A public hearing is set for 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, to gather comments on plans for expanded gravel extraction northeast of Luverne near the Blue Mounds State Park.
The proposed expansion would be on property in Mound Township currently zoned A-1, limited agriculture, which doesn’t allow gravel mining.
Zoning amendment
Northern Con-Agg currently mines the gravel pits south and west of the property. The zoning ordinance allows gravel extraction within the current boundaries of an existing pit.
However, a zoning amendment approved last year, now allows the expansion of a pit in the A-1 zone as long as it’s on adjacent or contiguous property to an existing operation.
Northern Con-Agg had petitioned for the zoning amendment, which was approved in Spring of 2025.
Several months later, Northern Con-Agg signed a lease agreement in October 2025 with the city of Luverne on a tract of land north of its operation.
The agreement outlines the lease of 15.15 acres of city-owned land along 150th Avenue northeast of Luverne for the purpose of mining sand, gravel and rock.
Lease payments to the city include an annual flat fee of $100 plus a royalty of $1.35 per cubic yard of materials removed, subject to annual surveys and accounting.
The lease term is 10 years, with an option to renew for an additional five years.
The company is also leasing a larger tract of land from Rose Feikema to north of the city property. The bulk of the gravel extraction would occur on this 40-acre property.
Plans call for a total of 37 acres to be mined.
Both properties are along the west side of 150th Avenue, which becomes a minimum maintenance road known as “Darling’s Bend” to the south.
The two properties combined allow for a contiguous expansion of Northern Con-Agg’s current mining operation under the new zoning ordinance.
Interim use permit
An expansion still requires a permit, and Tuesday’s public hearing is part of that permitting process.
What’s unique about this process is that Northern Con-Agg is applying for an “interim use permit,” according to Rock County Land Management Director Eric Hartman.
“It’s structured like a conditional use permit, but there’s a specified amount of time,” he said. “They have to be done in that time frame.”
He said most gravel pits operate on conditional use permits that come up for renewal every five years.
In this case, Northern Con-Agg is proposing a mining period of eight to 12 years, depending on market conditions. But there would be no renewal option like what’s available in a conditional use permit.
According to the permit application, the mining would be consistent with Northern Con-Agg’s current operations that have been ongoing for the past 25 years on properties southwest of the site.
Proposed operation
Two to four feet of topsoil and clay will be removed by scrapers to initially be used to construct 8- to 10-foot berms around the site for a visual and sound barrier.
The gravel will then be excavated by use of dredging equipment to a depth approximately 30 to 35 feet below the original ground surface.
The dredged material is pumped to the south end of the mining area where a dewatering wheel separates the water and gravel.
The water is returned to the dredge pond while the gravel is fed onto conveyors that transport it to the existing permitted processing plant located approximately 3,000 feet to the southwest.
According to the permit application, the mining will be done in phases, so the entire area is not stripped at one time. Topsoil and clay from the new phases will be utilized to reclaim previously mined areas.
In terms of potential noise, the permit application states that primary equipment will include a dredge, dewatering wheel and conveyors.
Scrapers or bulldozers will be utilized only occasionally for stripping and reclamation activities.
“The dredge will be at water elevation … approximately 10 feet below the original ground level and approximately 20 feet below the top of the surrounding berms,” the application states.
“This depressed working elevation will help to lessen sound levels outside the excavation areas.”
The pit would operate during current permitted hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Reclamation Plan
The permit application calls for the mining site to be rehabilitated “to a usable and scenic area,” suitable for recreation while also providing habitat and wetlands for wildlife.
“Our objective is to reincorporate the area into surrounding landscape so that it is both useful and aesthetically pleasing,” Northern Con-Agg officials wrote in the application.
Specifically, they said the area would be graded and backfilled “to a surface that will result in a gently rolling topography, minimizing erosion due to rainfall.”
Because the city of Luverne owns part of what would be the reclaimed site, it’s possible the area could be open for public use.
Unchartered territory
Hartman said letters about the permit application and March 31 public hearing were mailed to affected residents and property owners within a half-mile radius of the proposed mining site.
More than 25 letters — which were essentially notices of the public hearing — were mailed on Tuesday last week.
The hearing will be at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday during the regular Rock County Planning and Zoning meeting at the Rock County Law Enforcement Center.
Hartman said the zoning board will hear public comments and discuss the permit application before taking action on the request.
“More than likely, we’ll take action, unless something comes up at the meeting — this is kind of unchartered territory,” he said about the newly amended zoning ordinance.
“We’re sitting in a pocket of the state that is rich in gravel resources. … I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. We were asked to explore the possibility of amending the ordinance. We amended the ordinance, and we’ll see where the chips fall.”
The board’s action Tuesday would be to deny the request or to recommend its approval, which means it would go to the Rock County Board of Commissioners for final action.
