Planning commission sets strict hours, safeguards for Knife River mining permit after township talks

The Stearns County Planning Commission on July 24 recommended approval of an interim use permit that will allow Knife River Corporation to continue mining on 39.9 acres in Wakefield Township, subject to conditions addressing reclamation, traffic, screening and hours of operation.

Knife River sought a 10-year permit under Stearns County Land Use and Zoning Ordinance No. 439 (sections 4.18, 7.17 and 9.306.f) to continue an active extraction operation and related activity at 24993 Island Lake Road, Cold Spring. Staff noted the application is required because the property recently changed ownership. The county packet listed prior permits issued by Wakefield Township for mining and asphalt operations at the site and described surrounding uses: about 22 homes, three animal feedlots, a church and a warehouse facility within a half mile. The applicant said the end-use plan is to grade and return the land to cropland when mining ends.

Key conditions the commission attached to its recommendation include:

- Interim use permit expiration: Dec. 31, 2035 (previous staff draft listed Aug. 12, 2035; commissioners amended to year-end). - Hours of operation: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; no Sunday or federal-holiday operation (county-listed holidays include Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas). - Financial guarantee for reclamation: $139,650 (calculated at $3,500 per acre for 39.9 acres) to ensure site reclamation. - Truck-hauling signage and maintenance of an existing screening berm along Island Lake Road, County Road 2 and the north property line of adjacent residences. - Gate at the pit entrance to be installed and maintained for the life of the permit. - A written agreement with Wakefield Township regarding Island Lake Road maintenance, which may include a financial guarantee and direction of truck traffic (township requested truck traffic be directed south onto Island Lake Road toward County Road 2). - Removal of an existing “donex” sign at the pit entrance; staff noted an updated informational sign must reflect Knife River as the owner.

Township representatives and nearby residents spoke at the public hearing. Cyril Irkins, who said he has lived within the neighborhood for more than 50 years, praised the previous owner’s dust-control practices and urged Knife River to maintain those standards and to control noxious weeds on the berm. Wakefield Township planning and zoning administrators asked that any written agreement include a maintenance guarantee for Island Lake Road and truck-route direction to limit heavy truck traffic on the township road.

Knife River representatives said the company addressed township requests, will maintain screening and berms, will post hauling signs and will work with the township about an agreed road-maintenance approach; engineer recommendations will be incorporated. Knife River also asked for hours that would allow flexibility when large public projects require material outside usual hours, but the commission adopted the township’s prior-hour structure rather than the 24/6 schedule Knife River initially requested.

Commissioners amended a staff-recommended expiration date to Dec. 31, 2035 and voted to forward the permit with the listed conditions to the county board. The motion passed and the commission’s recommendation will go before the Stearns County Board on Aug. 12 for final action.