October 6, 2006
Dear Ms. Merlie and members of the Town of Spring Green Plan Commission,
The basic concept of Smart Growth is:
That growth which conserves natural resources and open space, enhances economic vitality, coordinates development with infrastructure in a cost-effective manner, provides transportation options (including walking and bicycling), and enhances the livability of communities. (p 6 Comprehensive Plan)
Element 6: Agricultural, natural, and cultural resources
The plan acknowledges the importance of evaluating environmental impacts and the potential effect one land use may have on adjacent properties or an area as a whole. It attempts to prevent potential conflicts arising from incompatible or inappropriate land uses in certain areas (p 55 CP).
While the Plan Commission has currently identified the proposed Resource Conservancy District 35 site as a location where a sand pit could be located based on geology, I believe that it is now the Commission’s responsibility to answer the publics concerns with the help of expert advice and determine whether or not a sand pit should be located on this location.
Is the sand pit compatible with the goals and visions of the Comprehensive Plan?
The following questions are related directly to these goals.
Health
The DNR is in the process of developing regulations for crystalline silica from sand pits as a hazardous air pollutant (NR445). Inhaled silica has been scientifically linked to silicosis. Silicosis can lead to lung cancer, tuberculosis, lung transplants, or even death. What effect would the daily operations of a Sand Pit and the screening & crushing of the sand & gravel have on the health of the residents living around the Pit?
The proposed pit would create a 35 acre hole into the groundwater. The pit hole will become a permanent direct access point for contamination of the groundwater and the neighbor’s water supply. How will residents be protected from bacteria, nitrates, pesticides, VOCs, and other contaminants that could pollute the groundwater and the surrounding resident’s water supply wells?
Elevated levels of atrazine have been found in some tested private water wells in the Spring Green area (p 59 CP). How will the residents well water quality be ensured?
In the EPA document Noise: A Health Problem, noise pollution is linked to hearing loss, heart disease, sleep disruption, aggression in children, mental health issues, and a lower resistance to disease and infection. To what extend would the neighbors experience health problems as a result of the constant noise pollution from the sand pit machinery and the backup warning alarms required on each truck?
Safety
The death of a 12 year old boy in the New London sand pit last month was another reminder of how dangerous sand pits can be. Children tend to be naturally curious. Even though safety measures were taken to keep children out of the dangerous area, the safety measures failed. Is it safe to have a sand pit located near family homes?
Ponds created by former sand pits are very dangerous as a result of the extreme depths, and sheer & unstable edges. The stagnant water is also a concern. Would a sand pit pond be an asset or a liability to the area?
The La Crosse Tribune reported on July 25, 2001 that a runaway gravel truck demolished a home and that trucks had lost control at least three times before this incident. Will the walkers and bicycle riders be able to safely share the road with the trucks?
The entrance for the trucks to Highway 60 would be on a curve. Kramer’s is currently estimating that the trucks would haul 50 loads a day, that’s 100 trips in and out of the site a day. The increase in industrial truck traffic from the sand pit would also create the hazards associated with an increases in road repairs. Will motor vehicle accidents increase?
Economy
Preserve the distinctive rural character of Spring Green as embodied in open space uses, such as farmland, forests, lakes, river, natural resource area, and scenic, historic, and cultural resources (p 71 CP). Spring Green is well known as a tourist destination. If a sand pit were to be located on one of the main corridors into the community, would the tourist’s image of the region be permanitly damaged and result in a loss in tourism revenue?
Discourage other land uses and activities with the Resource Conservancy District-35 which conflict with agricultural use or adversely affect long-term agricultural investment (p 71 CP). The Economic Development Recommendation in the Plan emphasizes the importance of farmland and warns against the “premature conversion to non-agricultural uses”. In an informal survey of several area farmers, it was found that they prefer to use sawdust instead of sand for cattle bedding because sand is too damaging to their farm equipment. To provide farm sand to those farms that do use it, sandy knolls can be removed to improve farm land with no change in zoning. The proposed site for the sand pit is good quality farm land. Why would the proposed sand pit need to be created where quality farm land will be destroyed?
