Concerns about gravel mining in the Matanuska Susitna Borough are getting a fresh look by Borough authorities. The debate over gravel mining’s effects on the area has gone on for some years, prompted by fears that digging too deep may harm the water table. The Mat-Su Borough Assembly plans to discuss an ordinance regulating gravel mining at its meeting this week. The ordinance would establish reclamation standards, while creating a permitting process for mining operations that dig into the water table. Alex Strawn is a permitting services manager for the Borough planning department
The gravel issue came before the assembly in 2008, when the Borough put a moratorium on new mines digging into the water table. Gravel pit owners say the ordinance is not necessary and hurts their business. Strawn said the new ordinance also requires gravel miners to gather data and get insurance before they can get a permit.
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APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
