PROJECT: Moffatt Property
Status: Permitting
PROJECT SUMMARY
Memphis Stone & Gravel Company has leased approximately 173 acres known locally as the Moffatt Property in Shelby County. The property has approximately one-half mile of frontage at Rosemark Road and is bordered by the county line on the west and Rosemark Estates Subdivision on the north. Memphis Stone & Gravel Company owns 179.73 acres, known locally as the Van Cleave Farm, in the southern part of Atoka city limits. This property is located on the east side of Bethel Road and is adjacent to the Tipton County and Shelby County border. Additionally Memphis Stone & Gravel Company has leased approximately 339 acres on two adjacent properties (Crum and Smith properties) in Tipton County. Memphis Stone & Gravel Company has obtained approval from the Town of Atoka to construct and operate an aggregate wash plant and to mine sand and gravel on those properties in Tipton County. Memphis Stone & Gravel Company has also been issued NPDES Permit TN0079821 for those areas in Tipton County. Additioanal information including maps and illustrations are contained in the application package, which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
OPERATIONS OVERVIEW
Principle operations can be divided into 1) stripping, 2) mining, 3) processing, 4) sales and 5) reclamation. Stripping overburden is generally accomplished using scrapers, excavators and trucks. A hydraulic excavator (appx. 5 cubic yard) will be used to mine the sand and gravel. One to two front-end loaders will be used to feed the raw product to a conveyor system, which will transport the material to a wash-plant for processing. Although reclamation is identified as the fifth step above, the bulk of the reclamation activity is done concurrently with stripping operations. As one pit is stripped the overburden is hauled to the previously stripped and mined area. Final grading follows and the site is stabilized with vegetation. The processed materials are separated into five basic products: 1) concrete sand, 2) masonry sand, 3) pea gravel, 4) size #57 gravel (¼ inch to ¾ inch), and 5) oversize (+2 inch). The materials are then marketed primarily for construction aggregate. The finished products are loaded onto trucks for transportation. Trucks are weighed and ticketed prior to them leaving the property. Clay gravel is stripped and stockpiled near the pit prior to mining the wash material. Clay gravel will normally not be conveyed; instead it is trucked in an “unprocessed” state directly to the job site. All trucks will follow designated haul routes in accordance with the special use permit and the company’s Good Neighbor Trucking Policy.
A variety of best management practices are used to prevent environmental impacts and disturbance to the neighboring public. Operational areas are isolated with soil berms to help buffer noise and reduce our visibility to the public. Material stockpiles placed between operations and perimeters also reduce noise levels considerably. Memphis Stone & Gravel Company uses innovative MSHA approved backup alarms that eliminate “beep-beep” sounds from conventional alarms by using a different alarm sound frequency which quickly dissipates as it moves away from the alarm. The sound more like shh, shh, shh, is very directional and moves with the equipment instead of being heard in every direction.
Mined material is a naturally wet product and very little dust is generated by the actual mining activity. Occasionally, the haul roads will dry out and contribute to dust. Memphis Stone & Gravel Company uses water trucks to spray water on haul roads when conditions warrant. The entrance will be paved in accordance with the site permit conditions and recycled asphalt pavement will be used as a surface treatment on other sections within the project area. Wheel wash equipment, the paved entrance, and the recycled asphalt pavement will help control dust and material track-out onto public roads. Additional information about these best management practices and illustrations are included in the Site Plan Supplement (can be downloaded below). The Moffatt Project is divided into three phases which has an operational life of approximately twenty years. Below is an outline of the activities of each phase.
Phase 1
Phase one consists of using the site for ingress and egress purposes. A haulage road will be built across the southern part of the leased area to allow access to Mulberry Road. The haul route will cross Rosemark Road and move directly to State Hwy 14 (Austin Peay). During Phase 1 the haulage way crossing the site will be excavated below the surface down to a depth of approximately 25 feet across the ridge. This will reduce noise to levels consistent with ambient conditions and the ability to see trucks crossing the property will be minimized. It will also eliminate the need to disturb the site near the subdivision on the north side of the project and reduce the project foot-print during the first 10 to 15 years of the project. Berms will be built near the project entrance and be landscaped.