Protect and preserve the Town’s productive agricultural Resources (p71 CP). The farmland that the 35 acre sand pit would destroy is currently used and has a proven history of supporting high quality crops. According to the plan, shouldn’t good quality agricultural land be protected and industrial non-metallic mining be discouraged as a land use?
The relatively small amount of farm sand coupled with the effects on the quality of life for the surrounding neighbors are clear indicators that sand pits should be zoned industrial. Given the industrial impact to the area and the higher rate of taxation for industrial zoned land, why would it make economical senses to zone this land agricultural?
Other townships are zoning non-metallic mining Industrial or Commercial. On the Application/Permit for Connection to State Trunk Highway, the Kraemer Company identifies the proposed use as Rural-Commercial/Industrial (Information in Support of a Special Exception Permit for the Hausner Property). Shouldn’t this non-metallic mining operation be required to be evaluated in the same way as other proposed commercial or industrial uses?
In other communities homeowners near sand pits have had a difficult time selling their homes and their property values plummet. Should a landowner be allowed to use their land in any way they see fit when the effect does not “maintain and improve the community’s quality of life” (p 9 CP)? What will the overall economic impact be to the Town if property values drop in the area and homes can not be resold?
Require new developments to maintain natural features such as creeks, wetlands, woodlands, and shorelands as visual amenities (p 79 CP). Some of the on site equipment would include front-end loaders, bulldozers, trucks, conveyors, a scale, scale house, and portable sanitary facilities. Can a 35 acre sand pit along with its equipment ever be disguised to preserve the natural visual amenities for the community?
Environment
Wetlands are among the richest and biologically most productive habitats in Sauk County. They protect shorelines, shelter rare and endangered species of plants and animals, and remove nutrients and pesticides from surface water and groundwater (p 59 CP). There are number wetlands in close proximity to the propose sand pit site, include a several along Thuli Road. What would the impact be to the local ecosystem if these wetland are polluted or go dry as a result of the sand pit?
The Plan Commission approved the creation of an artificial water feature at the last meeting. A natural spring exists on the Pfefferkorn property with an ephemeral stream bed. The spring is located approximately 700 feet from the edge of the proposed pit. The family places a high value on the ascetic beauty of spring and its ability to provide fresh drinking water if their well was not functioning. Is it equitable for the Commission to allow a sand pit that might dry up a spring on an adjacent property?
The Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory program’s database (p 61 CP) lists 6 endangered species in the Town of Spring Green. In addition, the Starhead Top Minnow has also been identified as living in the sloughs. The unique and fragile ecosystem that is located in the area already supports endangered species. Could the Plan Commission request or recommend that an environmental impact statement be completed to determine adverse impacts and determine if there are there other endangered species yet to be discovered in the area?
Some animals are also negatively affected by noise pollution and industrial activity. Would some animals leave the area or stop breading as a result of the noise pollution? How would the noise pollution effect the endanger species in the area?
Cooperate with the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Commission. (p71 CP) Executive Director of The Lower Wisconsin Riverway, Denny Caneff in a letter dated 10-5-06 to the Plan Commission stated: We urge the Commission to give very careful consideration to how the extraction activities and related truck traffic will adversely affect the aesthetic, recreational and ecological integrity of the Riverway and the river as a water body. … the broader community interest of protecting a national treasure-the Lower Wisconsin Riverway-is a higher good than the sand pit. The letter from the Lower Wisconsin Riverway clearly does not support the proposed Kraemer sand pit. How will the position the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Commission has taken weigh into the Plan Commissions decision?
One of the goals in the Town Comprehensive Plan is to “Protect the town’s natural resource base” (p 9 CP). How is the proposed sand pit in keeping with this goal?
Sincerely,
Jennifer Pfefferkorn
Jennifer Pfefferkorn
5071 Wallis Ave and S12124 Thuil Rd
Vesper, Wi 54489 Spring Green, WI 53588