Rockydale gravel work must cease, says JoCo
From our weekly issue dated February 13, 2008
Barlow Rock & Gravel is to be notified that it must cease operations at a controversial site on Rockydale Road until a conditional-use permit is obtained.
A request for clarification on mining vs. agricultural land use by the Josephine County Board of Commissioners brought several Illinois Valley residents to the courthouse in Grants Pass Thursday morning, Feb. 7 to hear county planner Mike Snider respond.
Commissioner Jim Raffenburg was on vacation.
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Clarification was requested by the commissioners in response to the Little Elm Ranch operation on Rockydale Road in rural Cave Junction where Barlow Rock & Gravel has been removing aggregate material. Its stated purpose is to create an agricultural pond to irrigate an adjoining grass field.
Nearby residents and others in the neighborhood claim that despite Barlow’s claims to the contrary, the site is primarily a mine. They contend that the agricultural benefits of the pond are minimal compared to the negative effect a mining operation is having on the Rockydale neighborhood.
Snider produced a 17-page document discussing county regulations and its jurisdiction in such matters. But many felt that his work did little to clarify or resolve the problem which is, in the case of Little Elm Ranch, the actual definition of a mining operation and an agricultural operation.
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The state uses a 5,000 cubic yards of material removed and 1-acre size as its benchmark for mine definition. Josephine County regulations use the same 1-acre figure, but considers 1,000 cubic yards of removed material to define a mine. However, exemptions are considered if the primary purpose of the excavation is to further agricultural goals.
These distinctions are critical because if an operation is decided to be mining in purpose, a conditional-use permit is required and this means an involved process that includes public meetings. Barlow is currently seeking just such a permit for a proposed mining operation in the Holland Loop area.
The state’s opinion was offered by Frank Schnitzer, a representative of Oregon Dept. of Geology & Mineral Institute (DOGAMI). He said that the Little Elm site is an example of a situation where there is no reason to believe agricultural goals are even being considered.
“A report is filed by the county,” he said, “which in part concludes that removal of sand and gravel is occurring in the process of farming and the project should therefore be exempt from DOGAMI regulations.”
The DOGAMI statement adds, “There is no farming on this tax lot, there are no immediate plans to irrigate, there is no water right to allow irrigation. The farm currently utilizes a water right from the river.” The report also makes it clear that there are no farming benefits to be gained from the pond and that the material being removed could easily be used on-site for the pond embankment.
County Commissioner Dwight Ellis commented that “Growing rocks is not a farm use.” He and commission Chairman Dave Toler agreed that a letter be sent to Barlow stating that all operations at the Little Elm site must cease until a conditional-use permit is obtained.
Toler said that the clarification of regulations is still needed and will be addressed in the case of Little Elm Ranch. But because Barlow noted on state documents that the purpose of the project is to mine aggregate, it could therefore be dealt with immediately.
