Un schema regional des gravieres selon l'article 109.1 du code minier français

The extraction of aggregates in the alluvial Plain of Alsace has grown rapidly since 1962. The production of these aggregates, half of which are exported, has certainly had positive effects on the local economy, but the untidy sprawl of extraction sites had had a damaging impact on the local environment (effects on water table, rural landscape and land prices). To deal with this situation, the regional authorities have decided to define a regional policy on gravel pits, with three objectives: maximum economic return on deposits, protection of the environment and recovering of worked-out pits. Under Article 109-1 of the French Mining Code, the Region of Alsace has embarked on the operational phase of this new policy on gravel pits by commissioning studies of 7 “Zones.... Gravières” or “Coordinated Gravel Extraction and Site Revovering Zones” (ZERC). Within these zones, 16 potential gravel extraction areas have been defined. Detailed studies will make it possible to establish the economic, geological, geotechnical, hydrogeological and agricultural criteria which will determine the siting of future gravel pits to meet production requirements for the next 30 years. Apart from these studies, consultation between the industry, elected representatives and local government bodies is necessary in working out such a scheme, whose purpose is to ensure that gravel extraction can exist in harmony side by side with agriculture or any other industrial or leisure activity in the region.