Background

Carew Concrete is a ready-mix concrete business with 14 ready-mix plants and nine nonmetallic mine sites throughout northeastern Wisconsin. Foth was asked to prepare eight NR 135 Reclamation Plans for Carew Concrete, and help expand a ninth facility in Portage County, which also included the preparation of a NR 135 Reclamation Plan. These eight nonmetallic mine sites—four limestone rock quarries and four sand and gravel pits used as aggregate resources for Carew’s ready-mix concrete—are located in six different counties and are regulated by five different regulatory authorities.

Approach

Foth leveraged its experience working with a variety of governmental agencies to meet the submittal deadlines and requirements of the different regulatory authorities. In addition to solving Carew’s regulatory needs, Foth’s approach during the permitting process helped address and overcome public misconceptions of the nonmetallic mine operation, including specific concerns such as site screening.

Results

All of the reclamation plans have been approved by the regulatory authorities and have had financial assurance estimates accepted. These plans provide information that allows each site to be operated into its next land use while yielding information for Carew Concrete that exceeds regulatory requirements, including reserve estimates at each site.

The expansion project in Portage County was permitted within eight months. The NR 135 reclamation plan and permitted site expansion has increased the resource reserve at that site by a factor of three in an extremely cost-effective manner.