Note: The following is not a verbatim transcript of the Zoning Hearing Board meeting; it is simply one person’s summary of the major points made by those involved in the hearing process.  For that reason, quotation marks are not used unless a direct quote was recorded.  For information about obtaining an official ZHB transcript, contact the New Hanover Township office.

The meeting began with Mr. Harris, attorney for Gibraltar Rock, continuing with Mr. Alan K. Stagg. Stagg was offered as an expert witness on “Economic Geology.” He is President/CEO of “Stagg Resource Consultants.”

Harris asked Stagg to review the geology of the proposed area. Stagg said it consists of Brunswick Formation Shale, slate, and igneous rock. Stagg next talked about exhibit A46 that showed zoning boundaries and a top to bottom diagram of stone that is commercial.

Harris proceeded to lead Stagg through a very long and tedious explanation of the tests that were done to prove that it is of the quality that PennDOT will accept for road stone.  He said there were four (4) tests done on seven (7) core holes. The tests evaluate for four properties:

• Abrasion (whether the stone breaks easily or not)

• Absorption (the percentage of how much fluid the rock holds)

• Bulk specific gravity (allows you to tell if the stone is porous or solid)

• Soundness (the ability of the stone to withstand the effects of weathering---freezing and drying)

All of these together establish whether or not the stone is good to use. Stagg noted that there are standards for road stone that come from PennDOT and the Army Corp. of Engineers.  If the stone doesn't meet the standards it can't be used for a road project.

Stagg noted that the tests performed were created by the ASTM (American Society for Testing) and AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials).  

The results of these tests (by Stagg) indicated that abrasion and absorption were good and met PennDOT standards, but that soundness wasn't very good because of the surrounding shale. Harris made sure to mention that stone doesn't have to meet ALL standards---that two out of three is acceptable.

Stagg then went on to explain (in excess detail) the terms: resources, identified resources, and reserve base, as they apply to quarry rock. Cutting out about 20 minutes of testimony, here is the bottom line:

• Resources is the amount of concentrated stone in the Earth's crust (at the proposed location). Simply stated, "all the rock---usable or not".

• Identified Resources is the number of tons of stone in an area.

• Reserve is the portion of the identified resources that can be extracted and is commercially viable (i.e. good enough to sell). This is the important measurement to GIbraltar Rock.

NOTE: During the rest of the meeting Stagg and Harris used a set of maps, which we don't have immediate access to. So, for the remainder of this summary I'm using my approximations of what was presented.

NOTE 2: Harris continues to use two terms that need to be identified. He refers to "The Township Plan". The Township Plan refers to the fact that the area in question, (the 163+ acres in New Hanover Township) is zoned both HI (heavy industrial) and LI (light industrial). According to Pennsylvania regulations, a quarry is allowed in HI but not in LI.  Gibraltar Rock wants the LI to be changed to HI so that they can quarry the entire 163+ acres economically. When he says "The DEP Plan," he is using the acronym for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). He does this to make us all think that his plan is approved by the DEP. It is not. He is assuming that if New Hanover allows the exception (changing LI to HI) then the DEP will approve the quarry.  When he says "The DEP Plan" he is really saying the "Gibraltar Rock Plan" or the John and Larry Silvi Plan". Don't be fooled by the misnomer "DEP Plan"---the DEP has not given its approval on these plans.

This map shows what Stagg believes is the potential Reserve (commercially viable stone) if Gibraltar Rock follows New Hanover Township zoning.

This map shows what Stagg believes is the potential Reserve (commercially viable stone) if New Hanover Township allows the quarry in the Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial areas.

Stagg explained that the next step after identifying the reserve potential is to create a potential mining plan. In this plan he explained that quarries must not dig deeper than 50 feet without a bench.  A bench is horizontal and must be 25 feet wide. This allows the walls to stay stable as the quarry gets deeper and deeper.  He mentioned that there will potentially be six (6) levels to the bottom.  This diagram shows a representation of six levels with benches.

Stagg explained that he then laid the potential mining plan over the proposed site plan (as explained by the last witness) to determine how much commercially viable (reserve) stone is available.

He noted that the only way to commercially quarry in the New Hanover Township Plan is to do it in a two phase approach. During Phase 1 rock waste rock is removed and dumped into the area where Phase 2 will be. After seven years the waste rock is dumped into the Phase 1 pit and then they begin removing rock in the Phase 2 area. Under this plan there is only 14 years of operation.  This map shows what Stagg believes is the Reserve (commercially viable stone) if Gibraltar Rock follows New Hanover Township zoning.

This next map shows what Stagg believes is the Reserve (commercially viable stone) if Gibraltar Rock gets their exception and is allowed to quarry both Heavy and Light Industrial. If they get the exception they will then quarry the site in four (4) stages as shown below.  Stagg noted that Phase 1 could take 36 years to complete. Phase 2 goes to 55 years. He said he wouldn't try to figure the economics over 55 years.

Stagg then told how much commercial rock would potentially come out of a quarry in the New Hanover Township Plan and the Gibraltar Rock Plan.  He said that if Gibraltar Rock was made to comply to the New Hanover Township Plan that there would be 

Note: Stagg mentioned that the earthen berms would be 100 feet wide and 25 feet high.

The meeting ended.

The next meetings will be December 12, 2002.

See Also:
Summary of the previous meeting (October 2, 2002)