St. Lucie Board OKs 311-Acre Mine, Adding 644 Daily Trucks to Strained Indrio Roads

The St. Lucie County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 Tuesday to approve a mining operation west of I-95 that would send 644 additional heavy trucks daily through the Indrio Road interchange — an area already straining under the weight of growth it hasn't yet absorbed.

For anyone who drives that corridor, the numbers tell a punishing story. Approved developments nearby are projected to generate 80,000 daily trips on their own, anchored by a forthcoming Buc-ee's travel center (26,000 trips), the Bednar Farms residential project (21,000 trips) and a string of other housing developments still in the pipeline. Now add a decade of diesel trucks hauling mining material out of a 980-acre site at up to 1.7 million tons per year.

Bernard Egan and Company's proposed mine would work 311 acres of that site across five mining cells, with operations capped at 12 hours daily and hauling restricted to a 10-hour window, Monday through Saturday. The commission approved a conditional use permit for the project over the objections of neighbors and at least one prominent business neighbor — a Buc-ee's representative who asked the board to require additional traffic analysis specifically for the I-95 interchange, citing the hazards of heavy-truck movements funneling through the area for 10 hours a day.

The board increased the allowable decibel level by 50 percent to accommodate diesel dewatering pumps that will run 24 hours a day — well past the close of hauling operations. This softened a staff-recommended noise restriction.

Commissioners acknowledged the traffic burden but argued the mine fills a practical need: the site would supply road base material for local construction projects, potentially reducing long-haul deliveries from more distant sources. Stockpiles up to 25 feet high would be screened by relocated sabal palms and additional landscaping along the site perimeter.

The permit carries built-in accountability provisions. If mining ceases for 12 consecutive months, the approval expires. The county also retains authority to revisit the conditional use permit if residents file complaints about noise, dust or other impacts, officials said.

The project now moves to the St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners for a final vote. No date for that hearing has been announced.

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