Currituck commissioners approve expansion of Green Acres sand mine with monitoring, written promises from owner

The Currituck County Board of Commissioners approved an amended special-use permit on Aug. 18 to expand the Green Acres sand mine near Jarvisburg, allowing excavation on about 28.54 acres (roughly 48.5 percent of the 58.81-acre tract) and attaching monitoring and reporting conditions.

County senior planner Jason Littrell told the board the property is in the agricultural zoning district and that the request would increase the excavation area to 48.5 percent, just under the 50 percent maximum. Littrell said the plan calls for an average excavation depth of 25 feet and a maximum depth of 30 feet, a maintained 50-foot vegetative buffer along the south property line, and a 200-foot paved entrance. He summarized standard conditions including hours of operation (sunrise to sunset; no Sundays; no Saturdays from Memorial Day through Labor Day), covered haul trucks and limits on on-site waste.

The application drew technical-review comments requiring quarterly discharge sampling for settable solids, turbidity and pH; two monitoring wells tested semiannually for quality and monthly for quantity; and annual reclamation reports. Littrell said the mine will maintain a two-monitor-well program and will not continue dewatering for excavation, although the owner will pump roughly 12,000 gallons per day into the Meadow Lake subdivision pond to maintain pond levels at the request of Meadow Lake residents.

Expert testimony came from Kenneth C. Elliott, a consultant for land development and mining, who described the project and the state and county standards that apply. "Dewatering ceased on this mine for mining purposes in 2020," Elliott said, adding that excavations are now performed with a long-reach excavator. He described noise-mitigation measures, including berms and foliage screening, and said the discharge sampling is handled by a state-certified laboratory. Real-estate appraiser Kim Tate testified that market data and sales-resales analysis showed no evidence the mine expansion would depress neighboring property values.

Neighbors raised concerns during the public hearing about pond levels and private wells. Patricia Fletcher, who identified herself as living at 128 Meadow Lake Circle, asked the board to require written guarantees that pond levels and water quality will be maintained after mining activity ends. "I'm just asking from the accountability part to make sure that whatever is approved that there is something put in writing," Fletcher said, describing repeated changes to her household water quality and multiple well replacements.

Melissa Bircher, owner of 140 Meadow Lake Circle, told the board Meadow Lake is used as a water source for firefighting and said her house burned in 2019 when the pond lacked sufficient water for suppression. She said the pond had not been engineered for fire suppression when it was created and urged steps to ensure water availability at the deepest points of the pond.

Applicant Jeff Newbern, owner of the business seeking the permit, told the board he has replaced wells for neighbors in the past and expressed willingness to provide written documentation of those commitments. Littrell said monitoring and monthly pond-level reports have been submitted to the county for years. The owner's consultant said the project carries a state reclamation bond of $30,800 to guarantee final reclamation.

A commissioner moved to approve PB 25-14, including the Technical Review Committee conditions and any agreed written promises from the applicant; a second was recorded and the motion carried. The motion as stated on the record said the applicant demonstrated compliance with the Unified Development Ordinance review standards, that the mine has been in operation since 2002 without state violations, and that the project would not generate school impacts.

Discussion vs. decision: the record separates public concerns (discussion) about pond levels, well replacements and fire-suppression access from the formal action (approval with conditions and written promises). The board's approval requires the applicant to follow the approved plan and the TRC conditions; monitoring reports will continue to be submitted to county staff.

The board recorded no objections and approved the amended special-use permit. Citizens with ongoing concerns were told the owner would provide documented letters about well replacements and treatment systems; county staff noted monitoring reports are already on file and would continue.

The county's decision attaches technical conditions and relies on state monitoring and the applicant's bonds and promises; neighbors asked the board to ensure long-term accountability beyond the permit term, an issue staff said is limited by state and natural conditions once reclamation and state permits are closed.