Resident attempts to rally interest in Morris mining

Published 1:00 pm Tuesday, April 13, 2010

A north Jefferson County resident is working to raise interest in a possible mining venture in Morris.

Wayne Wheeler’s property adjoins land owned by James Bunt, a Morris man who is requesting that the Town of Morris rezone his property from agricultural use (A1) to surface mining use (I-3-S).

Wheeler, whose property is in the Gardendale city limits, said he was disappointed when very few people showed up at a March 25 Morris Planning and Zoning Board meeting where the mining issue was discussed.

The zoning board does not have the authority to rezone property. Rather, its role is to make recommendations to the Morris Town Council, which is the governing body for the town.

During the March 25 zoning meeting, the board tabled the matter in order to investigate it further.

The issue is on the board’s agenda for a meeting on Tuesday.

“Our approach is to learn as much about it as we can from a legal standpoint and physical standpoint,” said Henry Mikul, chairman of the Morris Planning and Zoning Board.

Mikul said the board has closely watched the Town of Kimberly’s mining fight, which stretched over a two-year period as mining opponents fought RJR Mining, Inc., of Cullman, ultimately losing.

Mikul said the seven-member zoning board is looking at all options and will “try to come up with something that will be to everybody’s advantage.”

Bunt said he wants to mine coal on his property, 156 acres, in order to help the Town of Morris.

He is offering the town $1 per ton of coal mined. Bunt said he does not know how much coal would be removed from the site.

“Morris has no tax revenue at all,” Bunt said. “We want to get this piece of property fixed so when they build (Interstate) 459, it will open our area down here to commercial property.”

The state is planning to extend the I-459 loop to the north. Bunt anticipates a possible exit at Morris.

“The sensible thing to do is to put a bypass around Morris,” he said. “We want the road to go through our property.”

Bunt said he would likely contract a company to extract the coal if the town council rezones his property and if he gets all of the required mining permits.

Meanwhile, Wheeler said he simply wants Morris residents to be aware so their wishes can be heard by the town.

Wheeler, an attorney, was Morris’ city attorney in the 1970s. He said he has helped the town fight mining numerous times.

“The thing that bothers me is nobody in the town seems to know about the mining,” Wheeler said.

Mikul said only three families were represented at the March zoning board meeting.

“Historically, that town and the people in that town have been anti-strip mining. We fought the strip miners forever. … The town’s policy was to oppose strip mining. They wanted residential instead of mining.”

Bunt said the property would be surface mined, not strip mined, and that there would be no blasting.

Wheeler is hoping to see a crowd at the next Morris Planning and Zoning Board meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, 6 p.m., at Morris Town Hall.

“If people in town are interested, so be it,” Wheeler said of the mining. “The general rule is you should be able to use your property any way you want to as long as you don’t bother your neighbor.”