PHARSALIA – The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is currently reviewing a permit application to develop a sandstone quarry on Center Road.
Harvey Materials Corp. of Rome and property-owner Derek Smith have applied to the NYSDEC to mine a 122-acre stretch of land located on the north side of Center Road near the hamlet of North Pharsalia. The site has been a farm for many years and is currently composed of a hay field, meadows, woods and idle land.
According to the NYSDEC application, the thickness of the consolidated sandstone and siltstone beneath the surface ranges from 18 inches to several feet.
The developers hope to begin clearing the parcel this summer, possibly by June 1. The mined sandstone would be available on-site or trucked out, either for use in a variety of landscaping applications, or crushed for road surfacing and other purposes.
Jobs would be seasonal, with from three to five laborers and equipment operators needed. “We’ll see what the market can bear as we go,” said Harvey Materials Corp. President Gary Harvey, whose company operates five mining pits near Utica.
The business intends to obtain a small, portable screening and sand crushing machine. No plans have been made to obtain permanent processing equipment.
The DEC permit application calls for noise, air and water quality controls. Mining will be in four phases. It will begin by stripping first the topsoil and then the subsoil. Blasting will be used for excavation. It is anticipated that the number of shots per year will range from approximately two to four, and would occur during daylight hours.
To control dust, the land would be stripped in phases to minimize the area that is un-vegetated at one time. Center Road, which is a dirt road, plus two access roads proposed to facilitate traffic flow on-site, would be maintained for dust and mud.
“We are going to have to work with the town to beef the road up (Center Road) and help maintain it,” said Harvey.
There is a small, unnamed stream that discharges into the Canasawacta Creek. Any discharge of sediment-laden surface water into the stream would be prevented, the application states.
Excavation of each mining area is expected to be completed in approximately five to 10 years. Between 20 and 50 years would be required to complete all four phases.
Harvey said he hoped to be talking to the site’s nearby neighbors to review any concerns. One neighbor’s property borders the proposed operation on three sides.
“I want them to have absolute confidence that we aren’t going to mess this up and leave. This is a long-term proposal, depending on the economy, for at least 10 years,” he said.
As a first phase of the permitting process, the Pharsalia Town Board was recently approached to conduct the State Environmental Quality Review study, but declined.
“We’re in support of the new business, but the town wouldn’t want to serve as SEQR because it’s too expensive. It’s the responsibility of New York State anyway, so they are going to do it,” Pharsalia Supervisor Dennis Brown said. Brown said he didn’t know how long it would take the DEC to process the developers’ permit application.