Board approves Sloan gravel mine wash plant with conditions including well‑replacement proffer

The St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals on April 8 approved a modification to the conditional use for the Sloan gravel mine to allow a wash plant at 28625 Ables Way (Multiflora LLC). The board approved the modification with conditions: burning restricted to a designated area on site; hours of operation Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–5 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m.–noon for site maintenance only; compliance with State Highway Administration entrance requirements; and a proffer from the applicant to replace any hand‑dug or shallow wells within a half‑mile radius of the pond used for the wash plant if those wells go dry as a result of the operation.

The decision affects a 62.985‑acre surface gravel operation and drew the most public attention of the three cases because of groundwater concerns. Staff said the modification was required because the previously approved site plan explicitly stated a processing/wash plant was not proposed. Agencies that reviewed the amendment — including Land Use, DPW, Soil Conservation and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) — provided comments or approvals; staff said a water appropriation permit from MDE was issued in January 2021 as part of that state review.

Applicant representatives, including agent Christopher Longmore and surveyor Barry Buckner, described the proposed wash plant layout and site operations. Randy Sloan, who operates the mine, and his team said the site already has a permitted extraction operation, an entrance to MD Route 5 and an existing settling pond that will supply and recycle most process water. Agency reviewers documented that a Maryland water appropriation permit was required and was issued; staff noted the permit includes requirements and conditions for monitoring and drought‑response.

During public comment, area resident Joseph Lacey said his household well is shallow (he told the board his well depth is about 30–40 feet) and expressed concern that the applicant’s water use — described in permit materials as up to several hundred thousand gallons per day with a high‑use figure noted in the record — could cause private wells to go dry. “I have a well. I am directly across the road. My well is 30 or 40 foot deep… they’re going to be using approximately 259,000 gallons a day and 440,000 gallons per day during the month at maximum use,” Lacey said. Staff and the applicant told the board the state geologist reviewed the groundwater appropriation application during the permitting process and that the applicant told MDE he would pay to replace wells if the state’s monitoring determines the mine caused a private well to fail.

Board members pressed for enforceable local protections; the applicant agreed to the condition that he would replace any hand‑dug or shallow wells within a half‑mile radius of the pond used for the wash plant if those wells are shown to run dry as a result of the operation. The board included that proffer in its motion. The board also clarified that planned ancillary features (a small modular office, scale, and site office) described by the applicant would be part of the approved mine modification and would not require the applicant to return for additional conditional‑use approvals.

Ending: Staff will prepare an order reflecting the board’s decision and sign it within 60 days; the order will include the conditions described on the record and the applicant’s well‑replacement proffer. A 30‑day appeal period will follow the order’s signature date.