Reclamation

When the production of sand and gravel ends on any site, all of the property must be reclaimed for another beneficial use. When we complete mining at the River Road site, we plan to leave the area rich with wildlife habitat, lakes with contoured shorelines, wetlands and abundant open space

Reclamation required by law
The average useful life of a rock resource is about 25 to 50 years, depending on the quality and quantity of the rock. After that, by law, it must be reclaimed.

We are required to file for an aggregate mining permit from the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries prior to extraction. The application must include a reclamation plan that shows how the land is to be returned to another beneficial use after the mining work is done. Once the application has been reviewed and approved, we must post bond with the state to guarantee completion of the reclamation work.

The River Road site will become wildlife habitat
The River Road site will eventually contain lakes that are created by sand and gravel mining. These lakes become home to a large variety of fish, turtles, frogs, birds and other wildlife. Shorelines will be enhanced in various ways including planting vegetation to provide nesting areas.

In addition, new wetlands will be created. These wetlands provide habitat for various species such as turtles, herons and egrets.

Old mining sites now community landmarks
Examples of local landmarks that were created from former rock extraction sites include:

· The climbing wall at Skinner's Butte
· The Delta Ponds along Delta Highway
· Alton Baker Park.

A reclamation plan for the River Road site has been filed with the county as part of our application. According to the plan, once excavation in an area is complete it will be allowed to fill naturally to form a lake. The banks of the lake will be replanted. This will provide high quality fish and wildlife habitat, similar to what you now see at Delta Ponds along Delta Highway.