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Board grants special exception for dirt-mining pit on US 176 after contested notice and environmental questions
Summary
After testimony from the applicant, county staff and multiple neighbors, the Board of Zoning Appeals granted a special-exception permit for a dirt-mining operation at 18626 US Highway 176 on April 7, 2026. Neighbors raised notice, water, buffer and reclamation concerns; the applicant cited state permits and a $20,000 reclamation bond.
The Newberry County Board of Zoning Appeals voted April 7 to grant a special-exception permit allowing dirt mining on tax map parcel 437-1 (18626 US Highway 176), concluding the application met the county’s special-exception findings after a contested hearing that included questions over neighbor notice and environmental safeguards.
The hearing opened with a procedural objection by adjoining property owner Joseph Thomasson, who submitted an exhibit showing a mailed neighbor notice postmarked March 25 for an April 7 hearing and photographic evidence he said showed the required conspicuous sign was not posted on the property during the full notice period. Thomasson argued the short mailing interval and missing sign deprived the board of jurisdiction to act and asked for a deferral to the May meeting to allow the county to cure the alleged defects.
County zoning staff (Miss Katie) told the board the legal newspaper advertisement for the hearing ran March 18 in the Newberry Observer and displayed a photograph showing a posted sign dated March 23. She said the county mails contiguous-owner letters as a courtesy under local ordinance but that the state-required 15-day legal advertisement is satisfied by newspaper publication; staff also noted they do not control postal service postmark timing.
Owner Heather Lindler and company representatives said they had engaged the state environmental agency, completed soil testing and cultural surveys, obtained a general mining permit from the state agency, and posted the state-required reclamation bond. Lindler told the board the company had submitted erosion-control and stormwater plans and had paid a $20,000 reclamation bond to secure compliance; she said permitted mining would proceed in phased disturbances (five-acre blocks at a time), with reclamation required between phases.
Nearby residents, including Julie Riker and a written presentation from Joseph Thomasson, urged caution. Riker said she had learned key details only at the hearing and asked whether baseline water testing, an environmental study, traffic routing, hours of operation, and concrete reclamation guarantees had been provided. Thomasson and another nearby property owner argued the record lacked a hydraulic or baseline groundwater study, that planted seedlings will take years to provide an effective buffer, and that the board could not legally conclude public health and safety would be protected without additional technical studies.
Supporters including Jamie Johnson, an adjoining landowner, said the applicant has an existing mine operation in the county, plans to mine to road elevation, and intends to reclaim the site, and Johnson said he had offered to buy the property earlier. Applicants and supporters emphasized local employment and the county’s role in permitting; staff clarified that state agencies (identified in the record as the Department of Environmental Services and Department of Natural Resources) are responsible for monitoring, monthly water checks where required, and enforcing reclamation plans.
After hearing testimony and reviewing the specific requirements in county code (special-exception findings under section 153.053 D), each finding was read aloud and board members concurred verbally. A motion to grant the special exception carried by the board; the applicant was directed to work with county staff within 30 days to coordinate next steps and state permitting requirements.
The record includes: the applicant’s state permit materials and erosion-control plans submitted to the state agency, photographic evidence of on-site posting dated March 23, a claim from an adjoining owner that mailed neighbor notice postmarking effectively provided only 13 days’ notice, and statements that a $20,000 reclamation bond has been posted. The board’s approval authorizes only the county-level special exception; the parcel still requires state permit compliance and monitoring before mining operations proceed.
