The Real Facts about Tarmac’s Test Pit

Legal opinion from Levy County supports Tarmac’s position

Statement – Aug. 9, 2010


In 2005, the Levy County Commission approved a Special Exception Permit allowing Tarmac America to blast in order to excavate a one acre test pit on the proposed King Road Mine property. It is important to note that if Tarmac chose to excavate a test pit without blasting, a permit would not have been required from the County. This test site was necessary to determine if there was suitable material (limestone) present to move forward with the King Road Mine project.

The permit was approved with the clear understanding that Tarmac would refill the pit if the limestone found within the site was not suitable for use. However, if acceptable limestone was found, Tarmac would leave the pit open for future excavation once mining operations begin. Ultimately, the test pit was found to contain suitable limestone, and this site is now part of the plans for Tarmac’s proposed mining operations.

The Tarmac test pit encompasses only one acre out of 2,757 acres proposed to be mined on the King Road Mine site. The test pit is naturally filled with water and looks identical to the dozens of previously-excavated sites which are found not only at the proposed King Road Mine site, but throughout Levy County.

In fact, King Road was developed to provide access to the old dolomite pits just north of the road. In addition, a large portion of the gravel aggregate which was used to build roads and highways throughout Levy County was excavated from vast, undeveloped areas like this one. These excavated sites – similar but often much larger than the Tarmac test pit – remain today as ponds and lakes.

Over the past several months, petitions have been presented to the Levy County Commission, claiming a condition was added to the Special Exception Permit, without full commission approval, which allows Tarmac to keep their test pit open. These petitions say Tarmac was legally bound to fill in the test pit, regardless of the suitability of limestone the pit contained.

These allegations were found not to have merit, according to Anne Bast Brown, the Levy County attorney, in a legal opinion dated January 5, 2010. In the opinion, Ms. Brown said the complaint was “insubstantial, moot and requires no further Board [of Commissioners] action.”

[The complete opinion from Ms. Brown can be viewed by clicking here.]

We hope this information will help you come to your own decisions on the facts regarding Tarmac’s test pit.

Should you have additional questions or concerns about Tarmac’s test pit, or any other issue with the proposed King Road Mine, please contact Jeff Harris, plant manager for the King Road Mine. Click here to send an e-mail to Jeff Harris.









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