Quarry Restraining Order Sought

CHALLIS, Idaho – A local stone quarry’s ability to continue and expand operations is being challenged in federal district court by a conservation group.
Judge B. Lynn Winmill deferred action in early November on a temporary restraining order sought by the Western Watersheds Project (WWP) concerning the Three Rivers Stone quarry operated by Orland, Calif.-based L&W Stone Corp.
The judge held a Nov. 2 hearing in Boise on the suit, but didn’t make a ruling. He noted that he might make a site visit to the quarry before making a decision.
L&W quarries its private-label Three Rivers Stone® at the site. The company’s Website notes that L&W produces approximately 700 tons of the stone each week.
According to The Challis Messenger, the suit challenges a recent decision by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to allow further operations and expansion of the quarry in central Idaho. The WWP cited several areas of concern, including the quarry’s location near its Greenfire Ranch on the East Fork River and the BLM’s contention that the flagstone is “an uncommon variety of building stone.”
The BLM approval would allow expansion of the operations to 166 acres. At peak production, the quarry would operate around the clock and employ 100 people; the expected life of the quarry is 40 years.
The group went to court, bypassing the BLM’s appeals process. Attempts at an out-of-court resolution by the WWP, L&W and the BLM failed.
L&W attorneys noted that the company wouldn’t work in the expansion area during the winter, and that it needed to continue operations to ensure adequate rock supplies next year. However, WWP attorney Judith Brawer contended that the quarry’s current permit is flawed, and “all activities over the past five years have been illegal.”