Ordinance committee to address controversial gravel pit laws
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WATSON- An ordinance committee in Livingston Parish is expected to address controversial gravel pit laws Tuesday. Gravel pits have a point of controversy in the parish for the past two years.
The issue first came to light back in 2014 when Southern Aggregates, a gravel mining company, announced plans to dig a pit behind the Oak Hills Subdivision off of Highway 16 in Watson. The announcement sparked outrage from nearby residents who argued the nearby gravel pit would have a negative impact on their health and property values.
As a result of that dispute, Councilman and Oak Hills resident Jim Norred proposed three ordinances that would regulate gravel mining pits in the parish.
"I want to be able to breathe clean air," Norred said in a previous interview with News 2. "I don't want to have to worry about dust clouds blowing in all the time. This shouldn't be happening anywhere in the parish."
The Department of Environmental Quality eventually gave Southern Aggregates permission to begin the gravel mining operation which resulted in a lawsuit being filed by the neighborhood group Save Our Hills Inc.
The ordinance committee is meeting again on Tuesday to discuss the controversial gravel pit laws once again.