Durst Gravel Mine Impacts on Hamm Brook Area

March 12, 2008

Summary of Jane Water’s comments on March 12th about the Gravel Mine, Hamm
Brook area on the Carvel Site:

Another issue that Jane Waters gave testimony about at the March 12th Carvel DEIS hearing was the Gravel Mine and its impacts on the Hamm Brook. She said that in doing the habitat studies they found spawning trout in the upper Ham Brook and Dan Stone (from Chazen) said because of that they have located much of the construction closer to the golf course in the next watershed. However, the gravel mine is just across Mt. Ross Road from where the Ham Brook is located. And she gathers not only are they going to mine the gravel at the mine, but will also truck in stone excavated elsewhere on the property and then break it down in the gravel mine area and then truck it back out to use on the property. Won’t that create a huge amount of gravel dust that could get into the stream? (See page 3 of the appendix 10.3: “Excavated rock would be loaded onto trucks at the excavation location and delivered to the on-site rock crusher area for processing. A stockpile of crushed rock would be created for future use. Economically it is favorable to co-locate the rock crushing and concrete fabrication processes so the cost to truck material across the site is minimized. Rock crushing and concrete fabrication operations would most likely be performed near the existing sand and gravel mine site where both fine and coarse aggregate are readily available and close to a major roadway for cement and additive deliveries.”).

Has the DEIS detailed adequately how they plan to prevent gravel dust contaminating the Hamm Brook trout spawning area? Especially because a seasonal stream that is directly contiguous to the gravel mine empties into the Hamm Brook.

She said she is also concerned about the heavily laden trucks that will be using that intersection coming from and going to other parts of the property, especially considering the new road that will go south from 199 to Stissing Mountain Road that will be almost across 199 from Mt. Ross and Windmill Hill Roads. Will there be enough sight distance coming east on 199 coming around that corner? Won’t that be a very dangerous area?