Rock mine review delayed

Thu., Aug. 26, 2004

By Erica Curless ericac@spokesman.com (509) 459-5439

A public hearing on Spokane Rock Products’ proposed 490-acre rock mine near Stateline, Idaho, has been moved to Sept. 23 after the company asked for a delay.

Initially, the hearing was scheduled for tonight.

In May, the Kootenai County Commission decided to have another public hearing because it said residents never got a chance to review the county’s version of the development plan, which outlines how the mine would operate.

For two years, the county and Spokane Rock Products have struggled with the specifics of the plan.

The company has offered about 15 drafts and still dislikes the county’s insistence of reviewing the operation every 10 years.

The latest version allows the commission to call a public hearing if it feels the mine has become incompatible with the new residential growth in the area.

The east side of the proposed mine between Pleasantview and Beck roads is in Post Falls’ growth path.

If the hearing shows that the mine has become incompatible then Spokane Rock Products may be required to take new measures to mitigate sight, noise, dust and traffic impacts.

The previous draft would have given the company three years to stop mining and reclaim the site if the commission determined the operation was no longer compatible with the area.

Spokane Rock Product representatives weren’t available for comment Wednesday but a June letter to the county attorney states that the “economics of the project simply cannot support” the risk of a potential shutdown every 10 years.

Spokane Rock Products expects the mine to operate for up to 75 years.

Neighbors fear the operation would endanger the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, which is the sole source of drinking water for 400,000 people, and harm their quality of life with added noise and dust.

Proponents say the 23-phase project is different from most rock mines because it would not leave a gigantic pit in the ground.

Instead the plan calls for mining 50-acre pieces, and once the gravel is depleted, crews would cap the area with topsoil.

Don Beck, the property owner, plans to farm these areas, which are currently uncultivated because of large boulders.

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Rock mine review delayed

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