Garnet mine’s expansion plan deemed incomplete, again

Adirondack Park Agency seeks additional information from Barton Mines

By Gwendolyn Craig

One of two hard-rock garnet mines in the country is seeking an Adirondack Park Agency permit to keep the operation running for another 75 years, but regulators said the latest application remains incomplete. 

Barton Mines, located in the towns of Johnsburg in Warren County and Indian Lake in Hamilton County, applied in October 2021 to expand the life of the mine. The APA, charged with overseeing public and private development in the approximately 6-million-acre park, issued a notice of incomplete application about a month later.

David Plante, deputy director of regulatory programs at the APA, told agency board members this month that on May 1, Barton addressed some of its questions, but not all. The agency issued a second notice of incomplete application on June 12 and is awaiting another response.

Bernard Melewski, an attorney representing Barton, said the company is planning to refile faster than the last submission. 

“While it’s a pretty simple application, over time there are a lot of moving parts,” Melewski said. “It’s over a 75-year period.”

The operation extracts garnet from Ruby Mountain and turns it into abrasives used in waterjet cutting, blasting and other specialized military, industrial and medical applications, according to records. 

The company’s application to the APA and the state Department of Environmental Conservation is to expand the life of the mine from 194.5 acres to 253.1 acres. This would allow the mine to operate until about 2096. Although the current mining permit shows about 20 years left for the quarry’s life, in its application, Barton said the life is closer to six years. That’s because it’s running out of storage for residual minerals, a byproduct of mining. 

In the second incomplete application notice, the APA requested information including:

• Fixing of discrepancies staff found throughout the application;
• Providing alternatives to the residual mineral storage;
• Providing more visual impact information;
• Analyzing environmental impacts of the proposed removal of 2,100 feet of forested ridgeline;
• Timing the reclamation of the mine;
• Revising a noise study;
• Explaining use and impacts on wetlands, Thirteenth Brook and groundwater;
• Identifying existing or proposed lighting; and
• Collecting approvals from the Town of Indian Lake. (Johnsburg had already submitted its support.)

Barton hopes to find a market for the residual minerals, but in the meantime plans to store some of it in blocks within the quarry, Melewski said. Barton is abandoning some of the garnet to keep all the materials within its site, he added.

Residents around the mine have spoken at multiple APA meetings concerned about Barton’s plans. They are concerned about noise, increased dust, increased truck traffic and impacted views. Residents have told the agency that droning noise coming from the mine has increased over the years. The mine is near the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.

One nearby resident, Peter Horvath, spoke before APA board members during a December 2022 meeting.

“I feel like the Lorax today,” Horvath said, referencing a Dr. Seuss character, who tried to protect forests from development. He said that Barton’s proposal did not take into consideration the state-threatened Northern long-eared bat, native brook trout or the plant rhodora. He shared a letter with the Explorer he sent to the APA and DEC, calling on an outside environmental review of Barton’s plans.

Melewski addressed some of the concerns at a February APA meeting. New neighbors have moved in and were aware that a mining operation was nearby, he said. The area is also zoned industrial. In an interview with the Explorer on Wednesday, Melewski said Barton is “trying to deal with the changing environment around the mine and be responsive to those concerns.”

The mining company got its start on the north side of Gore Mountain in 1878 and relocated to Ruby Mountain in 1982. The plant currently employs about 125 people.