HCS HB 628 -- MINING AND GRAVEL EXCAVATION

SPONSOR:  Hobbs (Loehner)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Conservation and Natural Resources by a vote of 9 to 2.

This substitute allows a property owner, an operator conducting
gravel removal at the request of a property owner, or a political
subdivision who contracts with an operator for excavation to
remove and sell excess gravel without a permit if the primary
purpose for removal is to manage seasonal gravel accretion on
property not used primarily for gravel mining.  Gravel removal
must be conducted from June 1 through March 14, solely on the
property owner's or political subdivision's property and not
within a distance to be determined by the Department of Natural
Resources of any building, structure, highway, road, bridge,
viaduct, or water or sewer line.  Property owners and operators
must follow the departmental guidelines regarding surface mining
and gravel removal.

Property owners are limited to selling 5,000 tons of gravel
annually with a 1,500 ton per-site limitation and are required to
notify the department before any person or operator conducts
gravel removal from his or her property if it is intended to be
sold commercially.  Notification will include the nature of the
activity, the county and stream name in which the site is
located, and the property owner's name.  Any future commercial
gravel mining activities at the site will not require the
property owner to renotify the department.  Any operator
conducting gravel removal at the request of the property owner
who removes more than 5,000 tons of sand and gravel material
within a calendar year must have a watershed management practice
plan approved by the Land Reclamation Commission within the
department.  The application must be accompanied by a $300 fee
and must contain the name of the watershed from which the
operator will be conducting the removal, the location where the
sand and gravel will be removed, and the description of the
vehicles and equipment that will be used for the removal.

Any person filing a complaint with the department for an alleged
violation of the provisions of the substitute must identify
himself or herself by name and telephone number; specify the date
and location of the violation; and provide adequate information
as determined by the department of the violation.  Any records,
statements, or communications submitted by any person to the
department will be confidential and used solely by the department
to investigate the alleged violation.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that streams in the southern portion
of the state have a gravel problem that is having a detrimental
effect on the environment and stream banks.  Soil erosion and
water quality need to be considered, but there will be less
environmental degradation by allowing landowners to remove gravel
from the streams.

Testifying for the bill were Representatives Loehner and
Kuessner; Department of Natural Resources; Ron Hardecke; George
Engleback, Missouri Association of Soil and Water Districts;
Department of Agriculture; and Missouri Farm Bureau.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the removal of
gravel is not the answer to the problem in Missouri's streams.
Larger streams do have a backlog of gravel; but by removing it,
the problem is just moved further downstream to someone else.

Testifying against the bill were Duane Chapman, Missouri Chapter
of the American Fisheries Society; Sierra Club; Bob Temper, Ozark
Fly Fishers; Norman Leppo, Missouri Smallmouth Alliance and
Conservation Federation of Missouri; John Wenzlick, Trout
Unlimited; Missouri Votes Conservation; Chris Witte; James
Huckins; and Kathleen Logan Smith, Missouri Coalition for the
Environment.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill say that the department
does see a critical need for gravel excavation; however, it does
not feel that one must choose between gravel removal and
preservation of a stream.  The department has historically worked
toward standards that will strike a balance between preservation
and removal interest groups.

Testifying on the bill was Department of Conservation.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:20 am