A proposed sand and gravel mine north of Española would seem to avoid the controversies faced in recent months by other mining and drilling projects across northern New Mexico.
The mine would be remote, locally owned and have nothing to do with Española gravel king Richard Cook.
But it's not the mine itself that troubles some Rio Arriba County residents. It's the fact that the dirt road to get there runs too close to Hernandez Elementary School.
"The kids are gonna listen to the trucks rolling in daily," said teacher Rosellen Simaloa.
The school, with an enrollment of 275 students, is about 2,500 feet west of the 103-acre mesa-top mining site. The site access road connects to U.S. 84-285 and passes near the school's playground and portable classrooms.
The gravel site owner, the incorporated Bartolome Sanchez Land Grant, says it will address residents' concerns with traffic, safety, noise and dust.
"Those are all legitimate concerns," said company hydrology consultant Mustafa Chudnoff.
The land grant corporation has applied to rezone the property for sand and gravel mining and processing, with a county hearing expected this summer.
If the rezoning gets the go-ahead, Chudnoff said the company would then hammer out a development plan that would deal with residents' specific concerns.
The rezoning application calls for 60 trucks in and 60 out of the site per day.
"That's a lot of trucks a day passing through the area," said Leonard Valerio, vice president of the Española school board and a mine opponent.
Chudnoff said truck traffic could be limited to times when students aren't being dropped off or picked up. A traffic analysis is also required in order to access the highway, he said.
"We're working with the school officials," said company president James Roybal, adding that his grandchildren attend the school.
The mine would operate as many as 10 hours daily, process rock on-site with screens and crushers and wet the materials to reduce dust. Topsoil would be set aside for reclamation.
An operator has not been selected for the mine, though company officials have said it would not be run by Richard Cook, whose mining operations have led to vocal opposition from nearby residents.
About 50 residents packed a county Planning and Zoning Committee meeting early this month for a hearing on the proposal. But the meeting was postponed because the applicant failed to notify the school of its application, participants said.
