Maricopa
County Department of Transportation last week issued a cease
and desist order to the gravel operator, Jake’s Granite
Supply LLC, according to Roger Ball of MCDOT. The operation,
located on the mountain‑side adjacent to the I‑17
frontage road, or Old Black Canyon Highway, just north of
Jackass Acres, was blasting the mountainside without a county
permit to stop traffic.
According
to Kerry Ugalde, assistant to the state mine inspector,
the gravel operation has an exemption from county zoning.
“The
state was pretty well built on mining, copper, citrus and
cattle ranching,” said Joe Munoz, spokesman for the Flood
Control District of Maricopa County. “They are pretty well
exempted from anything except dust.”
The
flood control district has no jurisdiction because a mountain
is not in a floodplain, Munoz said, noting water doesn’t
pond on a mountainside.
JD
Excavators, an operation subcontractor, would not provide
a contact name at Jake’s Granite Supply and refused comment.
A
release issued Tuesday by attorneys for the operator states:
“Jake’s Granite Supply LLC considers the safety and well‑being
of its neighbors tantamount to its granite operation. For
that reason, Jake’s has secured all of the stringent regulatory
permits and approvals and abides by both state and local
guidelines for safety. Employees of Jake’s live in the area
surrounding the site;
there is no one more concerned about the safety of this
community. Jake’s provides a needed resource to Arizona’s
economy while striving to be a valued neighbor.”
Several
area property owners expressed anger over the pit operation,
citing concerns over blasting and machinery noise, dust
and truck traffic, but declined specific comment about “a
neighbor,” should the operation continue at its present
location.
According
to Shareen Goodroad, president of the New River/Desert Hills
Community Association, “Area residents are extremely concerned
about public health and safety issues (related to the granite
operation). They are also concerned about the aesthetic
value in the I‑17 scenic corridor, per the Maricopa
County New River Area Plan.”
George
Mills, owner of the New River Station restaurant property,
located directly across the road from the gravel operation,
said he is concerned about flooding and mud slides, if blasting
continues on the mountain.
According
to Mills, raw dirt left from the blasting could turn to
mud during a rainstorm and block the culvert which carries
water under the roadway. “There is nothing to stop the mud
from clogging the pipe,” he said. To date, it appears no
measures are being taken to control silt. “And, obviously,
we wouldn’t like the dust,” Mills added.
Doyle
Thompson, owner of Riverside Plaza just north of the pit
operation, said he is not that concerned about the gravel
operation. “It’s called growth,” he said.
Thompson
related he would only be concerned if the nearby cliff,
rising high over the frontage road, is loosened by the blasting.
“One
day that’s going to fall on someone. MCDOT should have taken
that down years ago,” Thompson said. He expressed that after
the mountain is cut away by blasting and excavation, it
should be chemically aged to better blend with the surrounding
scenic area.
Maricopa
County Air Quality made two inspections last week to measure
the level of dust, said Julie Syrmopoulos, spokeswoman for
Regional Development Services. “They are aware of it and
are monitoring it,” she stated.
The
inspectors measure the opacity or concentration of dust
and the amount of light in airborne dust, Syrmopoulos said.
According
to Jim Bloom, chief of staff for County Supervisor Andy
Kunasek, the gravel operation needs a county permit to work
within the public right of way which extends outward 200
feet from the center line of the frontage road.
But
“removing a mountaintop” is not interfering with the right
of way,” Bloom noted Friday. He said numerous mountains
are coming down (in other areas), pointing out as an example
another
mountain excavation between Phoenix and New River.
“Our
thinking may be that it is outrageous, but it doesn’t make
it illegal,” Bloom commented.
“Usually
those people are big (sand and gravel) operators who are
paid big money to do” this type of operation and know what
they are doing, Flood Control’s Munoz told The Desert Advocate,
adding they probably won’t get shut down.
Bloom
related that the Bureau of Land Management at one point
thought it might own the property’s mineral rights but upon
investigation determined the gravel operation is not a federal
mineral reserve.
He
further expressed his belief that the MCDOT permit will
be granted and the operator allowed to resume blasting near
the roadway.
However,
Bloom added, “All the things we (the county) control we
are going to do (enforce) with full force.”
Reach
the reporter at kathleen@thedesertadvocate.com.
