Halifax County commissioners Monday approved a 180-day moratorium on mining activities following a legislative hearing in which speakers unanimously supported the ordinance.

The board tabled the legislative hearing last month. Before the county deliberated the matter, County Attorney Glynn Rollins said he had heard from Halifax Aggregates, a company interested in starting a mining operation near the Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport, as well as a company that has an interest in the corporate park, which is off Highway 561.

The companies, Rollins said, had requested "a bit of time to have some interactions among themselves on their positions on a mining ordinance."

Rollins said the county also entered into an agreement with Halifax Aggregates wherein, in consideration of the postponement, the company agreed not to contest a renewal of the moratorium.

The first speaker asked the board to approve the moratorium so the matter could be studied further to assess impacts on nearby residences, the people of Halifax, the corporate park, and the environment.

Halifax Mayor John White read a letter from the town board requesting the moratorium. “We feel more time is required to thoroughly consider both the positive and negative impacts of such an intensive operation.”

The letter encourages the county to continue its research on the issue that includes unbiased scientific research and potential economic and environmental impacts. “We’re keenly aware of the need to make sure mining operations are located in areas that will minimize impacts in sensitive areas. There are many factors that should be considered. One basic requirement that we would suggest is that in addition to the required location setbacks that are under consideration in the proposed ordinance, consideration be given to having a general setback from the corporate limits of the county.”

The letter says the town suggests a two-mile setback for towns with extraterritorial jurisdictions and three miles if a town does not have an ETJ. “This setback should be a straight-line aerial measurement—not road miles.”

Ralph Johnson, chair of the airport authority, told the board one of his main concerns was the location of the mining operation. “One of the things I worry about is safety at the airport. Aviation is all about safety and the proximity to where it’s located. The airport is usually one of the most dangerous parts of flying. You get a lot of traffic in and out, you have wildlife and other things that happen at the airport.”

Cathy Scott, Halifax County economic development director, said, “As your economic development director, I have always been focused on strengthening our economy and hopefully protecting the public investment we’ve made.”

She told the board the county has invested more than $40 million in assets like the corporate park, the airport, and the Highway 301 Select Site, which she said are critical economic engines that support job creation, business expansion, and prosperity.

Mining, especially quarry mining, Scott said, is not a temporary use of land. “It’s a permanent, high-impact activity that fundamentally alters the landscape, and quarry mining can’t be reversed once it’s completed.”

That’s why sound regulations are needed. “Without clear and enforceable standards we would risk undermining the investments and opportunities that may not ever come back,” Scott said.

She said the mining ordinance under development in the county is not about being for or against mining. “It’s about ensuring that all developments are located in a way that protects our assets and our economic future.”

Scott urged the board to extend the moratorium to give the county time “to refine and strengthen our ordinance so that it is fair, comprehensive and legally sound.”

Halifax resident Patterson Wilson said people in and around the Halifax area—especially those along Highway 903 and J.S. Pope Road—had requested that she speak to request an extension of the moratorium “to really protect their sanctity of life from the noise and the disruption…”

She said there are two cemeteries in the area that need to be preserved for the families who have buried their loved ones there. “We would ask to extend the moratorium to give us time to come up with a much better mining ordinance and also protect the public investments that the county has made over the years.”