Following more than an hour of presentations, Allen County commissioners put off until Aug. 18 a decision on whether to grant a conditional use permit so Monarch Cement Company may remove shale on land it owns north of Humboldt. COMMENTS unfolded, with Monarch’s Walter Wulf Jr., company president, and Kenny Miller, vice president for cement manufacturing, leading off. But, not before Weber appraised commissioners of their responsibility — to decide if planners, in making their recommendation, did so in a reasonable way and without being arbitrary. He also pointed out Monarch was denied a recommendation, and eventually withdrew its application, for an exception in February 2014.
The two-week delay came Tuesday morning, when commissioners considered a recommendation from the county’s Planning Commission to grant the exception.
Monarch wants to open a borrow pit on 128 acres that contains a shelf of shale about 30-feet thick. That parcel and another shale-rich 53 acres are on either side of the Southwind Rail Trail; altogether Monarch owns about 320 acres in the area.
The potential shale removal — no blasting or limestone removal would be permitted — has raised the hackles of neighbors, who also object to hauling of material on old U.S. 169. Monarch proposed to have haul trucks enter the former federal highway at the west edge of its property, by way of a road the company would build, and go south through Humboldt to Monarch’s plant.
Safety raised it head as an issue often, by detractors and supporters. “I think we all are concerned about safety,” said Tom Williams, county commission chairman.
In the intervening 17 months Monarch reworked its proposal, settling on just shale removal to preclude blasting, and purchased more land to give it direct access to the old highway. Originally, Monarch wanted to have haul trucks travel a rock road, 1300 Street, that would have had them pass close to several rural residences. WHILE THEIRS was not meant to be a fact-finding mission, Williams prefaced the session by announcing commissioners would listen to anyone who wanted to comment. Several jumped at the chance. WILLIAMS HAD two questions, from conversations he had had with constituents: Is there an aquifer on the north site? Has an alternate route been considered by Monarch?
Commissioners’ charge, Weber said, was not to substitute their judgment for that of planning commission members, but to determine whether they thought the planners’ recommendation was appropriate.
Wulf reiterated Monarch had 165 employees, 135 former ones who received retirement benefits and the company had been a fixture south of Humboldt for more than 100 years. “We want to be there another 100 years,” he said, which would be enhanced by having access to shale on the site in question — about 2 miles north of Humboldt. The supply of shale could be expected to meet production needs for 60 years, Miller said.
“We listened to the public,” which raised its voice at the 2014 hearing, “and have adjusted our plans,” Miller said. A feature is the shale has the correct chemical composition to meet Monarch’s manufacturing demands, he said. He trumpeted the north site as being more efficient than others under the company’s ownership, where layers of shale were 3 to 4 feet thick, and in some places less than that.
His prediction, a bit different from what planners heard earlier, was that 50 loads a day, two to three days a week would be hauled from the site. Those numbers would vary, Miller added, depending on production needs and such uncontrollable factors as weather conditions.
Miller handed out a graph that showed traffic on the old highway with haul trucks on it would be significantly less than when the road was a federal highway, carrying all north-south traffic through Humboldt, and not significantly different from today.
Marilyn Jenkins said borrow pits “would leave a huge footprint” in an otherwise agricultural area. She asked why Monarch, which owns many acres, couldn’t find shale it needed elsewhere, including south of the plant along the Neosho River. Miller’s answer: Shale along the Neosho is laced with river gravel, an intrusion that makes it unusable because “we can’t grind it in our roller mills.”
She also encouraged leaving the area between Humboldt and Iola pristine, as an inviting place for people in years ahead to build homes.
Nicole Hoepker and husband Justin live half a mile east of the Monarch property. She also wondered why other tracts couldn’t meet Monarch’s needs, and said — as several others would — safety was an overriding concern — she having three teenage drivers who would use the old highway while going to and from school and other events in Humboldt.
Reclamation of the mined land was another of Hoepker’s concerns. Brent Wilkerson, Monarch environmental officer, said money would be set aside from day one of work at the site to reclaim denuded land, but nothing would be done until mining concluded — at 60 years, a lifetime of “dust, noise and the sight” of machines at work, Hoepker bemoaned.
Chris Bauer, an activist in several Humboldt organizations including its Chamber of Commerce, recalled in 1976 Humboldt Lions were raising money for Christmas lights. Walter Wulf Sr., then president, gave a generous donation in Monarch’s name but “didn’t want us to tell anyone,” Bauer said. “That’s the way Monarch has been, it has contributed heavily to schools and community” projects and events without seeking recognition. “Many employees also are involved in community events, committees and functions.”
His suggestion for making haul traffic safer was to lower the speed limit north of Humboldt from 55 to 45 miles an hour — “over 1.7 miles that would add just 23 seconds to the trip.” Later, Sheriff Bryan Murphy said reducing speed to 45 miles an hour for a mile on State Street south of Iola was unpopular at first, “but we haven’t had any (ser-ious) accidents since.”
Ron Herder lives on the side of a small hill south of where haul trucks would enter the old highway. “I’m opposed,” he said when asked, and cited safety at his driveway’s intersection with the road and fears his property would be devalued by increased truck traffic.
“My concern is safety,” Mona Hull said, on the highway and also through Humboldt, with children crossing and riding bicycle on what is Ninth Street in town.
Larry Hoepker, who lives east of Humboldt, had no qualms about expressing his opposition. “Stay east (east of Monarch, where quarries are active),” he said. “We can’t have quarries on every side,” and noted the highway was narrow and had no shoulders to accommodate emergencies. “Human lives are more important than cement.”
“Safety is a concern for all of us,” Williams said, one of several times he made the observation.
Sharon Barton left no doubt of where she stood. “It’s unbelievable to me that Monarch would even consider using old 169,” she said — and recalled having her windshield broken by a rock flying from a truck hauling limestone to Monarch’s plant.
Karen Emerson, a Monarch employee, was diametrical in her comments following Barton’s, saying much opposition came from the “not in my backyard” syndrome. “I raised my kids when the highway came through Humboldt,” without incident. “Monarch is a good neighbor, and always does what it can to address concerns.” Emerson said she drove on Tank Farm Road, which carries numerous trucks loaded with rock, “everyday,” without problems. “Curt’s (Whitaker) drivers are courteous.” Whitaker is a contract hauler for Monarch.
Wilkerson said Monarch was unaware any aquifer, but there might be below the capstone on underlying limestone, which won’t be disturbed. Core drilling — to determine thickness of the shale and its chemical properties — has found no water within overburden, soil and shale above the limestone, he added. Wulf said Monarch preferred the old highway route and had not considered another.
Allen County is responsible for maintenance of the old highway, including the portion within Humboldt. Humboldt would be responsible for part of K-224, which would give access to U.S. 169 northeast of town.
Last week Bill King, in an outgoing statement as the county’s director of Public Works, recommended commissioners approve the old highway as a haul route, from Monarch property and south through Humboldt to the plant. He pointed out it was constructed as a federal highway and was structurally capable of carrying loads put on it by haul trucks.
“There’s a lot to think about,” said Commissioner Jim Talkington, and proposed delaying a decision for two weeks.
“Safety is a concern for me,” said Commissioner Jerry Daniels, a former Highway Patrol trooper. However, “I grew up with combines and quarries. They’re a part of Allen County.” Daniels was raised on a farm southeast of Humboldt, and lives there now.
In conclusion, “It’s safe to say safety is everyone’s concern,” Williams said.
