The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Division of Water Resources has approved a buffer authorization request by Wake Stone Corporation (Wake Stone) for the proposed construction of a bridge over Crabtree Creek. A buffer authorization allows for impacts within a North Carolina protected riparian buffer. There are no direct stream or wetland impacts associated with the bridge construction.

The buffer authorization is limited to the riparian buffer impacts associated with the proposed bridge only and is contingent upon approval of Wake Stone’s request for a modified mining permit, which is still in process with the DEQ’s Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources (DEMLR).  Issuance of the buffer authorization does not indicate the outcome of the mining permit review process.

The buffer authorization is available here.

On April 8, 2020, Wake Stone submitted a mining permit modification application to DEMLR for expansion of its existing Triangle Quarry. A digital public hearing on that permit is scheduled for June 23 and public comments are currently being accepted. More information on the mining permit modification hearing and comment period can be found at:  https://deq.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2020/05/22/public-hearing-wake-stone-quarry-application-modification-update.