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Home My WebLink About05-130 16200 Eagle Creek Avenue S.E. Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714 RESOLUTION 05-130 DENYING A PETITION FOR THE PREPARATION OF A SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET (EAW) FOR THE EXCAVATION OF SAND AND GRAVEL ON THE MCKENNA PROPERTY WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, MOTION BY: Zieska. SECOND BY: Petersen Ryan Contracting has proposed to excavate sand and gravel from 12.91 acres of the property located on the north side of McKenna Road, % mile north of CSAH 42; and On January 19, 2000 the City of Prior Lake received a petition requesting an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) be completed prior to approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for Ryan Contracting; and On February 7,2000, the City Council reviewed all pertinent information including the petition, rebuttal from Ryan Contracting, and staff review regarding the petition, and ordered the preparation of an EAW; and Pursuant to Minn. R. 4410.1100, the City of Prior Lake prepared an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for this proposed project; and On February 20, 2001, the City Council made a negative declaration of the need for an environmental impact statement based on the criteria established in Minnesota R. 4410.1700, and that the project does not have the potential for significant environmental effects; and Based on the EAW and the comments to it that were received, City staff substantially increased the number and nature of conditions that they urged the Council to include in the CUP; and On February 27, 2001, the City Council adopted Resolution 01-19, which approved a CUP subject to many conditions; and Fifteen of those conditions needed to be satisfied before the CUP would become valid; eight additional conditions needed to be satisfied before Ryan could begin work; fourteen additional conditions needed to be satisfied by Ryan on an on- going basis; and The CUP could be valid for only one year, and was subject to renewal upon application; and In litigation commenced by the SMSC in 2001, the Court upheld the City's R:\RESOLUTi\PLa.NRE 8\05.130 denying petition for E.a. W on gravel pili Rvan), 90.c . I k . www:c!.yotjJnora e.com Page 1 Phone 952.447.4230 / Fax 952.447.4245 ...-.-.------..-----.-----r-----...-.. . ...-...--..--.............----..-.- . WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, WHEREAS, negative declaration, finding that no further environmental review was necessary, and denied the SMSC's request to prevent mining operations, but imposed several additional conditions on Ryan's operations to mitigate potential environmental impacts; and In January 2004, after staff concluded that Ryan had not satisfied the preconditions to the validity of the CUP within that period, the City cancelled the CUP; and In its suit, Ryan challenged the City's conclusions and procedures, and contended that the City lacked statutory authority to impose a one-year term on the CUP or a requirement that an applicant use a CUP within a one-year period; and Settlement discussions occurred in Ryan's suit, that culminated in the drafting of a Settlement Agreement; and The concept behind the draft Settlement Agreement, is that, if Ryan were to satisfy within a specified period all of the preconditions to Ryan's ability to use the 2001 CUP set forth in that CUP, the City would reinstitute the 2001 CUP, but the City would hold Ryan to the same conditions imposed in the 2001 CUP, plus the conditions imposed by the Court in its 2002 Order; and As part of the draft Settlement Agreement, Ryan would waive its ability to challenge the legality of the terms of the 2001 CUP and the draft Settlement Agreement, including the one-year period of validity; and On June 20, 2005, a petition for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) was received by the City of Prior Lake to require preparation of a supplemental EAW prior to the excavation of the McKenna site by Ryan Contracting ; and At its June 20, 2005 meeting, the Prior Lake City Council extended the 15-day deadline to act on the EAW Petition by an additional 15 days pursuant to Minn. R. 4410.1100 subp. 7; and Staff reviewed Minnesota Statutes, Environmental Quality Board (EQB) guidelines and documents, the petition dated June 20, 2005 and other submissions; and Minnesota Rules Section 4410.1000, subp. 5, addresses when a new EAW is required, and states "If after a negative declaration has been issued but before the proposed project has received all approvals or been implemented, the RGU determines that a substantial change has been made in the proposed project that may affect the potential for significant adverse environmental effects, a new EA W is required", and Staff evaluated the petition based on the rules; and On July 18, 2005, the City Council reviewed all pertinent information including the petition and staff review regarding the Petition. R:\RESOLUTI\PL.