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Board approves Aggregate Industries’ request to mine 54 acres near Thompson Corner Road
Summary
The Board granted conditional use for extractive industry on roughly 54 acres of a 166‑acre tract near Thompson Corner Road, with a 100‑truckload daily limit and no Saturday hauling, plus conditions and required state permits.
The St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals unanimously approved a conditional‑use permit on Nov. 8 to allow Aggregate Industries to conduct surface mining on roughly 54 acres of a 166‑acre tract off Thompson Corner Road in Mechanicsville.
The board’s decision approves extraction of sand and gravel as an extractive industry on property owned by Reuben and Sarah Yoder and Henry and Mary Stoltzis, subject to the county’s standard conditions and additional limits the board added: no hauling on Saturdays and a maximum of 100 truckloads per day.
Robert Moore, representing Aggregate Industries, introduced company witnesses including Thomas Miller, supervisor of acquisitions and permitting for Aggregate Industries’ southern division, and Joe Rogers, manager of the La Plata facility. Rogers described the company’s reclamation approach and the prior, successful reclamation of Yoder’s earlier mined property: “When we get done, the the land’s perfectly suitable to farm,” he told the board.
Engineer John B. Norris of G and O Engineering and project engineer Chris Crisman presented detailed site plans and erosion and sediment control phasing. Norris said the company’s planned sequence would mine in five‑acre increments, reclaiming previously worked areas as they progress, and that the designs will go to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for a surface mining permit and to the Soil Conservation District for erosion‑control approval.
Traffic consultant Mike Nalepa testified that the haul route — out to Route 236 and then turning right onto Route 234 toward the La Plata plant — has adequate sight lines and capacity for the proposed truck traffic, and said the intersection of Routes 234 and 236 would retain a high level of service with the operation. Rogers and Miller said the company would use a brokerage truck service that supplies local drivers and that trucks are generally loaded to legal weight limits; they described internal controls intended to avoid overweight loads.
Staff recommended approval after TEC agency review found no outstanding issues; at the hearing staff clarified conditions and recommended adding the hauling limits. A board member moved to accept the staff findings and to approve the conditional use with staff’s conditions plus the board’s two additions (no Saturday hauling; maximum 100 truckloads per day). The board voted to grant the conditional use. A written order will be prepared by staff and signed within 60 days; the applicant must still secure state surface‑mining permits and Soil Conservation District approvals before full operations.
The board’s order triggers a 30‑day appeal period starting from the date the order is signed.
