Lincoln County planning commission recommends temporary borrow site for Highway 83 project with environmental conditions

LINCOLN COUNTY, Neb. — The Lincoln County Planning Commission on April 9 recommended approval of a conditional use permit (CU24-001) submitted by BSB Construction, Inc. and Treyton and Dayna Wasserburger to allow a temporary borrow site east of South Highway 83 to supply material for an upcoming Nebraska Department of Transportation highway project.

County Planner Judy Clark summarized the application and said planning staff had no objections. Clark said hours of operation would be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, with a maximum of 10 vehicles operating at one time, and recommended the commission consider a time frame and reclamation requirements.

Troy Einspahr of BSB Construction said the company planned to flatten the site, remove topsoil for later replacement, and seed and mulch the area after work; he estimated work would begin May 6 and close in September or October if all goes well. Einspahr said erosion controls would include a silt fence, cover crops if the pit remained open longer than a month, and replacement of topsoil with native grass seed and prairie mulch on completion. He said a SWPP (stormwater) permit would be applied for and that water for operations would likely come from the City of North Platte near the state fish hatchery.

Neighbor Greg Renner, who owns property north of the proposed site, said the surrounding ground is sandy, that water is not available nearby, and that sand could drift onto his fence and buildings; he asked the county to require a restoration bond or use an alternative site one mile east on Watts Road. The commission discussed sand movement and the protections afforded by required state stormwater permitting and local reclamation conditions.

Commissioner Zak Eickhoff moved and Roger Merritt seconded adoption of Resolution CU24-001 "A", which recommends approval with the following conditions: submission of the SWPP plan to the Lincoln County Planning Department, project completion by December 2024, and maintenance of the silt fence until sufficient stabilization. The roll-call vote was: Aye—Chuck Boden, Brent Roggow, Judy Pederson, Lee Davies, Roger Merritt, Zak Eickhoff, Russ Miller; Nay—none; Abstain—Aaron Edwards; Absent—Rod Rayburn, Marlene Flaming, Mitch Moorhead. The motion carried.

The commission's action was limited to the planning recommendation recorded in the resolution; the motion carried on the record and will be handled according to county procedure. Pederson left the meeting at 6:02 p.m.