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Board opens first hearing on adding 4.1 acres to Crook County mineral inventory; second hearing set for May 20
Summary
The board opened a de novo hearing on an ordinance to add roughly 4.1 acres to Crook County's inventory of significant aggregate sites; staff cited testing and an applicant estimate of ~1.7 million tons in place and said potential conflicts (wildlife, water) and mitigation will be addressed in the conditional‑use process.
Crook County commissioners opened a quasi‑judicial de novo hearing on May 6 to consider adding about 4.1 acres to the county’s Goal 5 inventory of significant mineral and aggregate sites. The board scheduled a second hearing for May 20 as required by the county’s two‑hearing implementation of the state acknowledgement process.
John (Community Development Director) explained the four‑step test applied to aggregate site additions: significance (quality and quantity), conflicts, an economic/social/environmental/energy (EC) analysis, and a program to achieve the planning goal. Staff cited lab testing and an applicant report that estimated roughly 1.7 million tons of in‑place basalt on the site, a quantity above the 500,000‑ton threshold the county uses east of the Cascades to screen significance.
"The applicant has applied for a conditional use permit to allow mining, crushing and stockpiling," John told the board. Quinn Burket, counsel for the applicant, said portions of the proposed expansion are predisturbed and that the immediate purpose is to bring those areas into regulatory compliance and secure an updated operating permit. "The proposed areas of expansion are actually predisturbed... the main goal here is to try and bring the site into compliance with both county code and state regulation," Quinn said.
Staff identified potential conflicts and burdens — including proximity to dwellings, dust and traffic impacts, and wildlife (staff noted a golden eagle nesting site that mitigation would address). The board kept the record open through the second hearing on May 20 and outlined the usual order of testimony (staff, agencies, applicant, proponents, opponents, applicant rebuttal).
What happens next: the record will remain open until the May 20 hearing; interested parties and agencies may submit written materials and appear to testify under the county’s public hearing procedures.
