Collier OKs mining permit to go deeper, use explosives

David Purdie didn’t want to be standing in front of the Collier County commissioners on Tuesday.

Purdie, a resident of 14th Street Northeast in Golden Gate Estates, made it clear he didn’t want to have 15 minutes of fame. But against his instincts he spoke to commissioners during their regular meeting and urged them not to grant a permit to Mining Venture LLC that would allow the company to do more rock mining near his home.

Purdie failed.

The commissioners unanimously agreed to give the permit to the company’s owner, Don Barber. Under the permit, Mining Venture will be allowed to mine down to 45 feet, or to the confining level where rock turns into sand.

The company also will be allowed to blast material while they are mining for rock.

Under the conditions of the permit, Mining Venture will have to install a 20-foot-wide and 15-foot-high buffer that will block noise from the rock mining.

Collier officials will review this permit after one year to see if people in the area are still upset about the situation. If the permit remains in place after that, it will be reviewed every 2-3 years for as long as the rock mining occurs.

County staff and the Collier Planning Commission had recommended approving the permit.

Purdie lives within walking distance of the mining operation, which is on 2,564 acres of land east of Immokalee Road, about two miles north of Oil Well Road and 1.5 miles north of the county fairground.

“I’m here fighting for my house,” Purdie said, while speaking to the commissioners. “I don’t want to come home and find my walls, floors and pool cracked.”

Purdie also fears noise pollution and dust from trucks that go in and out of the mining operation.

“There’s no one who knows what will happen when you’re as close to (the operation) as I am,” Purdie said.

The actual operation takes up about 626 acres of the property. The owners are expected to go before the commission a second time in about three months and ask for permission to expand it to other parts of the property.

Commissioner Jim Coletta, who represents the area in which the rock mining would occur, said he worries nearby homeowners would find the area unlivable when the blasting began.

But Coletta also said he believed the safeguards being installed would lessen the impact on the area. He told area residents to call him if they had any problems once the mining began.

The rock mine has been operating since 1999, but the company has only been allowed to get rock about 10 feet into the ground. Blasting also has been prohibited.

Officials with Mining Venture said the mine is essentially shut down under the current rules, but will begin operating again under the new rules.

John Souloff, who lives less than 1,000 feet from the land that includes the rock mine, recently had a lung transplant and wears a mask outside when there is a lot of dust.

Souloff is dreading the dust once trucks start going in and out and rocks start getting crushed, he said.

“Most of the dust comes from the trucks,” Souloff said. “When you have dust storms outside, its like living in Iraq.”

Collier County is running out of rock in areas that are permitted for rock mining.

As a result, the cost of road construction has been going up because the construction companies have to ship rock in from other parts of the state and the cost of transporting the rock makes it more expensive.

Rock is used for the construction of roads, driveways and some buildings. In Southwest Florida, there is a large demand for rock because growth is leading to the construction of new roads and the widening of existing roads.

Commissioner Tom Henning referred to the rock shortage when he said the county needed to encourage as much rock mining as possible locally.