• Comments should be submitted by September 13.
The deadline for response to the continued use of the Sunroc Alpine Bear [Gravel] Pit is Friday, Sept. 13.
Alpine Mayor Eric Green and the Alpine Town Council are responding to the request for continued use and are asking for public participation, as he explained in an interview with SVI Media’s Weekday Wake-Up Program on Tuesday.
The mayor asked for the public to become involved in the public comment period.
“We have a deadline of Sept. 13 to give a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation,” the mayor said. “Sunrock wants to expand the extraction and we want clarification.”
A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation notice, sent by the Boise office to the Town of Alpine, called for public comment.
Notice of Request for Comments Regarding the Proposed Use Authorization to Allow Sunroc® Corporation to Extract Material from the Alpine Bear Pit near Alpine, Wyoming.
“The Sunroc® Corporation is requesting a 5-year land use authorization to utilize approximately 240 acres of Federal lands managed by the Bureau of Reclamation for the extraction of approximately 200,000 cubic yards of material per year and the operation of a material crushing site within Palisades Reservoir.
“The new extraction and crushing area would be a part of the existing Alpine Bear Pit.
“The purpose of this letter is to inform interested and affected public of the proposal and to solicit comments pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Enclosed is a Scoping Information Document describing the project proposal.
“You can help us identify important issues and concerns regarding the proposed action by providing your written or verbal comments in response to this letter.
“Although comments are always welcome throughout the NEPA process, they can best be used if received by September 13, 2024.
“Written comments may be submitted electronically to sra-nepa-comments@usbr.gov, or mailed or hand-delivered to:
“Mrs. Amanda Peterson Natural Resource Specialist Bureau of Reclamation Snake River Area Office 230 Collins Road Boise, ID 83702.”
In the Weekday Wake-Up interview Mayor Green reviewed a motion made in the August Town Council meeting that acknowledged the “town’s concerns for proposed expansion and environmental impacts.”
The town questioned problems associated with noise and dust.
“With the weather patterns the dust covers the whole town,” he noted. “If there is a big wind we can see dust flowing over to the bridge.”
He advised, “The town of Alpine asks that they just don’t rubber stamp it; we want our voices heard. We want to have the environmental concerns addressed rather than just expand the extraction.”
The mayor said the area will need gravel with continued growth but he called for a more thurough review.
“The Town of Alpine and North Lincoln will need gravel and rock for a very long time. We just want to make sure that maybe there’s a better place not adjacent to the neighborhood,” Mayor Green concluded, “Maybe we should pump the break [and do our] due diligence before the Bureau of Reclamation makes a decision.”
