Primary responsibilities of the Pits & Quarries Division are to:
Supply and stockpile materials for road maintenance activities.
Provide materials storage areas.
Provide staging areas for road projects.
Supplying Materials
Directly affects the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Division of Public Works.
Enables the Maintenance Crew easy access to the necessary rock, pit run gravel, and other materials used to complete road maintenance projects in a timely fashion.
This service allows for the least impact on county residents and visitors.
Minimal cost to county taxpayers.
Storage Areas
Pits provide storage areas for materials purchased for M&O road maintenance use.
Staging areas for contracted road construction projects.
Security at all hours for pits and quarries is high.
Mining Operations
No mining currently occurs at the several pits and quarries located throughout Whatcom County.
Currently there are two active pits, Siper and Abel, permitted for mining pit run.
Private companies are contracted to crush rock and stock pile it at the pits.
Monitoring for Water Quality
Every active pit and quarry is monitored for water quality.
Monitoring is undertaken at areas that accumulate stormwater runoff.
The Washington Department of Ecology receives quarterly reports on the data.