A dirty York County issue? There isn’t enough, and you can’t build roads without it.

It’s a dirty issue some say York County will have to address.

“The dirt issue in York County has gotten serious,” said Alan Barfield with Barfield Grading Co. in Fort Mill. “Any job we go on, we’ve got to have borrowed material.”

York County Council recently approved a public service use designation for property on the Glenn Road extension, just north of Ridge Road near Clover. About 13 of the 101 acres there will be mined for dirt that is needed to widen Pole Branch Road in Lake Wylie.

That dirt means money, and time.

Without the dirt, Blythe would have to look elsewhere among what some say are a dwindling number of options.

“Do we not get this material brought to the site,” Allardice said, “it will cause a significant delay to a York County project.”

Barfield, whose company is contracted on the project, said a dirt shortage isn’t just a Lake Wylie issue.

“We’ve got four or five jobs right now that need dirt,” he said. “And there’s no sources of dirt that we can go get, immediately, to do jobs in lets say 30, 40 miles out. And some places farther than that.”

Places like Fort Mill and Lake Wylie are turning dirt about as fast as anyone with constant new residential and commercial construction. Tega Cay and Indian Land are seeing the same. Thousands of new residences alone have been approved for those areas in the past several years.

But some projects require bringing in new dirt for leveling or stabilization. The growth that’s adding new homes and businesses means more need for roads and other large infrastructure. Last fall, York County voters approved the fourth Pennies for Progress road project referendum, at almost $278 million in projected revenue.

Widening of S.C. 274 and Pole Branch, at $35 million with construction expected for another two years, was part of the $170 million Pennies vote from 2011. Projects like it, countywide, could need fill dirt that is getting hard to find.

“There’s no dirt sources in Fort Mill, whatsoever, to get dirt,” Barfield told council. “There’s no other dirt in Fort Mill. If y’all have got jobs coming up in Fort Mill, there’s no dirt.”

The Glenn Road site alone will produce 140,000 cubic yards — think almost 22 football fields, at a yard deep — in two years of mining. Soil will be taken from up to nine feet deep. Once the soil is gone, the area will be seeded for pasture use.

While it will suit for Pole Branch, experts say the county may want to start thinking about future projects.

“If we’re going to restrict the use of land,” Allardice said, “if we restrict the use of borrowed material locally, it’s going to increase the cost to the county 30, 40 maybe 50 percent to bring the material in from other areas.”

The Pole Branch project needed the special county vote because taking the dirt is classified as mining. Mining has been a hot topic both in York and Chester counties, with residents lining up to tell public officials why mines and quarries shouldn’t be allowed.

Dave Horne agreed. He said restrictions to keep a quarry out of his area should reach well beyond Clover.

“We need to make to it where there’s no way they’re going to be able find a spot in York County to put that,” Horne told the council in May. He echoed many residents that night who said that mines, quarries and concrete plants shouldn’t be allowed in many or even all parts of the county.

The county has been at work for months evaluating its zoning rules for everything from quarries to event venues and wineries. The issue of what to allow on agricultural property in particular has been a difficult one for planners, property owners and council.

While “borrowing” dirt, as it’s called, is classified as mining, Barfield said it’s different from the blast and haul sites that tend to get nearby neighbors upset.

“Getting dirt and pit gravel is a different operation than mining actually a rock quarry, to be blasting off,” he said.

Barfield believes the county could allow more access for moving dirt without getting into the mining debate, and that it could improve the economics of county projects needing fill.

“We need to kind of look at some places to get some dirt, and ease up some like agricultural area, industrial areas for a dirt pit,” he said.

As for the recent approval, council voted unanimously in favor. Councilman Michael Johnson said there shouldn’t be concerns with that particular plan.

“This was to haul out dirt, not to bring substances in,” Johnson said. “This is not going to become a dumping ground. This is simply (to) haul dirt out which is necessary in order to complete Pole Branch Road.”

This story was originally published September 20, 2018 at 8:20 AM.