Kane County spikes proposal to allow 24/7 mining operations
One of the larger gravel quarries in Kane County hoped to extend mining operations later into the night, but it couldn't dig its way out of an avalanche of concerns about noise, dust and declining property values from neighbors.
The county board voted this week against a proposal to allow 24/7 mining operations.
Residents told county board members that Route 47, where the LaFarge mine operates near Elburn, is a speedway for trucks that often blare their horns and hit the gas rather than stop for red lights. The beeping of those same trucks backing up can be heard throughout the night, and dust that wafts out of the mining pit cakes homes and vehicles in dust thick enough to draw pictures in.
"They just keep pushing and pushing," said neighbor Kelsey Minalga. "This is no quality of life."
LaFarge officials asked county staff to create a zoning path for 24/7 mining if approved by the county board. The facility operated beyond the allowed 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in recent years under an emergency decree related to a gravel shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic. With the end of the emergency, LaFarge officials wanted to keep the extended hours in place, but that would require a change in county code.
If approved, the code change would have opened the door to 24/7 mining operations for all 12 quarries in Kane County. For neighbors of the LaFarge mine, that meant the potential for another significant impact to their lives within just a few years. The LaFarge operation received permission to expand the mine in 2019 after agreeing with neighbors and the county to stick to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. operations, and monitor noise, dust and light.
Neighbors to the LaFarge mine peppered county board members with letters detailing the number of times LaFarge hadn't stuck to the agreement. They also hosted the county board members who represent the area where the quarry is situated for a public complaint session last week. They backed up those concerns by showing up to the county board's vote on the code change to reinforce those fears in person.
"Would you buy a house across the street from a mine that had the potential for 24/7 operation?" resident Carol Green Clulow asked. "I don't think so. The gravel pit has been there. That's true. But the expansion has not. What you can't deny is by granting this change you'd be making a bad situation on Route 47 worse."
With LaFarge not speaking publicly to refute any of the neighbors' concerns, county board members said they'd heard enough.
"In 2019, there was a negotiated settlement, and the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. limit was a very big jump," said county board member Mo Iqbal. "Now we are doubling it. I don't think it's reasonable."
County board member Mavis Bates agreed.
"I don't think we should allow a pathway, a sidewalk or a dirt road to allow this to happen," Bates said. "I want to say 'no' today."
And that's what they did. Only two people on the 24-member board voted to allow 24/7 mining operations. The proposal is dead unless LaFarge can convert a significant number of those "no" votes in their favor.