In July, the Lane County Planning Commission voted unanimously against a proposal to develop a gravel mine on TV Butte on the east side of Oakridge. Residents of the small mountain community — many of whom have been fighting against the quarry for years — have continued to worry about the Lane County Board of Commissioners’ final decision on rezoning the butte.
The next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15.
On July 18, the Lane County Planning Commission voted to recommend that the County Commission not approve Old Hazeldell’s application for a gravel mine on TV Butte, citing a variety of issues that have not been addressed by the property’s owners. Old Hazeldell Quarry would be on land owned by Crown Properties, an investment company associated with Ed King of King Estate Winery.
“When the Planning Commission says no, when our community says no, the only person that stepped up into the public right to support the story has been the attorney for the proposal,” says Michelle Emmons, vice president of the Oakridge-Westfir Area Chamber of Commerce. “I don’t know why anybody would vote yes on it.”
The Planning Commission denied the rezoning application, saying the quarry’s owners did not address how they would mitigate any of the half dozen concerns — including excessive dust from processing, stormwater that would pollute local streams, impacts on local big game, noise pollution and heavy traffic from trucks transporting the gravel, says Devon Ashbridge, Lane County public information officer. A June 11 staff memo called the application “inadequate.”
The fate of the project now lies in the hands of the Lane County Board of Commissioners, who can disregard the Planning Commission’s recommendation.
During the meeting, Planning Commission members stressed the importance of conducting an ESEE analysis, compliant with Oregon’s Goal 5, which requires applicants to conduct an “economic, environmental and social impact” test to better understand how issues can be mitigated. Oregon’s Goal 5 deals with preserving natural resources and maintaining scenic, historic and open spaces.
Goal 5 also protects aggregate resources such as gravel, sand and rock and requires a permitting process for cities and counties. According to the Department of Land Conservation and Development, “cities and counties must identify significant resource sites, mitigate impacts from mining operations on existing uses in the vicinity of the mine and implement a decision to allow mining.”
If the Board of Commissioners finds these conflicts cannot be mitigated through “reasonable” and “practicable” measures, then it would determine ESEE consequences of allowing, limiting or not allowing mining per Oregon law, Ashbridge says.
“It’s obviously a threat to the tourism market that we have in the Oakridge-Westfir area,” Emmons says. Oakridge features a plethora of biking and hiking paths and attracts recreational visitors who like to fish, hike, mountain bike, swim and do other watersports. A lot of small businesses in the area rely on tourism, she says.
If approved, the quarry would increase the already existing air pollution in the mountain town, Emmons says. Three months out of the year, residents and visitors are breathing in wildfire smoke, which would get layered with the dust that would arise from quarry operations, year-round, she says. The Environmental Protection Agency has granted the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency more than $5 million in trying to solve the tainted air quality in Oakridge and Westfir.
Nearly 25 feet from the proposed mine’s boundary lies an abandoned landfill filled with toxic chemicals in 40- to 50-year-old barrels filled with hazardous chemicals such as pentachlorophenol, a highly dangerous wood preservative, Oakridge’s City Administrator James Cleavenger and Emmons say.
Emmons says the constant movement and shaking from the nearby crusher could cause the landfill to leak toxins into the groundwater and the drinking water via the Salmon Creek drainage system. Salmon Creek flows into the Willamette River, which flows up to Portland.
Not only could Oakridge’s drinking water be affected, but the water supply of other towns on the river could also be tainted, she says.
“That’s really a major concern, and it’s going to pollute the wells which are downriver or down from the proposed quarry,” says Linda McMahon, an Oakridge resident who has been fighting against the gravel mine since 2017.
Oregon requires permission from landowners to test hazardous chemicals on their site, says Sabrina Ratkowski, the head of the Save TV Butte campaign and an Oakridge resident who spoke with the Department of Environmental Quality.
DEQ recommends testing the landfill site for contamination; however, it’s not required, and Old Hazeldell won’t do it, Ratkowski says.
Old Hazeldell did not respond to Eugene Weekly’s emails. Cleavenger says the quarry backers have not responded to him, either.
If the drinking water were to be contaminated, the city of Oakridge would be held liable for damages, as stated in the transaction agreement between Oakridge and Old Hazeldell, Cleavenger says.
Hazeldell aims to use 5,000 gallons of water a day, according to the company’s application, in order to erase the amount of dust from operations. There is speculation that Hazeldell would purchase the water tank that currently exists near the toxic waste site, which provides clean water to Oakridge residents, McMahon says.
If Hazeldell drills into an aquifer near the site instead of using the tank, there might not be enough water to satisfy the residents who rely on the well for their drinking water, a major concern for Emmons.
Silica dust, a harmful material known to cause cancer and lung disease, is a byproduct of harvesting andesite rock, which could pollute the Oakridge air, Emmons and McMahon say.
Emmons and McMahon are also worried that the quarry will disrupt the elk living on TV Butte. The quarry would also disrupt recreational trails and would create traffic from the trucks transporting the minerals, Emmons says.
Oakridge resident Matt Burney, who owns a welding and metal fabrication company in the industrial park at the foot of TV Butte, is concerned about the relocation of big game, which could wander into people’s yards because of the noise and magnitude of the quarry.
He’s also worried that the air pressure blast from the rock crusher so close to his company would destroy his building.
“The majority of Oakridge has come to County Commission meetings, multiple Planning Commission meetings, and not one person from Oakridge has spoken up in favor of this mine, but hundreds of people signing petitions, if not thousands,” Emmons says. “Thousands of people from this community, voters — we are the voters and we have said no, so what more do our elected officials need?”
In 2021, the Board of Commissioners denied Old Hazeldell’s application in a 3-2 vote as concerns grew about the impact it would have on wildlife, traffic and the environment.
“I have a challenge for the county commissioners. Anyone who has received direct funding for their campaigns should recuse themselves, or at the very least declare that is a potential conflict of interest,” Cleavenger says.
Additional reporting by Bentley Freeman. 16 Tons Café hosts a benefit concert to save TV Butte, with musical performances by Lea Jones, 1 pm to 3 pm Saturday, Oct. 12. To find out more about the Oct. 15 Lane County Commission public hearing on Old Hazeldell, go to LaneCounty.org and click “government” and then “Board of Commissioners meetings.”