Owner/Client
Casper Stolle Quarry & Contracting Company, Inc.
Location
Prairie Du Rocher, IL
CEC Services
- Survey/GPS/GIS Services
- Wetlands and Waters Delineations
- Threatened & Endangered Species Surveys/Wildlife Surveys
- Air Emissions Testing & Permitting
- Site Characterization
- Auditing & Compliance Plans
- Hydrogeology & Groundwater Modeling
- Stormwater Sampling & Permitting
- NPDES Permitting Support
- Expert Witness Testimony
- Cultural resource Management
- Stormwater BMP Design & Inspection
- Compliance Audits
- Stream Assessments & Restoration
- Water Quality & Quantity Modeling
- Erosion & Sediment Control Design and Inspection
Owner Objective
Casper Stolle Quarry and Contracting Company, Inc. is a limestone aggregate producer that serves the metropolitan St. Louis area. They are a 5 generation family owned business and have held continuous operations in Dupo, Illinois since 1843.
Casper Stolle Quarry needed to expand their limestone mine into an ecologically sensitive area, some of which may have been the source of a historically, aesthetically and ecologically important and popular waterfall spring. Before the hydrogeology was understood, the producer, the county zoning board and concerned citizens were uneasy about a proposed excavation, in that it might change the flow and/or water quality of a nearby spring; a popular site to visit and enjoy. Maintaining the ecological and aesthetic value of the spring was a vital goal of the producer, even taking priority over the extractive process.
CEC Approach
Casper Stolle Quarry was seeking approval from St. Clair County Zoning for a Special Use Permit, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to permit an expansion of the Falling Spring Quarry. CEC assisted Casper Stolle Quarry in the preparation of formal documents, drawing and presentations pertaining to the County regulations as well as USACE 404/401 determination. CEC prepared and submitted the necessary deliverables and permit applications to obtain approval to mine. CEC also conducted an environmental compliance audit of the operation. CEC was able to obtain the permit allowing the operation to continue for the next fifty years. With a few minor adjustments, Casper Stolle Quarry is in full compliance with environmental regulations.
The Scope of Services included the following:
- Acquired and evaluated geologic, hydrogeologic and geochemical water quality data from the public domain
- Performed a “boots on the ground” site reconnaissance of nearby quarries and the proposed expansion area
- Characterized and mapped geologic and hydrogeologic features such as sinkholes, springs, seeps, solution-enlarged fractures, bedding planes as well as natural joint patterns
- Analyzed a karst system groundwater dye trace study;
- Developed a geologic/hydrogeologic model using the reference and site-specific geologic data in ArcGIS format
- Employed the model to assess the potential for horizontal expansion of the quarry to impact the spring
- Re-zoning and related permitting efforts included direct dialogue and regulatory compliance with the Army Corps of Engineers, state nature preserve representatives, the state geologic program, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency as well as county officials and the local community
