Your state DEP will have all you need. Do not try to by pass this because they will eventually find out and your grandchildren may be paying off the fines. Don't mess with the gov't, you will lose.
Operating a gravel pit
Does anybody have any experience with this? I am looking at buying property for a shop/office, and it makes more sense to me to try to buy a property that has a source of income as well as a place to put all of my Iron.
I realize that every state/town/county will be a little bit different so I am just looking for general input.
I just found 200 acres in my price range with an existing sand pit, some ledge and good glacial till soil, about 100 acres of timber stand and it is centrally located. The permit for the sand pit was never done properly so I would need to re apply for that. I am wondering if there is a consulting entity I could contact or a publication I could reference. I would like to think I could just do it on the sly but this state has a TON of environmental restrictions and hoops to jump through.
Any thoughts, experiences and advise would be great. Oh and happy thanksgiving/shopping hell day to all.
I realize that every state/town/county will be a little bit different so I am just looking for general input.
I just found 200 acres in my price range with an existing sand pit, some ledge and good glacial till soil, about 100 acres of timber stand and it is centrally located. The permit for the sand pit was never done properly so I would need to re apply for that. I am wondering if there is a consulting entity I could contact or a publication I could reference. I would like to think I could just do it on the sly but this state has a TON of environmental restrictions and hoops to jump through.
Any thoughts, experiences and advise would be great. Oh and happy thanksgiving/shopping hell day to all.
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We own and operate our own small quarry. We hired a engineer that specializes in quarries and he does all the big boys around too. He did all the work, I recommend you doing the same.
A good way to find this person that may be able to help you is to go into the county offices and review all request for gravel pit permits and see if there is a common name that crops up. He / she may be a local expiditor of sorts.
I would definitely do it legally. Around here towns vary in there enforcement policies. I know a guy who thought he got a steal on a gravel pit in a bordering town. They are very tight on operating days & hours. Also he has to maintain certain slope on banks. They regularly inspect his pit. Nothing like the pit he has in our town. He told me it's much tougher to make money at the out of town pit.
Like already mentioned you will need a engineer, and a enviromental lawyer and big bucks. Don't know how it is where you are, but around here every time someone trys to get a gravel mining permit or expand a exisiting gravel pit the greenies try and stop it and it ends up in court for years.
It is getting so bad in the NW, that everyone is worried we will run out of gravel eventually because no new pits have been allowed. And we will have to truck, rail, or barge it in from a long ways away. And what is worse the emissions from hauling from so far away, or the little impact of a well designed pit. Wish these people would realize what it takes to build their homes, roads, work places, etc.
It is getting so bad in the NW, that everyone is worried we will run out of gravel eventually because no new pits have been allowed. And we will have to truck, rail, or barge it in from a long ways away. And what is worse the emissions from hauling from so far away, or the little impact of a well designed pit. Wish these people would realize what it takes to build their homes, roads, work places, etc.
Having a permitted aggregate plant site is worth several times more than the unpermitted land value.
I know of a local outer suburban site of several square miles that was permitted by a number of investors/potential users just to get it covered by the current regulations that could be grandfathered if kept current by an environmental engineering firm. The site could be operated by several operators/users, which are large concrete producers (domestic and international) that compete with each other because they will just need the materials to supply a large and profitable growing market. The only thing that cannot be "grandfathered" is the access rights/roads, which will change as the area develops and requires constant communications with the right people.
Get all the permits possible and do it right. An environmental and restoration plan is a necessity and will make the land more valuable after the aggregate is gone. Most people in our area make more money selling the used land for development than they made from the aggregate. Since they had the planning and permitting done and planted the trees, Mother Nature increased the value.
I know of a local outer suburban site of several square miles that was permitted by a number of investors/potential users just to get it covered by the current regulations that could be grandfathered if kept current by an environmental engineering firm. The site could be operated by several operators/users, which are large concrete producers (domestic and international) that compete with each other because they will just need the materials to supply a large and profitable growing market. The only thing that cannot be "grandfathered" is the access rights/roads, which will change as the area develops and requires constant communications with the right people.
Get all the permits possible and do it right. An environmental and restoration plan is a necessity and will make the land more valuable after the aggregate is gone. Most people in our area make more money selling the used land for development than they made from the aggregate. Since they had the planning and permitting done and planted the trees, Mother Nature increased the value.
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
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