Alaska News

Mat-Su assembly rejects expansion of gravel pits in Meadow Lakes, Trapper Creek

WASILLA -- The owners of contentious gravel pits in Meadow Lakes and Trapper Creek both failed this week to get permits for large-scale extraction.

Matanuska-Susitna Borough gravel is the source of much of the rock used in Anchorage and Southcentral construction. Extraction of gravel -- deposited generously across swaths of the Valley area by glaciers -- isn't taxed or heavily regulated here.

But Tuesday night, the borough assembly rejected a proposal from B&E Construction, a company with a checkered past at its Meadow Lakes pit, which hoped to remove more than 500,000 cubic yards of material over 18 years from nearly 30 acres on North Pittman Road.

In a separate decision, the assembly also denied a bid by Trapper Creek Gravel to extract up to 1 million cubic yards of material over 10 years on 22 acres.

Trapper Creek Gravel owner Kristie Parsons told the assembly Tuesday the pit area has no neighbors and the company followed best practices such as creating a larger buffer than required. Parsons also blamed at least some of the opposition on personal attacks from community members.

The assembly unanimously voted to deny the permit after little discussion. Parsons said Thursday she plans to consult her attorney as to what to do next.

Both companies were seeking approval for what's called an Interim Materials District, a land-use overlay that allows operators to remove larger amounts of gravel for a longer period of time than is permissible under a traditional conditional-use permit.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Meadow Lakes pit drew loud opposition from neighbors concerned about their drinking water wells, dust and noise pollution, and what they said was illegal waste dumping.

But it also attracted the attention of regulators. The borough cited B&E Construction for extracting gravel without a permit and illegally storing trash and debris on the site. Those enforcement cases from 2013 and 2014 remain open, according to a borough memo.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation also issued a notice of violation to the company for illegally disposing of construction and demolition debris and tires at the property. Agency representatives, along with borough representatives, planned to visit the site Friday to see if B&E has cleaned up the waste as required.

The borough planning commission recommended the assembly deny the company's permit based on public testimony, lack of legal compliance, and potential conflicts with a Meadow Lakes land-use plan that designates the area as "rural residential."

Neighbors say the proposed operation would generate a gravel truck every three minutes and point to B&E's compliance record.

"The way this company has gone about their business has been a blatant slap in the face for every single resident around them and to you as board members," Nicolette Anderson, who lives in a decades-old subdivision near the pit, told the assembly Tuesday. "The only reason that trash got cleaned up in the first place is because they have been under a microscope and got scrutinized."

Several assembly members spoke in opposition before a unanimous vote denying the materials district.

"We have a contractor that has adamantly, simply refused blatantly to follow the state, federal and local ordinances dealing with this," said George McKee, who represents a Wasilla-area district.

B&E owner John Emmi in an interview Thursday called the borough process "ridiculous" because his company met all the requirements of the permitting process.

Emmi pointed out that the property has held a gravel pit for years and refuted the contention that B&E still hadn't cleaned up the property or was otherwise in violation. He said he spent $50,000 alone disposing of the construction and demolition debris. He also spent $25,000 on the engineering firm that worked on the permit application. He's argued the whole situation points to the need for zoning.

"It's our property. It's been a gravel pit for years. We followed all the proper procedures," Emmi said. "There's no reason to not allow us to do it."

He said B&E still plans to operate a gravel pit at the site, but a much smaller one that doesn't require a special district or conditional-use permit.

The company won't be able to remove any gravel, however, until the outstanding enforcement order on extraction is resolved, borough development services manager Alex Strawn said Thursday.

Zaz Hollander

Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com.

ADVERTISEMENT