but worth a try?

Thanks everyone. pass it on.

Kyle

[catman70]

What about this tact: The Ozark Hellbender only survives in 6 streams between AR and MO – Bryant Creek being one of those streams. How would the inevitable change to the stream affect the livelihood of this endangered species? (Declared endangered by the State, but not by the feds...yet. A petition was filed in 2004 – I think.)

[Kyle Kosovich]

Exactly! Hellbenders. My dad caught one cat fishing down there off the bridge before. I think if we had the chance at a heareing we could have a chance to stop it.

I'm working on seeing if we can still stop this or not. I urge anyone to call, email or write a letter because the file that stuff away for the case.

[Brian Wise]

Also see this thread....

Bryant Creek Mining Thread (Bryant Creek Page)

Brian

[Chief Grey Bear]

The MDC should be jumping all over this. But by looking at the letter posted, it doesn't look like anybody can do anything about it. According to the letter, it the company does't want to show up at a meeting, then its all over and they win. That is how I read it.

But then again it states..... The permit application is in compliance

> with the provisions of The Land Reclamation Act and an application that

> meets the standards of the Act must be recommended for approval.......

I didn't know mining and destroying a creek and the life in it was reclamation. Boy am I behind the times.

[bclift65706]

their is plenty of gravel in hay fields washed in with th floods. I cannot believe the DNR or anyone else would let any one cut into an already eroding bank to mine gravel.I thought you had to stay 25 ft from the water. They want you to shoot ferrel hogs on site because of eroding the stream banks.

[Al Agnew]

Hate to bring politics into it, but DNR personnel really do have their hands tied, as long as this state doesn't have stricter rules governing gravel mining. And the current administration and their appointee to head DNR have turned the agency away from TRYING to get stricter rules in place. I was on a gravel mining workgroup back a few years ago (in a different administration's term of office) trying to come up with rules. The Corps of Engineers used to have jurisdiction over gravel mining, but a lawsuit won by gravel miners took it out of the Corps' hands, and the state was trying to come up with rules to replace those of the Corps. We were unable to get much of anything accomplished because most of the politicians from county commissioners in Ozark counties to state legislators seemed to believe that the gravel miners had a god-given right to make money any way they could. And it didn't help that most landowners along the rivers also believed they had the god-given right to make money selling the gravel, and besides, many of them were convinced that getting gravel out of the streams actually "improved" them. MDC has NO say in this matter, for some stupid reason...it isn't looked upon by the politicians as a fish and wildlife matter, but as a property rights deal. It didn't matter that all the science was on our side back when I was in the workgroup, the politicians and gravel miners and good ol' boys running the counties didn't believe any o' that science, anyway.

As you can tell, it was a very frustrating experience.

[catman70]

Apparently there's a public hearing in Jefferson City on May 29th to finalize everything.

Here's what I've heard about the situation:

In this particular instance, the folks who owned the land died. Their son has power of attorney and is the one selling the rights to Spring Creek Materials. Naturally, he doesn't live in the area. The daughter has been kept in the dark (for the most part), and was told the process would help control bank erosion, be good for the environment, etc. I think there's forces at work trying to convince her that it's the wrong thing to do, but even if she's convinced I'm not sure there's anything she can do about it.

[Chief Grey Bear]

MDC has NO say in this matter, for some stupid reason...it isn't looked upon by the politicians as a fish and wildlife matter, but as a property rights deal. It didn't matter that all the science was on our side back when I was in the workgroup, the politicians and gravel miners and good ol' boys running the counties didn't believe any o' that science, anyway.

As you can tell, it was a very frustrating experience.

Still shouldn't stop them from raising a stink.