Martin Marietta to re-route stream

MIDLOTHIAN, VA — Martin Marietta Materials received approval from the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors to reroute an unnamed stream through its 270- acre mining site off Warbro Road. The vote was 4-1 with Matoaca Supervisor Marleen Durfee dissenting.

According to the county staff report, the quarry owners violated the 100-foot buffer on either side of the stream, impacting 14 acres of resource protection area.

As a remedy, the planning staff recommended the quarry be allowed to encroach on another two acres of RPA and redirect the water through an underground pipe to an existing stream south of the quarry. The mitigation “is consistent with the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance,” according to the report.

Board Chairman Art Warren ascertained during questioning that water quality in the stream would be improved. Mining activity there has continued since the 1960s.

Speaking for the Falls of the James chapter of the Sierra Club, Diana Parker objected “to the diversion of the stream,” saying it would degrade the environment.