Council, packed room for interstate Rock, power, water
By lynda williams
Desert Willow Blossoms by Lori Cole
This May 7 Council meeting was well attended by many Toquerville residents who are concerned about the intention of Interstate Rock to become a Critical Infrastructure Materials Protection Area. See Brian McNary’s explanation of what this means in his excellent Sentinel report of April 26th.
City Department Reports
Hurricane Valley Fire District- Merlin Spendlove reported 2147 calls so far this year.
Assistant City Manager- Darrin LeFevre reported:
The water tank is still leaking. They’re working on it. It is under warranty and still the builder’s responsibility.
Related to the Bypass Road:
He cautions residents to please stay out of that area. It is very dangerous. The sand pocket dilemma will have a fence at bottom to catch debris.
The rock that was placed for the sand problem is working and keeping sand from coming out on the roadway. UDOT has agreed that this fix is acceptable.
IME is starting their underground work at Anderson Junction (I can’t figure out who or what IME is).
Boulder Ridge developers are continuing to move forward with their grading permit.
City Manager- Ben Billingsly reported:
Toquerville has fully transitioned to the new domain: toquerville.utah.gov but everything will still redirect so you can continue to use the prior domain.
A Municiple Power Department
This was a very long and complicated discussion. It is available to watch on YouTube complete with a transcription.
A Toquerville resident, Jerry Eves and his attorney, Adam, answered questions about this process. The Boulder Ridge project is located on the west side of I-15 and is in Toquerville city limits. They would like to create a solar power company to service the residents of Boulder Ridge. It is my understanding that the developer will handle all the financial responsibilities that will be involved. Toquerville will provide staffing for the additional power created by the solar farm.
At some point this power will be turned over to Rocky Mountain Power or to Toquerville. The question is: does the city want to create a power department such as Hurricane, Washington, and St. George have or do we let Rocky Mountain Power acquire the excess power?
City Council recommended that they have a separate meeting with Boulder Ridge developers to go through these complicated issues, maybe with a flow chart to try to understand what the city might be taking on if they agree to create their own Power Department. The subject was tabled for now until the meeting can be scheduled.
Current residents of Toquerville that are Rocky Mountain customers will continue to get their power from Rocky Mountain Power.
Interstate Rock Wants Legal Protection
Interstate Rock wants to remove this hill on Grand Teton in order to harvest gravel and use as a road. Residents expressed concerns about property values, health risks, & privacy. They asked why Toquerville City allowed residential neighborhoods to be built next to heavy industrial zoning.
This is the item that packed the room. You can hear comments from the council and the residents on YouTube.
Interstate Rock, bordering on Toquerville and located primarily in LaVerkin, has an application for a special designation that will allow them to mine with little regulation or oversight. Please refer to Brian McNary’s Sentinel report of April 26 for a good explanation of how this designation will change the rules the for the mine and how it could impact the surrounding neighborhoods.
If Interstate is given expanded and protected mining operations, views will change from a hill to a gravel pit operation creating noise, dust, health hazards, and reduced property values.
In Utah a Critical Infrastructure Protection Area allows for the establishment of an asphalt plant. Specifically it grants the right to “recycle and to batch and mix concrete and asphalt” within such areas.
During the meeting, we were assured that it is not allowed in LaVerkin City according to their ordinances. Couldn’t LaVerkin change that law or ordinance at any time in the future? I don’t think we can rely on what they say now for protection later. After all, there are a lot of good old boys ‘round these parts to scratch each others’ backs.
Research conducted by Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League has revealed that the creation of asphalt processing plants near residential development has decreased the value of real estate by about 50% with nearly a 20% average increase in health issues like high blood pressure, sinus problems, shortness of breath and severe headaches. https://archive.bredl.org/pdf/factsheet-asphaltplants.pdf (Nicole Baker)
Huge boulders fell into the backyards of these homes as a result of Interstate Rock’s mining.
Residents who knew about the operation said they did not know the boundaries and that it could expand almost into their backyards.
It was noted that this rock pit has black basalt and there is no other source that is accessible within 60 miles. Basalt is used in chip sealing for roads as well as a landscape rock.
After the meeting I was told by a council member that the LaVerkin pit does not produce the kinds of material needed to make asphalt so they would not want or need an asphalt plant here. I asked about bringing the materials needed to this site. He said it would be cost prohibitive. I wonder if they have the materials for chip seal would they want an asphalt plant to produce that or do they ship it off? Is that cost prohibitive?
I was also told that Interstate Rock will have to abide by strict EPA rules governing this kind of mining operation. Will they? Do they?
Resident concerns: Air pollution, noise pollution, light pollution, operating hours, property values, mountains taken down exposing residents to the full impact of the mine, the noise disruption to the neighborhood. Wear and tear on Toquerville roads and bridge in Trail Ridge when LaVerkin receives all the revenue.
Mayor Sip agreed to compose a letter to LaVerkin City outlining the concerns of our city as they consider this application.
The council and city attorney encouraged us to attend LaVerkin’s meetings about this issue and rally surrounding neighbors to be aware and speak out about the many concerns.
Looking at the La Verkin website, there is a planning Commission meeting this Wednesday, May 14 where they will discuss Interstate Rock’s request. I called the city offices to confirm the meeting is open to the public, however there will be no public comments. Toquerville city council’s advice to the concerned residents was to attend LaVerkin meetings even if Toquerville residents are not allowed to comment. There’s value to public clamor.
Water shortage contingency
The Water Conservancy is establishing drought stages. We could potentially enter stage 2 this summer considering snow pack, etc. Toquerville has successfully cut water consumption by 29% over the last 2 years with a plan approved in March to reduce water consumption by another 14% on top of the 29%. We are currently using 240 acres of our 500+ acre feet of water projecting we were going to be able to last until 2033. This allows us to sell water back to the water district. The discussion then turned to the 2 million gallons that will fill the new water tank that belongs to Toquerville.
Councilman Wayne Olsen asked: Why sell it back? Instead use it to water our lawns rather than neighboring golf courses.
The discussion became too complicated for me to fully grasp. From what I understood, Toquerville is doing pretty well in the water department. However, the Conservancy District is trying to handcuff us. Please read or listen to it yourself in the transcript version on YouTube.
Water concerns and yet we just keep building!
Calendar of Events
Memorial Day Commemoration Program - Saturday, May 24th at the Toquerville Cemetery -10:00 AM
Summer Community Clean-up – Saturday and Sunday, May 31 and June 1at Center Street Park, Trail Ridge Estates Park and Westfield Park.