Item 1: PH on Ordinance Amending Metro Plan (Delta Sand and Gravel)

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Regarding quality of the resource, Mr. Hughes noted that the staff report had said that fine aggregate fractions did not meet Oregon Department of Transportation standards. He clarified that all of the tests of all of the samples met the ODOT base.standards which were required in the application but noted that OAR660.23180(3) stipulated a base rock test for sodium sulfide which was a chemical abrasion test for which ODOT did not have a standard. He said the closest ODOT test was a concrete standard. He noted that concrete tests were much more stringent tha~ base rock tests. He said the coarse material met the more stringent concrete test and the fine material did not meet the concrete test. He said the intent of the process was to demonstrate that there was enough material of a good enough quality to be protected as a resource. He said the area had three times the amount of material that met the requirements of the test. He added that staff had raised concern that the evidence was based on too few borings. He called attention to the applicant's report and noted that the sample results of the borings that had been made were identical. He said 1000 more holes could be bored and the results would be the same. Steve Recca, EGR and Associates, spoke as the Geologist for th.e applicant. He said EGR had been retained to determine if there would be ground water impacts as a result of the expansion of the current excavation. He said there were two methodologies to prevent ground water from getting into the pit. The first was to install ground wells around the pit or set up an impermeable area, (slurry walls), to prevent migration of ground water from entering the pit. He said both were.standard construction techniques that were used in dams. H.e stressed that the slurry walls would be below ground so there would be no impact to flooding above ground. He said they were non structural components that could not be immediately placed against the pit wall and this was why they needed to be installed in the buffer zone. He added that . the slurry walls would be constructed from on site materials left over from gravel extraction.. He said the slurry walls would insure that there would be no inverse impacts to ground water and would reduce the cost of pumping water out of the pit. . George Staples and Gordon Loeschen, Delta Sand and Gravel, outlined the Delta property shown on the aerial map. Mr. Loeschen noted that there was a nearby Heron. rookery as well as a tree nursery on the property. He stressed that neither had been adversely impacted by the quarry. Mr. Staples noted that 85 acres in the reclamation area on the site had been reclaimed to date. He added that the water table behind the impermeable barrier to be installed would be maintained at its current levels. Mr. Staples said if the application were not approved then Delta had approximately 10 years of material to extract. He said if the expansion area were allowed it would add an additional 10-12 years for the company to operate in that area. He noted that a sound and sight barrier would be planted on top of the ground water dam. He said frr trees would be planted but would need time to be established. He stressed that the slurry wall would maintain ground water levels. Mr. Staples said the rock crusher currently operating on the site would not be moved. He said Delta would be building a road out of recycled concrete that would lead to the crusher. He said this would reduce distance traveled in the crusher and air emissions from the t~cks by 30 percent. He added that Delta would be installing sprayers which will reduce dust tracked onto the streets from the site. Avon Lee Babb, 645 Spy Glass~ said his father had been born on the property in 1895 and said the property in the application had been in Babb family ownership for over 110 years. He said he and his brother had started Delta in 1965 and noted that Delta supported many local social service providers, schools and hospitals. He noted that Delta had been awarded the National Award for Business Ethics. He MINUTES~Lane County Planning Commission Eugene Planning Commission . November. IS, 2005, Page 5