Central Stone Company intends to obtain a permit to expand its Huntington Quarry limestone mining operation southeast of Rensselaer in Ralls County. According to a report by Herald Whig: "The company has filed an application with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to start mining an additional 98 acres of land just north of its existing 2,008-acre pit mine."
Ashley Harrison, an environmental specialist with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR's) land reclamation programme, says the proposed surface mining site would be located on the North side of Sweetbay Lane.
The application is currently in the public comment stage. Harrison says: a public notice has been published in a local newspaper, and all adjoining landowners were mailed notices outlining the company's expansion plans. The public has until June 29 to submit written comments about the permit request."
A public hearing will be scheduled if requested by any individual with a direct interest in one of the factors used by the DNR in deciding whether to issue the permit.
Harrison highlights the company must explain how it intends to reclaim the land after the work is done, which in the case of the 98-acre site, includes long-range plans for creating a small lake on the site.
Additionally, any firm that carries out commercial mining must recieve a DNR permit and are required to submit a bond that will be held by the DNR until the reclamation work is deemed satisfactory.
