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Surface Mine Permitting

Turning Seven Years of Frustration Into Success… Within 24 Months

A wide view of a rocky quarry under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. The landscape features layers of exposed stone and a dirt road winding through the site. Sparse vegetation is visible along the edges.Navigating Multiple Environmental Impacts

Permitting a rock quarry is relatively easy in and of itself. However, permitting multiple environmental impacts, all of which interact with each other, can be highly challenging and must be coordinated and managed holistically, not individually.

Our client planned to construct a new rock quarry to help meet the need for construction aggregates throughout the southeastern United States. The site he selected involved:

  • Multiple jurisdictional wetlands and streams
  • Impacts to a rare Piedmont plantation
  • Relocation of two county roads
  • Construction of a new bridge on a state highway
  • Several miles of new rail
  • Multiple state and local stormwater permits
  • An air quality permit

Due to the complexity and degree of the impacts involved, our client had spent seven years trying to navigate a dozen different permits but was still unable to make the project a reality.

Securing Permits and Taking Over Management

To overcome these seemingly insurmountable problems, the client contacted HHNT and asked us to manage the entire program, including acquiring all permits and overseeing construction.

Our success through the years has been, in part, due to our ability to find the best consultant for each component of a project, whether from our staff of design, consulting, and permitting engineers or from among the best engineering experts in the country. Given the complexity of this project, we needed to secure the services of highly qualified and respected personnel. Our goal for the client was to bring together a group of professionals with a proven history of successful project management.

Our ability to put together the right team paid off for the client. Within two years, HHNT secured all the permits required for the quarry’s construction and operation.