Notes for the Proposed Haul Route: Trucks will be restricted from traveling Rosemark Road except for local deliveries. All trucks will follow designated haul routes in accordance with the special use permit and the company’s Good Neighbor Trucking Policy. Memphis Stone & Gravel Company will comply with the county engineer’s plan for safe crossing of the intersection and use of Mulberry Road. Additionally, Memphis Stone & Gravel Company has hired a traffic engineer to evaluate the improvements necessary to make the haul route safe for this type of use.
Operating Hours: On-site operations shall be permitted Monday through Saturday and shall be limited to the hours of 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M., providing that no operations shall occur except during daylight.
Phase 2
Mining begins during Phase 2 and the excavation will start on the Northwest corner of the property and progress eastward (see Map 2B). The blocks with letters (A-J) generally identify the sequence of mining. As the first pit is stripped, the berm along the north and eastern side of the project will be constructed as depicted on the site plan. Existing vegetation will be maintained in areas where berm construction is not necessary. No mining will occur within 300 feet of any residence, 100 feet from any street right-of-way, or within 75 feet of the property line unless it is land owned/leased by Memphis Stone & Gravel Company.
Phase 3
Phase 3 will include mining the remaining materials south of the haulage way. During this phase the haul road will be moved to the southern edge of the leased property. All berms built along the north and eastern side of the project will remain in place until mining is complete. During final reclamation the berms will be dismantled and that soil will be used for final reclamation of all remaining disturbed area. The site will be revegetated in accordance with the Site Plan Supplement and a lake approximately 9 acres will remain near the final two areas excavated (blocks O and N).
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Although some people would rather not have an aggregate operation near by, our society requires these resources be developed. Please consider the following:
- This is a very high quality resource and we project 70% will be used in Shelby County
- This deposit will be a major aggregate supply to the whole north Memphis Metro Area. It meets specifications for important public uses such as road and bridge building, airport projects, as well as, home construction.
- It is extremely difficult to locate these high quality deposits. There is no alternative available to our company at this scale. Importing aggregate increases construction costs substantially.
- High Quality Sand & Gravel is used for: Ready-mix Concrete (Patios, Foundations for homes, Memphis International Airport) Asphalt pavement (City, County, State Roads, Highway 385, Interstate 40) Road base material, gravel roads (Projects- Austin Peay Highway, Highway 385)
- 80% of concrete is sand and rock; 95% of asphalt concrete is rock and sand. Memphis Stone and Gravel Company produces the rock and sand.
UPDATES
On May 25, 2010 Memphis Stone and Gravel Company representatives held a meeting at the Rosemark Civic Club. The meeting was held at 7:00 PM at the ARP (Associate Reformed Presbyterian) Church located at 8658 Rosemark Road next to Rosemark Academy. Memphis Stone & Gravel Company management answered questions and gave a Powerpoint presentation about the project. Many citizens and several public officials voiced concerns about the project.
Memphis Stone & Gravel Company has agreed to hold its application until the July meeting of the Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board. The public meeting was originally scheduled for June 10, but will now be rescheduled for July 8, 2010. A request was made by the Rosemark Civic Club to extend the meeting date in order to have additonal time for questions to be answered.
On June 7, 2010 the Millington and Board of Alderman held a public meeting to allow comment on the application. The project is located inside the Millington Reserve Area. Memphis Stone & Gravel Company representatives made a presentation showing the project and answered questions. Opponents to the project raised several objections. The City of Millington voted to take a position that it would not support the project. See Article from Millington Star.
On July 8, 2010, the Land Use Control Board voted to not support the application. There decision appeared to be based in large part because the Office of Planning and Development's (OPD) recommendation was against the project. OPD's decision was based on Millington's position, as Memphis Stone and Gravel company did demonstrate the standards for general applicability would be met for traffic conditions, as indicated by the County Engineer's conditional support for the proposed haul route.
July 15, 2010, Memphis Stone and Gravel Company has decided to withdraw the application in order to acquire additional information before proceeding on this case.
DOWNLOADS:
Shelby County Special Use Application
Moffatt Project Powerpoint Presentation (made at the Rosemark Civic Club Meeting on May 25)
HELPFUL LINKS
PROJECT CONTACT
Alan Parks, V.P.
Memphis Stone & Gravel Company
P.O. Box 1683, Memphis, TN, 38101
(901) 947-5730
alan.parks@msgravel.com