You won’t hear it. You won’t smell it. You won’t taste it.  You won’t feel it or breathe it. You won’t see it, unless you go looking.

But you will benefit from it.

From the house you live in to the roads you drive on, from the school your children attend to the hospital we all need at some point—everyone relies on infrastructure. And no infrastructure gets built without the aggregates that come from quarries.

Parleys Canyon has been mined from the earliest days of the westward migration of the pioneers. It is a historical use of the area.

Parleys is not an untouched, pristine wilderness. The canyon is also home to an exclusive cabin development, a gun range, a reception center, parks and a 36-hole golf course.

Parleys has its own Interstate Freeway carrying tens of thousands of vehicles through it every day. This provides an ideal transportation option for essential materials.

Though urban adjacent, the canyon is remote enough to be isolated from inhabited areas. The proposed mine site features extremely high-quality limestone, ideal for producing the aggregate products essential to the infrastructure we all require.

Finally, the location will have a low visual impact. Despite what you’ve been told, the actual mine site is not visible from any existing structures. A passenger on the interstate may catch a glimpse of the actual mine for approximately 6 seconds as they pass by.

The facility will produce limestone hard rock, sand, and key construction aggregates for projects throughout Salt Lake and Summit Counties. These construction aggregates are essential for residential, commercial, and transportation facility construction. Ninety percent of the aggregates mined at this site will be used east of I-15.

Mining is a highly regulated industry. Several state regulatory agencies are charged with protecting the health and safety our communities. Given Utah’s high relative rankings among states, it is clear that our state agencies do a good job. Several agencies will have a hand in permitting and regulating this quarry. Plans must be formulated and approved to cover a wide array of legitimate concerns. Management plans for dust, emissions, fire control, noise, water supply security, wildlife management all require state approval. The primary agencies include:

Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining (DOGM): Responsible for mine safety and reclamation.

Department of Air Quality (DAQ): will monitor and enforce air emission standards.

Division of Water Quality (DWQ): Oversees the safety of surface water, ground water, and the management of storm water.

Granite Construction is a long time Utah constructor and construction materials provider and a recognized industry leader in safety and sustainability. Granite has operated the quarry at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon for decades while development has proceeded all around it.

“Granite has a more than 100-year history of responsibly providing construction materials that are essential to America’s infrastructure. The I-80 South Quarry is necessary to support affordability, quality, and sustainability in Utah’s growing economy. This project will serve Utahns for years to come and Granite is dedicated to operating with industry-leading practices that protect the environment and match what citizens of the ‘best-managed state’ have come to expect in their businesses.”

--Kyle Larkin, President and CEO of Granite Construction

“From the time I was first elected Mayor in 2004, we had significant interactions with Granite Construction relative to the gravel pit in Cottonwood Heights. I came to appreciate the transparent business culture and the integrity with which Granite conducted business. I was grateful as a community leader that Granite was always respectful of not just city concerns, but citizen concerns. Their willingness to work with our community allowed us to mitigate in material ways some of the detrimental impacts of the gravel pit operations. Granite’s transparency allowed us to build trust and dialogue that led to real solutions to problems. The corporate culture of Granite has, in my experience, always showed concern for community and the impacts your operations may have now and in the future.”

-Kelvyn Cullimore, Mayor of Cottonwood Heights City 2005-2017

“We’ve completed iconic Utah projects located in Salt Lake County and Summit County over the years we have worked in Utah. We’re dedicated to serving our community and the state as a whole by providing safe and reliable service.”

— Jason Klaumann, Regional Manager for Granite