The Sand and Gravel Industry
A Valuable Resource — A Vital Construction Material
The Significance of the Industry
Sand and gravel are fairly common minerals resulting from the geological erosive forces of water, wind and ice. Consequently they are generally found in river and stream valleys where they have been deposited by water, and in ridges and hills where they were left behind by receding glacial action and subsequently altered by erosive forces.
In the natural state, sand and gravel are usually loose, easily handled, and, being composed of a range of grain sizes, are readily compacted while retaining good internal drainage characteristics, making them a preferred and stable material for fills and as a base course for pavements and other structures. When combined with a Portland cement binder they become the principal ingredient in an unusually strong and long-lasting construction material, concrete, whether used in its plastic state and placed in forms, or precast as pipe, block and other structural components. When combined with asphalt, sand and gravel become the aggregate forming the major element of asphaltic concrete which is widely used as a paving material.
While some other materials may also be used as aggregate, sand and gravel are most commonly used for these purposes and in some sections of the country are the only economically available source of aggregate. As a natural deposit material they therefore become a valuable resource where they are relatively close to those locations where aggregates may be needed for a broad range of uses. This would be essentially wherever man has chosen to establish his home and community. Its significance to that industry may be illustrated by the fact that our national annual consumption of aggregates including sand and gravel is more than ten tons (21,000 pounds) per capita.
In common with other industrial operations, the producers of sand and gravel must abide by a whole series of governmental regulations and controls. In addition, the sand and gravel industry faces other problems unique to it. Because of transportation costs, it is necessary for the industry to utilize sand and gravel deposits near its market. Sand and gravel, being bulky, heavy and relatively lost cost products, can stand little increase in hauling distance from extraction site to consumer without a prohibitive increase in delivered product cost. As a result, the majority of such sites are close to the point of product use (usually within a metropolitan area where the demand for land and other uses is pressing and acute). In the face of expanding population and the subsequent demands for land for all types of public and private urban development, the problems of securing sand and gravel deposit lands within easy reach of markets is a critical issue for the industry.
Moreover, this condition is aggravated by the fact that deposits of sand and gravel occur only where placed by natural forces. The industry is therefore competing with others in securing specific parcels of land that exploration and investigation demonstrate are capable of producing sand and gravel of the quality demanded by consumers and in sufficient quantity to justify the capital investment required to produce the material. The inability of the industry to use locations which are preempted for other uses can only lead to increasing construction costs. Thus the customary procedures controlling the use of land and securing the right of use for any purpose are further complicated in the case of the sand and gravel industry by the basic twin factors affecting it of haul-distance and limited deposit locations.
The fundamental problem of the industry, therefore, is that of securing the right to continue to produce sand and gravel for the construction industry at locations that are economically feasible.
The experience of the industry in securing that right has not been an unqualified success. This is undoubtedly due to an assumption on the part of the public that a sand and gravel operation constitutes a nuisance during and following its active use for the purpose. While there has been some evidence to support that position in the past, present day practices have demonstrated that such an assumption is not correct.
Current land use and other environmental controls, many initiated by producer members of the industry, have served to illustrate the acceptability of the industry to the community in which it is located. This is the result of two important factors:
- Improved technology in the extraction and processing of the sand and gravel
- The pre-planning of the site for a new and productive use for the property following extraction of the resource
Nevertheless, the industry continues to have problems in securing the right to produce sand and gravel because of the dual sets of requirements of local zoning ordinances and state acts affecting the industry's surface mining activities. Such provisions usually involve the necessity of securing permits from two levels of government, are frequently vague in their specific requirements, and unlike other industrial uses, the permits are frequently restricted to a limited period of time, requiring extensive (and expensive) renewal procedures on the part of the producer, with no assurance that the permit will be renewed. Thus, the substantial capital investment required for a modern sand and gravel plant becomes a hazardous undertaking for the prospective producer.
The sand and gravel producer recognizes the legitimate concerns of the public and their demand for effective environmental controls, and is willing to satisfy them when the requirements for doing so are clearly defined, provide for the issuance of permits when the stated requirements have been met, and when the permitted operations can continue until the planned extraction and land development programs for the area are completed.
A sand and gravel operation is industrial by nature-it uses heavy machinery, involves a processing procedure and utilizes rail and truck lines for shipping its products. These things it has in common with most industrial uses of land. But it is different from other industry in a very important respect: it is self-consuming-the longer it operates at any one location the shorter is its remaining life span, and it ultimately completes its life as a source of aggregates. Thus, unlike most other industrial uses, the sand and gravel operation is a transitional use that is not only making an important contribution to the economy but is simultaneously in the process of developing lands (and waters) for other use.
The sand and gravel industry is in a unique situation insofar as land development is concerned. It utilizes heavy earth moving equipment, and often has large volumes of earth material unsuitable for marketing available for creating functional land forms. Since it is necessary to move this material (overburden, clay, silt, fines, etc.) in order to extract the sand and gravel, it becomes a matter of manipulating that material with the equipment at hand in a manner that will achieve the most desirable land areas for development. Because of the need to be close to markets, the location of the sand and gravel operation also offers unusual opportunities in land development potential. Nor only are land values higher with numerous uses vying for a piece of land at the close-in locations where most operations exist, but the results of the excavation process may create futures not otherwise present in the vicinity, such as large bodies of water, that make the property unusually attractive for development.
Sand and gravel operations today are versatile and useful in terms of development potential. Largely through coordination of master plans for final development integrated with the operation's plans, the producer, with the assistance of the landscape architect, engineer, planner, and market analyst can produce attractive and economically functional land forms of substantial value for a wide range of uses.
Recent efforts on the part of the industry have been directed toward developing a better understanding of the industry by members of the planning profession as well as the public. The planner is concerned with providing for all appropriate uses of land and their proper relationship to other uses. Familiarity with the special characteristics of sand and gravel extractive operations, its position in the local economy and its peculiarities make it differ from other "industrial uses," can bring about land use regulation appropriate to the need.
The sand and gravel industry is well aware of the world in which we live today. It is cognizant of its contribution to the economy of the nation and recognizes its responsibility as a member of the social community. It is continually demonstrating by its performance, its willingness and desire to act and operate responsibly in serving the construction needs of the nation by respecting and observing the well being and the environmental setting of the community of which it is an important and integral part.
The underlying principle of true conservation has been held to mean the wise use of our resources-the sand and gravel industry is in full agreement with that principle, and in so doing recognizes its responsibility as stewards of the land. However, it can only do so when it has the opportunity to utilize the resource deposits naturally occurring at locations to serve community needs.
© 2012 National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association
1605 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.525.8788
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