Speak Up, Oppose Strip Mining Operation - The Missourian

To The Editor:

The Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission has extended until Dec. 6 the deadline for public comment on a proposal to conduct a strip mining operation adjacent to the Meramec River. Those readers of The Missourian who may not have had an opportunity to attend the hearings on this matter (or may not be aware of the havoc such an operation will wreak on the river and the area around it) should act quickly to voice their concerns.

In brief, the proposed 60-acre aggregate strip mining operation will pull out silt and gravel alongside the Meramec River for the next 20 to 25 years. In addition, an office building and scales will be added to the site so that the material can be sold from the same location. The mining operator estimates that the mine will operate 5-6 days a week and that approximately 70 dump trucks will come in for loading any given day — considering the trip in and out of the site, there will be one dump truck driving through the area approximately every 4 minutes! The proposed operation is to be located on River Cabin Road near Parkway Village, a quiet, country community; so, in addition to the damage this 25-year gravel mining operation does to the river itself (floaters beware!) dump truck traffic will bring unaccustomed noise and pollution to the neighborhood.

But perhaps the saddest and most serious damage this operation will cause is the harm it will do to a newly discovered breeding colony of the endangered Grey Bat. The bat colony’s home is located within walking distance to the proposed mining site and well within the radius protected by federal law. Because of its size and its importance to preservation of the species (a species that is not only harmless but also beneficial) the colony is currently being studied by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Disturbing this colony could be devastating.

All of us who treasure living in Franklin County for the beauty of its rolling hills, the recreation of its streams and rivers, and diversity of its wildlife should speak up — and very quickly — to let the Planning and Zoning Commissioners know that the short-term profit of strip mining operation is not worth what it will cost in our community’s quality of life.