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Geology and geography.

Article Excerpt
Chair: James Starnes, MS Department of Environmental Quality

Vice-chair: George Phillips, Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks

THURSDAY MORNING

Juniper

O5.01

9:00 MINING IN STREAMS: POLICY QUESTIONS FOR MISSISSIPPI

Michael B. E. Bograd

Mississippi Office of Geology

The issue of mining in streams elicits strong responses from two camps: those supporting exploitation of needed industrial minerals and those concerned about adverse environmental impacts. The focus in Mississippi is on in-stream dredging and excavation on bars for sand and gravel. The incentive to exploit river bars is high as county governments mine washed gravel with no overburden to provide low-cost services to taxpayers and private operators maximize profits because of lower costs. Such aggregates are vital to construction and resurfacing of roads. Local gravel resources may exist only in stream bars and alluvium. However, mining sand and gravel from bars and dredging in channels causes aesthetic and environmental impacts, including turbidity, bank sloughing, headcutting, and vegetation removal. These impacts can affect wildlife and recreational activities, damage property, even endanger bridges. Some argue this is a renewable resource, subject to natural reclamation. Areas of concern are the Bouie River near Hattiesburg, the Buttahatchie River near Columbus, and streams in southwestern Mississippi. The Amite and other rivers have been adversely affected by mining in the Florida parishes of Louisiana, and there is interest in mining along those streams in Mississippi. Mississippi's 30-year-old surface mining law allows mining in streams if a permit is issued, but the regulatory authority prohibits adverse environmental damage. Regulators must balance demands for needed aggregates with environmental consequences of mining affecting bars and stream channels.

O5.02

9:15 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AGGREGATE INDUSTRY AND MEMPHIS STONE AND GRAVEL COMPANY'S MODERN MINING CYCLE

Alan G. Parks, William D. Kelley, III

Memphis Stone and Gravel Company

Memphis Stone and Gravel Company mines "pre-loess" sand and gravel terrace deposits, often referred to as the Upland Complex, to produce high quality construction aggregate for the construction markets in the Memphis Metropolitan Area and Northwest Mississippi. Aggregate is broadly divided into three categories: sand, gravel, and crushed stone. These products are the basic raw materials used in the manufacture of concrete. A five part "Mining Cycle" brings these natural resources from initial discovery to the market place and returns the land for other productive use. These five parts include: exploration, planning, mining, processing, and reclamation. Construction aggregate is a high weight, high volume commodity, which trades at a relatively low unit cost. Proximity to market and efficient management is critical due to the high transportation costs. According to USGS estimates, per capita consumption of aggregate exceeds ten tons per year. It is projected that we will require as much aggregate in the next twenty-five years as we have used the previous century. Memphis Stone and Gravel Company is well positioned to meet this demand, but aggregate availability will be challenged by competing land uses, regulatory approvals, and the geological characteristics in the area. Often aggregate mining is faced with community opposition with concerns about environmental impacts, effects on property values, and increased traffic. But given the opportunity Memphis Stone and Gravel Company can demonstrate that the modern mining cycle does not require a community to accept aggregate development at the expense environmental protection and quality of life.

O5.03

9:30 APPLICATION OF SATELLITE IMAGERY AND FIELD SURVEY TO ESTIMATE AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL USE

Fazlay Faruque, Hui Li, Worth Williams, Teresa Carithers, Kaye Wilson

The University of Mississippi Medical Center

The purpose of this research was to estimate the amount of agricultural chemicals used on farm lands. Estimation was conducted based on crop type identified from satellite images, and then that estimation was evaluated through field survey. We had acquired a standard product from QuickBird Satellite for a rural agricultural county in Mississippi. A two-step classification: a) land use and land cover and...

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