PROVO — Utah County officials may allow a gravel-pit company to keep digging in an area that isn't zoned for industrial use — but not if the neighbors can help it.

Residents in the Ironton Mountain area of Provo approached the Utah County Commission on Tuesday to oppose further mining by Pettro Sand and Gravel on critical environment land that abuts their development.

The company, which is owned by Scott Pettro, has already been mining in the area for months, residents say, and recent digging has marred their mountain view and made hiking in the area dangerous. The Pettro company has also asked the County Commission to change the zoning of its land to industrial use to make its mining operations legal.

"We're going to do everything we can to be good neighbors up there and make everything as good as it can be for the county and the residents," said Tyler Young, Pettro's attorney.

According to Young, Pettro received the land through a trade with the federal government in the early 1990s with the understanding that it could be mined. Young says it was understood by the County Commission at the time that the land would be mined, and although the land was never rezoned to allow mining, the issue never came up until a few months ago.

The commission decided to delay voting on the proposed zone change until March 13 to give residents, the county and Pettro time to work on the issue and possibly come to a compromise.

Although the county issued a cease-and-desist warning to the company in September, the mine was still operating as of Saturday, County Commissioner Steve White said.

"I'd like to file a complaint that they were mining in the (critical environment) zone," White said. "They had a front loader and they were dropping it into a sorter and bringing it back out. How do you have compassion for someone who comes and asks for permission and they're still doing what you told them not to do?"

Young declined to comment on whether the company did not honor the cease-and-desist requirement. When asked by White if the mine is still operating, Pettro said he did not know.

"This is like someone who's taking the waste from an oil-sludge operation and dumping it on the back side of the hill where no one can see it," White said. "It's that kind of egregious environmental violation."

Commissioner Gary Anderson, who recommended changing the zone to industrial to allow Pettro to continue mining, said the company will be penalized if it continues to violate county law.

"If he's not following it, he needs to be whacked," Anderson said. "That's a separate issue from the overall issue, but if he's violating the law, we're going to hammer him. If he's violating the law, he's going to pay. But that doesn't solve the whole problem."