Life is full of tradeoffs: If we want a cleaner environment in Massachuesetts do we have to give up sand used to make concrete?

See The Sand Wars Dividing Cranberry Growers and Their Neighbors: Growers dig up local sand for their bogs. Neighbors say they have gone too far by Eric Niiler of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Massachusetts farmers are allowed to excavate sand on their properties with a town permit, as long as it is incidental or necessary for agriculture, but critics complain that sand mining has become a business that is disturbing the bucolic nature of the region."

[A resident spoke] "in opposition to a proposed sand removal project where residents said they worry about the environmental impacts of the sand excavation, as well as the constant truck traffic on local roads."

[Cranberry] "growers spread sand on their bogs to rejuvenate old cranberry vines and protect fruiting buds from frost and insects."

"Most growers have sand on their property; they just need a permit from the local town, a backhoe and a dump truck to dig it up and apply it to their bogs."

"the amount of sand being removed has increased substantially in recent years."

"From 2002 to 2006, permits were issued to remove 6 million cubic yards of sand. That jumped to 18.8 million cubic yards between 2020 and 2024"

"Some observers suggest that cranberry growers are expanding their sand-removal projects to make up for declining revenue from cranberries."

"The price of sand and gravel—crucial for concrete and other industrial uses—has climbed from $7.66 per metric ton in 2012 to $12.20 per metric ton in 2023, according to the U.S. Geological Survey—an increase of around 20% after accounting for inflation.

"At the same time, wholesale cranberry prices have fallen from a high of $47 for a 100-pound barrel in 2012 to $36 in 2023, a decrease of roughly 44% after accounting for inflation."

"Conservation advocates maintain that these and other excavation projects go too far.

“The scope and scale of the mining eclipses the real use of the land for agriculture,” said Meg Sheehan, an attorney and coordinator of the Community Land and Water Coalition."

[there was a petition] "calling for a ban of sand mining to protect the Plymouth-Carver Aquifer, a 200-square-mile source of drinking water for 200,000 residents in Plymouth, Carver, Kingston and five other towns."

"State environmental officials said they haven’t found any violations of environmental laws by sand-mining operations."

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