The operator of the Makakilo Quarry is seeking permits to expand the size and life of its facility, one of the three operating excavating centers on O'ahu.

The quarry began operating in 1973 on a parcel just mauka of H-1 Freeway on the approach to Makakilo. A processing site is located makai of H-1 next to Kapolei Knolls and near the upcoming University of Hawai'i -West O'ahu site.

Grace Pacific Corp., which has operated the quarry since 1985, wants to extend the life of the quarry for about 25 years. It also wants to expand the size of the active quarry from its existing 72 acres to about 106 acres. It also proposes to increase the buffer zone from 178 acres to 393 acres, including 11 acres of landscaped buffer on one side of the quarry and a screening berm on the other.

"We've reached the permitted boundaries of where we can go to excavate rock," particularly with respect to "A" grade rock, said Bob Creps, Grace Pacific vice president. "We can go a little deeper and get some 'B' grade, and that's about six or seven years that are left there. But the 'A' grade is mauka, and that's where we'd like to go."

The state Land Use Commission will make the final decision on the permit. The city Department of Planning and Permitting began accepting comments on the application in early November and is expected to hold a public hearing in February. Creps said he expects the process to take about seven months.

The Makakilo/Kapolei/Hono-kai Hale Neighborhood Board voted 6-1 in September 2006 to support the expansion.

Grace Pacific recognizes that the area in which the quarry is operating is now surrounded by homes and other urban facilities and is no longer the sugar cane fields of yesteryear. Visual impact, dust and noise are some of the concerns that have been raised. Grace Pacific said it is taking steps to mitigate the impacts of each.

Meanwhile, Creps said, there continues to be a high demand for construction-grade basaltic rock on the island, and quarry operators have had to import rock to meet construction demands.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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