Sugar Creek citizens are calling on their elected leaders to transition the township towards greener alternatives. Carbon neutral initiatives are more desirable to the community. Audubon Materials has the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint to zero by 2050 while also living up to their promise to be “good neighbors”.
Audubon and Eagle Alternatives
Solar Farming
• Location is ideal.
• Southern Facing
• High elevation not prone to flooding
• Minimal land disturbance and grading
needed
• 5 miles from local power plant with access
to 3-Phase power
• Revenue Generating
• Good local publicity.
• Tax Credits and Grants are available.
• Closed landfills and mines are ideal locations
• Use conduit debt equity to finance.
Green Jobs for the Next Generation
• This is not the only area nearby that contains easily harvestable limestone that wouldn’t
affect so many people.
• With the legalization of cannabis in Missouri in recent years, hempcrete production could
be a safer and less damaging alternative for this area.
• This has been proven effective in other parts of the world.
• EPA regulations and pressures to going green are only going to increase. Why not get ahead of the curve on this aspect of the industry in the U.S. and start producing this?
• This would be beneficial for Audubon, Sugar Creek, and its residents with only needing the Agricultural part of the M-2; no permit or mining required. For a bonus, this could even be re-zoned back to Agricultural.
• This would be beneficial for Eagle as it could serve as a nice model for the future of the industry. Eagle will show itself as an industry leader instead of a late adapter by having negative CO2 numbers to help offset existing emission metrics.
• Plants consume CO2, and this would be good for Eagle’s Carbon Net Zero by 2050 initiative.
• Hemp grows quickly, can be harvested multiple times during the season, and would be on very productive ground.
• Audubon could leverage the expertise of the current tenants (Swope Trees).
• Any waste could be used to make Biomass and Biochar which is very marketable for farmers and could enhance the growth cycle of the hemp product.
• The Natural Resources Conservation Service is investing in biochar, and R&D could take place here in Missouri with Audubon.
Community Recourse
Given that we could have mines as new neighbors for up to the next 35 years, and seeing historical infractions from the involved parties, who is accountable for these concerns?
What recourses did the Quapaw Tribe in Picher, OK have when their homes and lives were wrecked by the exposures of mining?
• Picher started as a mining town for lead and zinc. Half of the bullets fired in World War 1 came from this place.
• In 1983, the EPA tried to prevent further damage to lead exposure, but 63% of children already had lead poisoning and suffered from birth defects.
• After a tornado in 2008, the EPA relocated everyone.
• Picher is now a ghost town but looks like a war zone.
At what point do mining companies take responsibility and not leave behind “legacy issues”?
The citizens of Sugar Creek and nearby Independence neighbors want to know if Eagle Materials receptive to a Community Benefits Agreement from the neighbors or are lawsuits and post-mortem rescue plans the only way to solve issues?
Sugar Creek Alternatives
Restoring public trust
Residents are asking elected officials to break the cycle of selling out residents to industry. Past governing bodies have allowed the city of Sugar Creek to become the dumping grounds of wealthier cities. Citizens are losing what little trust remains. City leaders are in a position to show locals they can be accountable a deserve to retain their status as stewards of the town.
Promote Safe and Profitable Town Growth
The wealth index of the towns surrounding the KC Metro area compared to Sugar Creek shows clearly that the town is in desperate need of commercial revitalization. Younger generations are seeking to invest in green technology. Environmentally destructive business models are not likely to ever be perceived as desirable commodities in the future as they have not contributed to the growth of community wealth in the past.
• A score of 100 is “average” for the United States.
• What will happen to this number as a result of this quarry?
• Give people a reason to visit, live, and work in Sugar Creek.
• Diversify the city’s business directory – The two largest industries in Sugar Creek are manufacturing and construction (Data USA)
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the leisure and hospitality sectors are projected for the fasted growth.
A previous Mayor, Ron Marinovich, wanted a tourist center built on a historic connection to Lewis and Clark trail as well as the big 3 western expansion trails. This is the only place where those trails meet. With the proposed green alternatives Eagle and Audubon could utilize, agritourism could be something else that could be capitalized on. There are Federal grants available for town revitalization and green growth.
Save Sugar Creek 