<\NRES\05-130 denying petition for EAW on grave! pit (Ryan).DCG Page 2 ---.,----....,.----......---..l"'.--..-.---------..---.."'.......~~-,-,-------,-.--.~..-.,.,_.,._,-_.--".~.;..-- NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PRIOR LAKE that it hereby denies the request by petition to prepare a supplemental EAW prior to allowing the excavation of sand and gravel on property located in the SE quarter of Section 22, T 115, R 22 with the following findings: FINDINGS 1. An Environmental Impact Statement is not automatically required for the excavation of sand and gravel on 12.91 acres (project site). 2. The preparation of an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) and the comments received on the EAW in 2000 generated information adequate to determine whether the proposed development has the potential for significant environmental effects, resulting in a negative declaration on the need for an Environmental Impact Statement in February 2001. 3. The District Court for Scott County upheld the City's negative declaration in 2002. 4. Minnesota Rules Section 4410.1000, subp. 5, addresses when a new EAW is required, and states "If after a negative declaration has been issued but before the proposed project has received all approvals or been implemented, the RGU determines that a substantial change has been made in the proposed project that may affect the potential for significant adverse environmental effects, a new EAW is required." 5. Rule 4410.1000, subp. 5 provides the most specific indication in the governing statute and implementing rules of how the City as Responsible Governmental Unit should decide whether to order a new EAW. 6. After the EAW was completed in 2000, the project was subjected to numerous additional conditions intended to mitigate the potential adverse environmental impact of the project. The City substantially increased the number and nature of the conditions included in the conditional use permit (CUP) prior to its adoption in February 2001. In addition, the District Court imposed several additional conditions on Ryan's operations in 2002. 7. Those additional conditions were imposed for the purpose of mitigating potential environmental impacts of the project. 8. The draft Settlement Agreement is designed to preserve all of the conditions that Ryan was required to satisfy in the 2001 CUP and in the Court's 2002 Order, and to keep the project from changing in a manner that would give rise to a new kind of potential environmental impact that the City had not already studied. 9. A substantial change has not been made in the proposed project that may affect the potential for significant adverse environmental effects, so pursuant to Minn. R. 4410.1000, sup. 5, a new EAW is not required. 10. Since the 2000 EAW was performed, an environmental assessment has been completed for the Jeffers Pond Development. An EAW is currently being completed for the Shepherd's Path development. R:\RESOLUTiIPLANRESI05-130 denying petition for 'CAI/v on grave! pit (Ryan).DOC Page 3 ~>.~~'_.____~_.._.~'~_._........."'~..,..___..".....~_,._,., d~._'.k"___.__~,,__.____ 11. The petition for the EAW, and other written submissions in support of the Petition, did not contain any new material evidence and information that the City Council finds raises serious concerns that the proposed sand and gravel mining operation may create the potential for significant environmental impacts that have not already been studied. 12. The attached Findings of Fact and Conclusions were adopted as part of Resolution #01-16, and are incorporated herein as Exhibit A as if fully set forth. 13. Said potential for significant environmental impacts have been previously addressed and do not warrant further review. CONCLUSION Based upon the Findings set forth above, the City Council hereby denies a petition of request to require an EAW be conducted in association with the approval of a CUP for Ryan Contracting to allow the excavation of sand and gravel. This denial constitutes a dismissal of the Petition within the meaning of Minn. R. 4410.3100 subp. 1. Staff is hereby directed to prepare notices of this decision and deliver within five (5) working days to the petitioner's representative and the EQB. Any aggrieved party may appeal the decision in district court within 30 days of the date this resolution is adopted. Passed and adopted this 18th day of July, 2005. YES Haugen x Haugen Fleming x Fleming LeMair LeMair Petersen x Petersen Zieska x Zieska NO x {Seal} CityMan~ City of Prior Lake R:\RESOLUT1\PU\NRES\05.130 denying petition for C.fl.,W on grave! pit (Ryan).DCC Page 4 -"-~'--'~~--"-~-'-"""""~-~-'~""""""---'------'~T"'--""__........~_._.~__"__._,__><....._~A'~'..,~~.._'^__...'_,,...,.~.....~".._....,...""'-.~._,-_..........._-_._."-_