CASPER, Wyo. — Kyle True, CEO of Prism Logistics LLC, stood before a crowded room Thursday evening to explain his company’s plans for a gravel pit west of Casper and allay area homeowners’ fears.
“We are trying to listen, and I believe there are substantial, reasonable, applicable fears and there are inapplicable fears, and we are trying to divide between the two,” True told about 150 people — mostly opponents and some just curious — at the Ramkota Hotel, 800 N. Poplar St., at a town hall sponsored by Liberty’s Place 4 U.
“At this point, we believe virtually all the fears are inapplicable to our situation,” he said.
True admitted that he prefaced many of his comments with “I think” and “I believe” because the process of developing the project is still young.
With the help of a slideshow and a brochure, True said he and Prism Logistics intend to “harvest what we need” and “protect what we love” while remaining environmentally conscious and meeting the Casper area’s needs for gravel. So far, True said Prism Logistics had already responded to area residents’ and the community’s fears by shrinking initial operational plans by 60%.
During the question and answer session, many in the audience indicated they didn’t think their fears were alleviated.
Those fears started Feb. 18, when Gregg Werger, a University of Wyoming civil engineer who lives at the south end of Coates Road, came home from a trip. He saw a backhoe digging on a section of state school land next to his property and called a Natrona County Sheriff’s deputy.
The deputy told Werger that the digging was legal because True’s company had obtained leases on multiple sections of state lands and had a permit for exploratory digging for gravel. (Wyoming has set aside about 5% of its land for multiple uses, including leases for businesses to operate and pay taxes to support schools.) Later that evening, True came to visit and told of his mining intentions to Werger, who responded, “I’m your resistance.”
Resistance turned to resolve, starting with a Feb. 29 informational meeting. Opponents vocalized their questions and anger, packing governmental meetings and hosting meetings of their own. They also created an ad hoc resistance group on Facebook before officially formalizing as the Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance.
Gravel pit opponents have said they have gathered 6,500 signatures on petitions and have presented them to state and local officials.
Objections raised by opponents have included:
- Gravel trucks causing continuous traffic on Coates Road
- Ground water contamination
- Crusher noise
- Potentially health-threatening silica sand dust blowing east
- Property devaluation ranging from 30% to 50%
- Impacts to Casper Mountain’s visual appeal
- Impacts on wildlife
Before True responded to those and other objections, he explained different types of gravel and their uses: large rocks, which are used for decoration, traffic control and erosion control; riprap rocks larger than 4 inches; clean and sorted gravel; J Base and W Base gravel for road base; “con rock” for mixing in cement; pea gravel; and sand. The Casper area, he added, needs about 500,000 tons of gravel a year.
A typical gravel mine includes excavation, soil screening, crushing, organization of aggregate by size and sales from the pit including loading and weighing, he said. Prism Logistics eliminated all of those operations except excavation and soil screening. Overburden would not be removed and would be used for reclaiming the pit, True said. The remaining operations still would need approval by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the Office of State Lands and Investments — the latter of which is overseen by the State Board of Land Commissioners. If Prism Logistics clears all those hurdles, it still will need to obtain a conditional use permit from the Natrona County Commission.
True then addressed specific objections.
The pit would start at 15 acres with the limited mining operation notice, then expand to 30 acres after Prism Logistics applies for a large mining operation, and the area would eventually expand beyond that.
True later admitted he’s not run the numbers about how long the pit would be in operation because of the variables such as how deep the gravel may be.
The eventual 30-acre pit would also be at least a half-mile downwind from any homes, rendering moot any concerns about dust, he said. By way of comparison, he showed a map of gravel operations in Mills, Mountain View and Evansville that were closer to hundreds of homes, and he said those areas haven’t had problems.
Prism Logistics obtained leases in seven state trust land sections totaling about 3,200 acres, but the proposed pit would only be on 30 acres. The company acquired the leases on the 3,200 acres to thwart any competitor that wanted to mine nearby, True said.
Regarding the aesthetics, True showed photos of the proposed pit taken from roads in the area. Some photos showed trees that were about 30 feet tall which would obscure the 12-foot screens used for soil screening, others showed a ridge that would obscure the view.
True also disputed assertions that the pit would damage home values, stating that the most expensive homes in the Oregon Trail area are closest to an active gravel pit, and prices of new homes in the Riversgate area west of Casper range from $400,000 to $1 million.
“I struggle to see an impact there,” he said.
Residents have also expressed concerns about the damage the haul trucks would do to Coates Road. In response, True said that the trucks would not exceed 20 mph and Prism Logistics would maintain the road for the residents and for the company’s own self-interest.
He also said the proposed pit would not affect water quality or quantity, and Prism Logistics would drill wells and lay pipe for any resident who suffered damage.
Wildlife will be affected somewhat, but reclamation would restore the land, True said, adding that reclamation on mining areas elsewhere in Wyoming such as in the Shirley Basing and Powder River Basin have left the land better than before.
As far as the lease goes, True said he’s talked with state officials after the State Board of Land Commissioners meeting on April 4 regarding whether the lease could be undone. Other than him voluntarily withdrawing it, the state can’t do anything and it would be a bad precedent if it did. Few businesses would want to do anything on the state lands if their leases could be issued and later revoked, he said.
Wyoming, he said, has places that are special such as the Grand Teton Mountains and Devils Tower, which would never be mined. By comparison, Coates Road is not that special, he said.
One person responded by saying over 6,500 people have signed a petition and believe Casper Mountain is special, and asked True why he doesn’t mine elsewhere. True said he believes the mountain is still special and that’s why he wants to have more meetings with people to listen to their concerns.
People have called him to say they signed the petition and didn’t know what they were signing, he said, which caused some laughter from the audience.
True constantly reminded the audience about the need for gravel for concrete and other uses, and said that Prism Logistics could develop the pit responsibly.
“I think it’s going to be beneficial for all concerned,” he said. “If I believed 20% of the negative impacts that are feared are rational fears and likely, we would not be moving forward.”
Elishah Oesch Productions video-recorded the meeting. Elishah McAvoy said True will post the video on Prism Logistics’ website and on YouTube.
