Pitt County commissioners approve Glenda Briley sand-mining rezoning with no-dewatering condition

Pitt County commissioners voted 6–3 April 7 to approve a conditional‑district rezoning that allows a sand mining operation on 40.69 acres along Old Pactolus Road, provided the operator agree not to dewater off site.

The vote follows a public hearing in which nearby residents, RV‑park owners and mine supporters testified. Opponents said the operation would cause noise, dust, traffic and safety risks on narrow roads used by school buses; supporters, including a mining consultant and industry customers, said buffers and berms would limit impacts and that the mineral is needed locally for construction.

Planning staff told commissioners the site falls in an area the county’s comprehensive plan designates as open‑space/conservation and is in the 100‑year floodplain, but staff found the conditional zoning consistent with the Envision Pitt County 2045 land‑use plan because the applicant proposed protective measures. The applicant agreed to conditions that exceed ordinance minimums: a 200‑foot setback from Old Pactolus Road (double the 100‑foot minimum), 100‑foot setbacks on common agricultural borders, and expanded berms and screening — including 10‑foot, 15‑foot and 20‑foot berms in different locations. Staff and the applicant also described a required 50‑foot riparian buffer and the need for state mining permits and a county flood‑development permit before work could begin.

Many nearby residents urged denial. Wayne Mayhew, owner of Whispering Oaks RV Resort, said the resort hosts hundreds of long‑term occupants and warned of property‑value loss, nonstop noise and increased heavy‑truck traffic that could affect school buses. Scott Pollard, who owns a home adjacent to the proposal, said past state inspections found noncompliance at the operator’s other site and told commissioners he suffers from PTSD and asthma and fears health and noise impacts.

Industry witnesses countered that the excavation would not involve blasting, that the work is not expected to lower groundwater because the operation is not a dewatering type, and that the state’s permitting and reclamation rules require bonds and inspections. Mining consultant Mark Edwards told commissioners the excavation would produce an approximately 18‑acre pond after reclamation and that the site would be dug only to the depth necessary for the requested product.

Commission discussion focused on three recurring issues: whether dewatering would occur, the adequacy of buffers and berms, and how long the operation would last. Applicant Joseph Riley said on the record he was not seeking a dewatering permit, that surface runoff would be managed on site, and that the operation is expected to take roughly two to four years depending on sales. Commissioners asked staff whether the county could require a no‑dewatering condition as part of the rezoning; staff advised that conditions can be placed on a conditional‑district rezoning and that the applicant must accept any such conditions for approval.

A substitute motion that adopted staff’s recommendation with an added condition prohibiting off‑site dewatering passed 6–3, with commissioners noting the enlarged setbacks and berms and the applicant’s commitment not to dewater as the basis for approval. The agenda packet notes that the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Energy, Mineral and Land Resources Division, must issue any required mining permits and that a commercial driveway permit from NCDOT is needed for access.

The county’s planning board had recommended approval 5–4 at its March 19 meeting. The conditional rezoning package requires a site plan, a flood‑development permit, and state mining approvals before a zoning compliance permit can be issued.