Cave Springs Appeals Dirt Mine Ruling

FAYETTEVILLE — Cave Springs has appealed a judge’s ruling the city can’t enforce an ordinance regulating a red dirt mine while a lawsuit against the ordinance goes through court.

A federal judge issued an injunction Jan. 8 preventing Cave Springs from limiting the hours Pavecon’s red dirt mine can operate.

Pavecon, a Bentonville-based construction company, requested the injunction in November to stop the city from restricting its operations.

“While the court is mindful of the disturbance the dirt mine operation causes to those members of the public living closest to the mine, it is not persuaded that those interests outweigh the constitutionally protected interests of Pavecon, which would be harmed by permitting the ordinance to be enforced pending a final hearing on the merits of the case,” U.S. District Judge Jimm Hendren wrote in an opinion.

The ordinance restricts the business to operate during regular business hours on weekdays. Cave Springs passed the ordinance after the company opened the dirt mine. The ordinance only affects Pavecon’s site because it’s the only dirt mine in the city.

Pavecon wanted the injunction in place while its lawsuit to overturn the ordinance awaits trial, set for Oct. 27.

Cave Springs earlier this week filed notice they plan to appeal Hendren’s ruling to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The notice did not include details of what they plan to argue.

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