Proposed gravel pit meets resistance

North Utah County residents who battled to keep a gravel pit out of a residential area in Highland are now teaming up with residents in the southern part of the county to fight a proposed gravel pit there.

The Stop Asphalt From Entering committee (SAFE), made up of mostly Highland and Alpine residents, met with Santaquin and Genola residents to encourage them to do everything they can to stop a gravel company from invading their town.Spanish Fork-based Valley Asphalt's efforts to annex land in Santaquin and put in a gravel pit have been rebuffed by the Santaquin Town Council. The company has now leased property for a batch plant in nearby Genola.

The committee also encouraged the more than 50 people attending the meeting at Orem Junior High School to call Utah County commissioners, whom they accused of dragging their feet on a decision to ban industrial mining on lands deemed critical environment. Commissioners promised last June to make a decision within 30 days.

"We think it's a dichotomy to have mining in critical environmental zones," said Anne Sward Hansen, a member of SAFE from High-land.

Commissioners are trying to weigh the concerns of residents while also respecting the legal rights of property owners.

Committee Chairman Mike Long is meeting with two commissioners today to discuss the zoning requirements for gravel pits.

Highland Councilwoman Teri Jerman said the Commission may be afraid of being sued by a gravel pit company, just as her city was, at first. The council was working with the company, but then SAFE was formed, and the company changed its thinking.

"I think the county commissioners are scared," she said. "We shouldn't be making our decisions out of fear."

Long encouraged the residents to approach their commissioners - make appointments, leave messages, and write letters.

"They're nice people. They're just afraid of getting sued," he said.

The committee formed 1 1/2 years ago out of concern over a 50-acre extraction plant at the mouth of American Fork Canyon proposed by California-based construction company Gibbons and Reed.

American Fork PTA Council President Pam Ritchie and others took a strong stand against the pit, saying the plant's trucks would endanger some 5,000 students who walk, ride the bus or drive cars on U-92, the main east-west corridor.

She said the children should be more important than the profits of already wealthy companies.

"To sacrifice the safety of children just so someone can make an extra million dollars a year, we just can't tolerate that," Ritchie said.

Committee and PTA member Melissa Bowen, said she's also worried about the safety of the children.

"These children don't have a chance against these huge trucks," she said.

Dust and fumes from the pit and heavy truck traffic also cause asthma and other health concerns in the areas of the gravel pit, the committee claimed.

Both Highland and Alpine have passed resolutions objecting to the gravel pit that would have been built on a road leading to the Timpanogos National Monument.

Gibbons and Reed is taking the request to county leaders because the land targeted for mining operations was deannexed from Highland nearly a decade ago.