MODENA VALLEY, Utah — Residents in a sparsely populated area of Iron County are speaking out against a contractor that's asking the county to allow them to build a mine.
Progressive Contracting of St. George wants to extract pozzolan, an additive for concrete, in an area of Modena Valley known as Nelson Canyon. Residents say the 9-mile dirt road can’t sustain the dozens of trucks per day that would go to and from the site.
They also say the silica dust kicked up will create a health risk.
"It's a sin, an actual sin. If they destroy what we're gonna look at here," said Mike Poynor, a Modena Valley resident, as he gestured toward a towering rock formation locals call Ghost Rock.
Poynor and his neighbors — an estimated eight to nine families that call this secluded valley home — have lived peacefully alongside the wild horses, elk, and wild turkeys that roam the area, accessible only by a nine-mile dirt road.
"What we love here is that we don't have to put up with a lot of traffic. What do we see? Four cars a month?" Poynor said.
Residents recently learned that the Iron County Planning Commission was holding a hearing on Feb. 5 to consider changing the area's zoning from agricultural to allow a mining operation by Progressive Contracting.
"The first anybody up here heard about this was the first of the month. The hearing was on the 5th. Only by word of mouth. There were no posters put on the road here to alert anybody," said Robert Shear, another Modena Valley resident.
The proposed mine would extract pozzolan, a concrete additive, from the area — a move that could result in as many as 80 trucks per day rumbling up and down the valley's lone access road.
"Just to change this land use for the purposes of something that will be so ugly and will never be undone. Once it's done, this area is going to be destroyed forever," Shear lamented.
Representatives from Progressive Contracting did not respond to FOX 13 News' requests for comment. However, during the Planning Commission hearing, company president Russell Limb argued that mining pozzolan is an environmentally friendly initiative, as its use in cement powder requires a lower carbon footprint.
But the residents are not convinced, citing concerns over the silica dust that the mining would churn up.
"It's a health hazard is what it is. It's a plain and flat health hazard," Poynor said.
Studies have shown that exposure to silica dust from pozzolan mining can cause skin and eye irritation, and can also aggravate respiratory distress.
The Iron County Planning Commission opted to table a decision on the zone change until March 4.
"They're talking about making money. We're talking about our homes. Not everything can be about money," Poynor said, summing up the residents' concerns.
