Knife River is proposing a 90.62-acre nonmetallic mineral mine on a 155-acre parcel located in Section15 of Haven Twp., in Sherburne County. The mine will produce construction sand and gravel.

Knife River has entered into a purchase agreement with the landowners.  This project would mine sand and gravel on land primarily used as agricultural cropland. The proposed mining area currently is tilled agricultural field and some wooded area. Mining will take this area out of agricultural production for the duration of the project. 

This project will provide aggregate materials for use in local construction projects both public and private. Aggregate materials may be used in production of ready-mix concrete and hot mix asphalt at other proposer locations.

Mining will involve site preparation by stripping topsoil overburden with dozers or other earth moving equipment to expose the sand and gravel material. Site preparation will occur only as needed for that mining season.

The material exposed will be mined utilizing front end loader or excavator wet extraction, screening, crushing, and stockpiling. All aggregate production equipment is portable and only remains on site while production is occurring.

The proposed mine will include the removal of two existing houses along with four outbuildings which will require a razing permit from the county. An existing septic system is proposed to be abandoned per the MPCA standards. All of which will require documentation in the form of receipts from a licensed landfill for the buildings to be removed and the required forms for the septic system to be abandoned.

Final restoration of the site will result in three separate ponds, approximately 16 feet deep, surrounded by natural vegetation.

An Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) that has been submitted to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) for the proposed mining operation

Comments will be taken by the Zoning Office beginning October 11, 2022 until the November 10, 2022 comment deadline. Questions regarding the EAW will be taken by Mitch Glines at (763) 765-4466.