Jesse Morrow - A Mountain Under Siege

by Kay Barnes

May 2005

The expression “making a mountain out of a mole hill” is a familiar one. Unfortunately, its opposite may become familiar to us if R.M.C, a sand and gravel corporation headquartered in London, is able to muscle its way to a Fresno County conditional use permit to produce gravel and aggregate products from a Fresno County landmark mountain.

The landmark to be “downsized” is Jesse Morrow Mountain, fifteen miles east of Fresno. Jessie Morrow is one of two sentinel mountains on either side of Kings Canyon Highway (Highway 180), the Blossom Trail road which makes the transition from the flat valley floor to the foothills of Fresno County and the higher mountains of the Sierra beyond.

R.M.C. has prepared a proposal which describes in some detail their plans to turn Jesse Morrow into rubble. The company plans to extract the bedrock by blasting and constructing “benches”. Benches are wide tracks which will look like bare rock stair treads and risers from Highway 180. Before the benches are blasted into place, the “overburden”-overburden is minerspeak for topsoil supporting grasses and other vegetation-is removed. The benching process will begin at the top of the mountain and succeeding levels will be blasted into place as rock in each bench is removed. The rock will then be taken, by truck and a conveyor belt system, to a crusher at the processing plant on a lower level. Since the mining will begin at the upper level of the mountain, the conveyer belt system, as well as the haul road and the large vehicles on it, will be visible from Kings Canyon Highway throughout the life of the mine. The mine is to be in place for a hundred years.

The blasting required to loosen the rock and construct the benches and roads will “likely” occur two to three times a week between 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. and may occur after 4:00 P.M. But throughout the company proposal there are many exceptions to these “rules”! The proposal states “In case of emergency or quarry development, or road construction or early small bench construction we may blast more often.” The company will determine what constitutes emergency conditions and other exceptions to the “before 4:00 P.M. and two to three times a week” rule. Only after two years of blasting, pretty much as often as the company management desires, will the company evaluate reducing the blasting frequency to “once or twice every two weeks, partially to reduce ‘potential impacts’ on surrounding properties.” So then, if human beings and wildlife can last through two long years of blasting at unpredictable but frequent intervals, there may be relief.

R.M.C. says they will operate 315 days a year. The hours for mining will be from 6:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday. Concrete batch plant operation will be from 3:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday. Now comes the big “however”. “Additional nighttime operations are possible for responding to public construction projects or emergency situations.” “Maintenance activities are expected to occur any day including Sunday.” The company is clearly asking for a permit to operate 24/7, as they see fit.

Since there will be so much potential nighttime operation, lighting at the site must be bright and over a wide area. The result will be widespread glare and constant light pollution upon an otherwise dark landscape. The elevated position of the mine will make it an eyesore visible for miles.

The mine operators estimate that they will use 150,000 gallons of water a day. This water will come from wells drilled on the property. There is no guess by the company as to the effect on existing wells that are down slope from the mine. There is also, at present, no plan mentioned in their proposal to deal with any impact on existing wells on neighboring properties.

All aggregate products, asphalt and concrete will move from the constantly diminishing mountain down Kings Canyon Highway. All of the supplies for the mine will be hauled up to the mountain on Kings Canyon Highway. The highway is a two lane road that already carries significant commuter traffic; National Park tourist traffic, including large numbers of tour buses; school buses; and heavy gravel and concrete truck traffic from the Vulcan gravel facility located just east of Centerville. Vulcan has applied for a permit to expand its operation. Who will pay for the additional wear on the highway? What will be the impact of this increased heavy truck traffic?

This project, if approved, will be built in what may be the worst possible place in the Sierra foothills. It is in a major scenic tourist area of California. It is the route to the Giant Sequoias, which attract visitors from around the world. The mine operations could scarcely be more visible. But to a mine developer, this location is desirable because it is on a publicly developed, maintained and financed road, thus increasing the mine’s profits.

Until the officials of Fresno County decide that some economic decisions must take a back seat to spoiling entire natural areas in the name of “progress”, projects such as this one will likely become more numerous, having profoundly detrimental ecological effects throughout the county.

For more information, you may contact

Kay Barnes
165 N. Trout Lake Dr.
Sanger, CA 93657
(559) 787-2985