UNION COUNTY — Thirteen organizations, including Union County Solid Waste Service District, were issued penalties in December by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for environmental violations.
ELGIN — The status of the Wallowa County portion of a proposed 63-mile rails-to-trails route from Elgin to Joseph may be in question, but the outlook for the Union County
A train passes Tuesday in early March off Interstate 84 near Perry, the site of a proposed 250-acre quarry that would ship 2,000 tons of material per day. The Union County Planning Commission voted against the proposal March 22, and the property owner withdrew the application ahead of the county board of commissionersâ vote Wednesday, April 6. Alex Wittwer/The Observer
UNION COUNTY â James Smejkal of Banks withdrew his application for a rock quarry off Robbs Hill Road before Union County commissioners could vote on Wednesday morning, April 7.
The Union County Planning Commission on March 22 voted to recommend the county commissioners reject Smejkalâs application, citing the staff report that found numerous deficiencies in the 400-plus pages of the document. The county board had scheduled a public hearing to consider the application for the rock quarry about a mile from Perry. The quarry would have been at least 250 acres.
UNION COUNTY â The Union County Planning Commission held off Monday night, March 8, on saying yea or nay to the proposal to create a rock quarry at the bottom of Robbs Hill Road near Perry. Instead, the commission voted to delay the decision until its next regular meeting, March 22.
The move came after about two and a half hours of testimony during a phone-in only hearing to consider approving the plan for the 250-plus acre quarry on the property of James Smejkal of Banks.
Curtis Shuck of Shelby, Montana, attorney for the quarry applicants, represented the project along with Smejkalâs son, Bob Smejkal of Eugene. Shuck said putting together the 400-page application âhas been a journey of discoveryâ that has made the project stronger.