We are facing an uphill battle against a big gravel trucking company trying to dig a gravel pit in our community on one of the busiest highway intersections in Wright County MN....
The proposed location is also in a very rich bio - diverse micro climate that is the home to 2 well established apple ? orchards... both within a couple hundred feet of where the pit would go (one is literally across the street and the other is 1200 feet to the East. There are many environmental concerns... but one specific concern is the amount of Silica Fugitive Dust that is produced at gravel pits. It is very harmful to people, animals, and Apple ? Orchards.
With help and encouragement from our neighbors we have hired a law firm and we filed a petition with the Environmental Quality Board to force the applicant to do a step one Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The Environmental Worksheet is the lowest hurdle for them 'to have to start... thus far they have been able to avoid any Environmental requirements". However, some recent good news is that the EQB accepted our request and has sent the request to the Wright County Planning & Zoning Board. So this will help us delay any decision. Which allows us more time to present our evidence. The legal bills to this point are $15-20,000. If we have to go to court it will be significantly higher. But for now we are fighting a good fight.... if we can win the first round it will be a strong first step. A lot of people say, "you can't fight City Hall" ... but this great group of people are putting up a tremendous effort! Thank you for considering to partner with us on the challenge.
The proposed location is also in a very rich bio - diverse micro climate that is the home to 2 well established apple ? orchards... both within a couple hundred feet of where the pit would go (one is literally across the street and the other is 1200 feet to the East. There are many environmental concerns... but one specific concern is the amount of Silica Fugitive Dust that is produced at gravel pits. It is very harmful to people, animals, and Apple ? Orchards.
With help and encouragement from our neighbors we have hired a law firm and we filed a petition with the Environmental Quality Board to force the applicant to do a step one Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The Environmental Worksheet is the lowest hurdle for them 'to have to start... thus far they have been able to avoid any Environmental requirements". However, some recent good news is that the EQB accepted our request and has sent the request to the Wright County Planning & Zoning Board. So this will help us delay any decision. Which allows us more time to present our evidence. The legal bills to this point are $15-20,000. If we have to go to court it will be significantly higher. But for now we are fighting a good fight.... if we can win the first round it will be a strong first step. A lot of people say, "you can't fight City Hall" ... but this great group of people are putting up a tremendous effort! Thank you for considering to partner with us on the challenge.
