ODOT seeking new Cline Buttes area quarry

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is seeking a new rock quarry near Cline Buttes.

Eight years ago, stating that there was a critical need for road-building materials, ODOT sought a long-term use and easement with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a quarry site off Barr Road, a primitive county road south of Highway 126 near Cline Buttes, between Sisters and Redmond. The original plan was known as the "Golden Triangle Aggregate Study," a 200-acre project designed to produce road materials.

Opponents to the proposed quarry, largely represented by the Cline Butte Recreation Association, hired D.W. McClain & Associates Corp., a Development, Public Affairs and Environmental Management firm to look into the project.

At that time, the McClain group questioned whether BLM would issue a positive Record of Decision in the so-called "Golden Triangle" area. This is due to the high recreation value of that part of Deschutes County and the cost to meet BLM land-use criteria.

McClain also presented opinions that demonstrated ODOT's findings were not in the best interests of the residents of Deschutes County, arguing that there were adequate sources of aggregate in the region and that the area's recreational value outweighed its value as a source of aggregate.

In the face of community resistance and bureaucratic hoops, ODOT's Golden Triangle quarry of 2000 slowly faded away - but it did not die.

While many of the requirements and opinions of eight years ago are still current today, new life and a new name has been breathed into the quarry project. It has surfaced as Barr Road Quarry (Site N).

ODOT is looking at a reduced footprint of 120 acres.

In a letter dated September 12 from ODOT to Nunzie Gould, a nearby resident and opponent of the proposed Barr Road Quarry, Teresa Brasfield, ODOT Region 4 Environmental Coordinator states that the quarry qualifies as a "Categorical Exclusion" and that there will be "no significant environmental effects from the quarry."

Opponents wonder how there can be a "Categorical Exclusion," with the increased population of the northern end of Deschutes County and the dramatic rise in all forms of recreation in the same area. Gould also wonders why there has been no groundwater study carried out, and the belief that there will be "no significant environmental effects (from the quarry)."

While the old 2000 project was oriented around "cinders," the new Site N plan will be to mine the material for "hard rock." A crusher will reduce basalt and andesite to road-size hard rock, soil, sand and gravel.

Opponents worry that the crushing operation will use a lot of water, make considerable noise and put dust into the air in prodigious amounts. When operational, it has been stated that there may be as many as 200 trucks per day hauling materials from the quarry to areas throughout Region 4.

In an e-mail to Nunzie Gould, Amy Pfeiffer, ODOT Project Leader states, "ODOT does not have a TIA (traffic impact analysis) on the Barr Road Quarry (Site N)."

Gould commented, "At a projected 200 trucks per day, and the increase of volume and types of recreation use in that area, it would appear that a TIA would be put into place before the project is given the green light."

In the original application of 2000, ODOT stated they needed the Barr Road site to conduct the paving and shoulder work planned for Highway 126 between Sisters and Redmond. This past summer that project was completed with materials from some other location.

ODOT plans to do some significant work on the McKenzie Highway (OR 242) west of Sisters, a joint project between the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Forest Service.

According to Pfieffer, when that project is contracted out, the contractor will be notified of the closest publicly-owned quarry for materials. If a public quarry is not within cost-effective hauling distance of the project, the contractor may opt to use the commercial quarry near Trout Creek, south of Highway 242 for materials.

If materials were to come from Site N or another quarry, ODOT would in all probability require the contractor to do the work at night to avoid traffic conflicts in Sisters.

Anyone wishing to comment on the proposed ODOT Barr Road Quarry (Site N) should write to the BLM Prineville Office at Molly Brown, Field Manager, Dechutes Resource Area BLM, Prineville Dist. Office 3050 NE 3rd St., Prineville, OR 97754 and ODOT Regional office in Bend at Amy Pfeiffer, Geology Team Leader ODOT, Geo/Bridge/Environmental Unit 63034 O.B. Riley Rd. Bend, OR 97701.