An appeal regarding a potential chromite mining business in Coos County will be under review by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals next week.

The appeal is a result of a combination of two appeals filed against a Coos County Board of Commissioners’ approval of a County Planning Commission decision to allow a conditional use permit for the mining operation.

David and Sharon Comden filed an appeal with LUBA on Nov. 29, citing concerns regarding the potential from noise, dust, transportation, gorse and water quality and quantity on surrounding properties and farming activities, if the mining operation is allowed.

The Bandon couple and members of a neighborhood group, the Bandon Woodlands Community Association, had filed an earlier appeal with the county, which was denied by commissioners in early October.

The chromite mining company appealed, too. Oregon Resources Corp., unhappy with a stipulation added by county commissioners that would force the company to provide road maintenance near the mining sites, filed the appeal with LUBA, also on Nov. 29.

The company questioned whether the county had the authority to enforce the condition added for road maintenance along West Beaver Hill Road, the access road to the mining sites; and said the condition was “too imprecise and hypothetical” in requiring the company to do upgrades.

“(We) could potentially be responsible for overhauling the entire county road network near the proposed mining site,” Oregon Resources officials said.

“(Oregon Resources) is only responsible for its proportionate share of impacts resulting from the mining operation,” the Comdens said in a response brief.

LUBA combined the two appeals and both petitioners filed response briefs, according to Debra Frye, executive support specialist at LUBA.

The appeals will be considered by LUBA during a public hearing, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, in the Public Utility Commission Building, Small Hearings Room, second floor, 550 Capital St., in Salem. Oral argument will be heard from both petitioners during the hearing.

LUBA will make its final decision sometime between Jan. 24 to Jan. 31, according to Frye, unless it requests an extension.

LUBA can reverse, affirm or remand the commissioners’ decision for further proceedings. If the decision is affirmed, the county commissioners’ decision can still be appealed to the Court of Appeals.

County Counsel Jacqueline Haggerty said the Board of Commissioners will not participate in the hearing.

“If LUBA doesn’t think we did a good enough job on the record, they can remand it,” Haggerty said.

The chromite mining business would involve five mining sites located on 2,000 acres of forest and mixed use zoned land between Charleston and Bandon. Oregon Resources has stated that the operation requires 86 round trips, or 172 one-way trips, 24 hours a day from the mining sites to a processing plant, 19 miles away in Bunker Hill.

The county is charging Oregon Resources to pay for warning signs, share the cost for maintenance, upgrades and repair, perform mud and dust control procedures and provide records of truck trips and a traffic impact.

In their response brief, Oregon Resources officials said they will be using strobe lights instead of truck beepers to combat noise; dust and gorse control protocols would be in place; the mineral they’re going after, trivalent chromium, is not toxic; and truck traffic and groundwater supplies would not significantly impact accepted farm or forest practices in the area.

In the Comdens’ response brief they questioned Oregon Resources definition of “accepted farm practices.”

If allowed, the mining operation would be the first chromite producer in the U.S., since chromite ore was extracted from local mines during World War II, according to Oregon Resources information. Major producers of chromite currently are South Africa, Kazakhstan, India, Iran and Pakistan.

Chromite is used in the foundry industry for stainless steel casting, for automotive and other industries.