"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."

Anderson says he "hates" gravel pits and asserts that if he had his way there would be no gravel pits in the area. But he also says that since the land is already scarred, Pettro should be able to finish mining the land, then rehabilitate the property in five years.

Pettro cannot be required to rehabilitate the land unless it is first changed to be an industrial zone. With an industrial zone comes the stipulation that a company must give the county a bond of enough money to pay for reclaiming the land. Pettro officials estimate the mine still has about $12 million worth of gravel that is yet to be retrieved from the area

In an earlier effort to bring the mining operation into compliance with the county, Pettro officials filed a $65,000 bond with the county to pay for future reclamation of the 13 acres that are in question. Commissioners say they will investigate if the money is enough to pay for the entire reclamation.

Residents say they prefer Pettro stop mining the land now and start reclaiming it right away.

"If I wanted to be more of a businessman, maybe I would decide it would be a good idea to build a cell tower in my back yard," said East Mountain Homeowners Association President Jim Orr. "That would provide jobs and a tax base, but there are some things that shouldn't be allowed in our back yard, and we believe the gravel pit is one of those things."

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E-mail: achoate@desnews.com