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Arbuckle Aggregates
A permit application with the Department of Mines (DoM) to open another rock quarry north of the town of Mill Creek and directly north and east of Martin Marietta is raising concerns over impacts to the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer, Pennington Creek, and Mill Creek. The head springs for Pennington Creek are very near the acres dedicated to the new mine. The mine also crosses a tributary of Mill Creek.
Arbuckle Aggregates, LLC based in Frisco, TX. will be quarrying limestone and other materials. The application proposes the quarry getting their 1.5 million gallons of water a day for mining use from some of the water U.S. Silica is withdrawing daily from its active mine pit and pumping to their retired pit.
Also at issue is the use of and waste of pit water that will come from the proposed Arbuckle Aggregates mine once it penetrates the aquifer water table estimated to be between 15 and 44 feet beneath the surface. With the passage of SB597 in May 2011, the special exemption held by the aggregates industry is removed. The new law places regulation of "pit water" infiltrating mining operations over sensitive sole-source aquifers under the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
CPASA filed a protest with DoM, along with approximately 300 other parties, in 2010. An informal conference regarding the application was conducted by DoM on December 2, 2010, in Tishomingo. A report on that conference can be viewed here.
Since then, CPASA has submitted a written request to DoM to examine the notice requirements, pursuant to the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision this year Daffin v. State ex rel. Oklahoma Department of Mines. In its request, CPASA has urged the DoM to require Arbuckle Aggregates to republish notice of its mining application. Prior to the Daffin ruling, protests were limited to those living within one mile of the proposed operation to be considered valid. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the one mile limitation imposed by the DoM was unconstitutional and, as such, deprived Oklahoma citizens the right to due process. Those of us who rely upon the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer as our water source understand that removing water in one area of the Aquifer can, and does, have impacts felt far outside the one-mile rule.
CPASA spent a number of months attempting to come to terms with Arbuckle regarding a management, monitoring and mitigation plan. We felt that such a plan must include nothing short of the safeguards that were included in our agreement with Hanson Aggregates. However, Arbuckle was unable to agree to our requirements and discussions ceased.
CPASA is urging supporters to submit written protests to Arbuckle Aggregates' proposed mining operation and to request to be heard at an informal hearing. It is not necessary to resubmit a protest now if one was submitted in 2010, but should you wish to offer additional comments, you are encouraged to do so. Once an informal conference is scheduled, notices will follow from DoM. All protestors are encouraged to participate in the informal conference, should it be scheduled.
A protest form can be downloaded here if you need a sample for your own use.
The complete Arbuckle Aggregates application can be viewed here.
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