Mold Remediation in Metamora, MI

Fundraising continues to prevent gravel mining on D-Bar-A Scout Ranch

810-452-2640 jhogan@mihomepaper.com

METAMORA — The Levy Company and the Boy Scouts of America still have aspirations to mine sand and gravel from a large parcel at the D-Bar-A Boy Scout Ranch in Metamora Township. The proposed mining operation has been stopped twice before, and the Metamora Land Preservation Alliance (MLPA) is determined to stop it again if new legislation is introduced in Lansing to take away local authority to permit gravel mines.

Tuesday evening, a “A Night of Community Support” fundraiser was held at the White Horse Inn in Metamora where more than $100,000 was raised to be used for MLPA’s legal fight to prevent aggregate companies from opening a new mining operation in Metamora Township. The fundraiser, the first in two years, was attended by nearly 100 people.

The MLPA was formed in 2005 in response to the Levy Company’s attempt to mine the Boy Scout Ranch.

State Rep. Phil Green, R-Millington, state Rep. Jaime Green, R-Richmond as well as state Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Arcadia Township attended the MLPA fundraiser in addition to lawmakers from the Lake Orion and Clare areas. The vast majority of attendees were local property owners opposed to efforts by the gravel industry to open a mine on the Boy Scout ranch property.

“As far as the zoning issue at hand, we do not need or want a Lansing solution to a local problem,” Green told The County Press on Wednesday. “I think it’s best for the zoning and other issues should be decided by local people and local government. The issue in the Metamora area is more about the Superfund site than about gravel. Metamora Township has four other gravel operations. Metamora doesn’t have a gravel problem, it has a Superfund pollution problem that must be resolved.”

Daley, too, is concerned about a plume from the Superfund site near the proposed gravel mine at the D-Bar-A Scout Ranch. “It’s continuing to move in a northeast direction. That has me very concerned.” As for new legislation related to gravel mine government oversight, Daley said there is legislation that has been dormant in House legislative chambers — and while he doesn’t think it will be introduced, he said, “There’s always a concern that someone could move something in a lame duck session. I don’t think and hope it won’t happen, but you never know.”

A lame duck session is the period after the Nov. 5 election, but before newly elected lawmakers take office in January.

For years Metamora-area officials, residents and business owners have fought to maintain a local voice to have oversight of gravel mining permits and operations. Periodic efforts by state lawmakers have introduced legislation to usurp local authority in favor of state control, resulting in approximately three separate attempts in about as many years.

Dave Best, supervisor of Metamora Township, appreciates the continued work of the MLPA to be on guard in the event there are new gravel mine applications submitted or new legislation is introduced in Lansing. “I welcome them (MLPA). They (Levy Corp.) come to every one of our meetings and tape the meeting. I don’t know why. I don’t even pay attention to them anymore,” said Best.

Michele Joliat, a local MLPA board member who cannot drink her well water due to concerns of industrial waste contaminants in local aquifers adjacent the Superfund site — a former landfill that contains chemical pollutants.

“Our community would be severely impacted if we get an industrialsize gravel pit at D-Bar-A,” said Joliat. “Our community is wonderful with their financial support. They understand that we’re in a fight for our community against the gravel industry. It’s very important we have money, because if we don’t we will lose. We need money for our attorney and consultants we hire.”

Victor Dzenowagis, co-owner of the White Horse Inn and a member of the MLPA board, is concerned that stalled legislation could be reintroduced in a lame duck session to take away local input and usurp local zoning and ordinances Metamora Township and other communities have drafted and implemented to protect themselves. “It’s a local issue. To me it’s an issue that should be decided locally, and not in Lansing. We are the leader of a statewide coalition that has support throughout Michigan, because people know this is an issue bigger than Metamora that could happen anywhere where there is gravel in the ground. But it could be about a landfill, or solar or wind. When bills rear their ugly heads, we need to have the resources to fight to prevent the state from taking over all control for mining applications.”

In Metamora Township, there are four existing gravel mines.

At stake is a continued effort by American Aggregates of Michigan (AAOM) and the Edward C. Levy Corp. to mine sand and gravel from a portion of the D-Bar-A Boy Scout Ranch. Metamora and Dryden officials have opposed the bid by the companies and the gravel industry because the truck route would result in hundreds of gravel haulers each day on Dryden Road through the heart of their communities. Officials say they and not the state should decide whether to approve new gravel mine operations that can result in additional truck traffic, noise, dust and possible contamination of groundwater and nearby wells.

American Aggregate’s application was submitted in 2015 to Metamora Township for a 30-year lease on the property to mine gravel used in road construction and cement and asphalt production. Access to the property is proposed to be limited to one driveway on the north side of Dryden Road, located approximately 900 feet west of Ribble Road. The truck route on Dryden Road would bring upwards of 200 gravel trains per day through downtown Metamora and Dryden.

In April 2021, efforts by AAOM, Levy and other aggregate industry interests to challenge the merits of Metamora Township authority to limit new gravel mining in the community was denied by the Michigan Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals upheld a Metamora Township gravel statute ordinance. AAOM and the Boy Scouts of America had previously filed a lawsuit in Lapeer County 40th Circuit Court to challenge the local ordinance. Then Chief Judge Nick Holowka upheld the gravel ordinance and ruled against AAOM and the Boy Scouts.

According to the MLPA, the proposed Levy Company/Boy Scouts mine will “permanently alter the ‘Metamora Hills’ with more than a generation of intensive mining. They have sought conditional rezoning, a special land use permit, and a soil removal permit — proposing:

• 496 acres on a 724-acre site

• 30-year project lifetime (approximate)

• at least 100 trucks in and 100 trucks out a day on Dryden Road, five days a week and Saturday

• 406 acres of woodland removed

• All within 1,500 to 2,000 feet of a Superfund site still undergoing remediation.

In a statement on MLPA’s website, the nonprofit organization said, “The gravel fight may seem quiet right now … but it isn’t. Big gravel is always trying to get Michigan law changed that would eliminate local control of zoning and allow gravel pits literally anywhere there is gravel. Their bill is currently stalled in a House Committee right now, but could be voted on after the election. Gravel won’t quit and neither will Metamora.”

The statement continued, “It may seem like the fight is over. It’s been fairly quiet at least locally. But the fight is far from over. Big gravel is more interested in Metamora than ever before. It may seem like we cannot win this fight, yet improbably we have been winning this fight since 1982.”

The MLPA Board has and will continue to make hundreds of calls to Michigan senators and representatives. Board members will continue to meet with lobbyists and lawyers. The MLPA board will continue to work with experts to provide crucial testimony in Lansing.

If you would like to support the MLPA’s mission to block the gravel industry from usurping local regulation and oversight on gravel mine operations, donations may be mailed to: MLPA, P.O. Box 203, Metamora, MI 48455 or go to www.Metamora.org to make a donation by credit card or PayPal.

Loading Related Articles