Remember the gravel pit wars that were taking place with regularity a few years ago?  As construction around the state boomed due to general growth and big projects like the airport renovation, new state prison, highway expansions, and others, the battles were cropping up all over, like Tooele County, Wayne County, Willard, and Draper.  “Discussions” (more accurately, arguments) were frequent and intense in land use task force meetings, with little agreement being reached.  Ultimately, in the 2019 legislative session, a bill was passed which created a new section in LUDMA titled Section 9 – Vested Critical Infrastructure Materials Operations, which in essence created a right for existing sand a gravel operations (needed for construction of new buildings and infrastructure) to continue (kind of like a non-conforming right) and set some parameters for future expansion.  It was sort of a truce in the battle, with the understanding that “better” solutions would be sought in subsequent years.  Well, here we are in 2022 and nothing more has happened.

And now this section is being invoked to allow for expansion of an existing (this is in dispute – county officials contend there was never any mining activity on the site to begin with) limestone quarry in Parley’s Canyon.  The whole issue was unveiled when the property owner published a public notice required for a state mining permit.  Up to that point, no one in local government (i.e. Salt Lake County) had heard anything about a proposal to quarry at this location.  That kicked off a reaction by citizens and county officials to try to put regulations in place to prohibit or restrict such an operation.

This even became the subject of a bill during this year’s legislative session that would have changed state rules for such an operation so that it would have to follow more strict and broader state permitting rules.  The bill did not pass, however.

The owners are now invoking this LUDMA Section 9 to claim a right to mine and to expand.

You never know… what our legislative bills may ultimately lead to!