New Frontier tells St. Charles County it is not seeking night truck operations as council presses safeguards for proposed underground limestone expansion

Council members spent a substantial portion of their Jan. 12 meeting questioning a proposed amendment to an existing conditional‑use permit that would authorize an expansion of New Frontier’s underground limestone operations.

Robert Myers, director of the Planning & Zoning Division, told the council the quarry has been active on the property since 1954 and in underground form since 2005. The proposed amendment would relocate underground extraction closer to the southwest corner of the site; the Planning and Zoning Commission’s materials and the draft ordinance document existing permit conditions and proposed amendments.

Justin Higginbotham, New Frontier’s director of stone operations, told the council the company “currently do[es] not operate night shift” and is “not asking for that amendment.” He said production hours in the permit are defined as 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., blasting schedules and limits are identified in the permit, and blasting is monitored with seismographs. "There has been times the variance was asked because of a MoDOT project specifically," he added, saying project‑specific variances have occurred in the past.

Council members pushed on enforcement and community impacts, asking about truck double‑loading, the potential for overnight truck runs tied to the Highway 70 work, noise from engine braking (Jake brakes), and whether the county could erect and enforce signage or ordinances on state roads. Staff and applicants said the permit includes hours for loading (production shifts only), setbacks that do not permit encroachment onto neighboring properties (noting a 50–75‑foot setback in practice), and seismic monitoring around the blast area; they advised residents to report suspected violations to Community Development.

The applicant displayed maps showing the proposed expansion area, distances to the nearest residences and the location of a gas pipeline; company representatives said they monitor blasts and maintain safety buffers that meet or exceed the limits applicable to homes and pipelines.

No final vote on Bill 5457 was recorded at the meeting; it was introduced and discussed and will continue in committee or on a future council docket per the normal review process.

Council members asked staff to follow up on whether state agencies (including MoDOT) restrict local measures and whether signage or local ordinances could address engine‑brake noise on approaches to the quarry.