After an extended review, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued letters of deficiency to two Victor area landowners relating to their applications for Open Cut Mining permits for proposed gravel pits near Big Creek. The permit applications, submitted separately by Todd Townsend and Wade Moody, are in close proximity to each other near Bell Crossing and Highway 93. DEQ held a combined meeting on both permits on December 12, 2017, that drew significant public comment expressing a multitude of concerns.
The deficiency letters serve as notice to the applicants that, due to the deficiencies detailed by the agency, their applications cannot be approved as submitted. DEQ enumerates three options for addressing the deficiencies that the applicants may follow.
One option would be to submit revised application materials that resolve all the deficiencies, and after DEQ’s review confirms the application is acceptable, the permit would be issued.
A second option is to submit revised application materials that do not resolve all deficiencies, and after DEQ’s review determines the application is not yet acceptable, it will be disapproved and another Deficiency Notice would be issued.
A third option is not to submit any revised application materials, and one year after the date of DEQ’s latest Deficiency Notice, DEQ will notify the applicants that the applications will be abandoned and void unless they provide the requested information within 30 days of DEQ’s notification.
The deficiencies identified by DEQ are the same for both applications. DEQ enumerated 39 separate points that would need to be addressed for each application to be approved. Some of these requirements include hydrologic and hydro-geologic studies related to the potential impacts to groundwater in the area, as well as to Big Creek, area ditches and nearby water wells. It requires a survey of potential cultural resources including historic ditches, and a plan to ensure the protection of these resources. Other issues concerning access to the sites, potential effects on wildlife, wetlands, potential noise and operational issues, including an issue over the bond securing the project, must also be addressed before the applications can be approved.