Construction Minerals in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area: A Land Management Analysis

The patchwork of government influences that shape the protection and management of construction mineral resources--sand, gravel, and crushed stone--includes statutes, regulations, guidance documents, and court decisions at the federal, state, and local level. Across the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area, both these influences and the experiences that the counties have had in managing construction mineral resources range widely. Our principal objective in this study is to discuss the mechanisms that counties use to manage such resources; the level and source of concern that local residents have with respect to construction mineral extraction operations; officials' perceptions about trends in the supply and demand for mineral resources; and the level of interest in protecting mineral resources for future exploitation. Our study rests principally on a review of federal, state, and local planning documents, two detailed case studies of counties active in construction mineral management, and structured telephone interviews of thirty-six local planning officials and state and federal agency staff.