Couple who illegally sold red dirt fined, shut down

FAYETTEVILLE — A couple who operated a red dirt mine without a permit off and on for 20 years near Prairie Grove agreed to stop operations and pay a $750 fine.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality issued a consent administrative order against Lloyd and Betty Thurman, 12905 Rose Cemetery Road, for selling red dirt from their property. The Thurmans signed the order Feb. 22.

The order went into effect March 27, said Kelly Robinson, agency spokesman.

The Thurmans agreed to stop operating a red dirt mine and start reclaiming the property. That includes leveling the land for safety and drainage and replanting vegetation. They agreed to pay the fine by April 26.

Phone numbers listed online and in state records for the Thurmans were disconnected.

The Cemetery Road address is listed for “Lloyd Thurman Sand & Gravel,” according to the Better Business Bureau, but that business isn’t listed as accredited with the bureau. The business also isn’t listed with the Arkansas Secretary of State Office.

A state investigator in 2016 found Lloyd Thurman had been “mining red dirt occasionally” from his 3 acres for extra income since 1998, according to a state report. The state notified the Thurmans they needed a permit, but Lloyd Thurman refused an application and continued mining operations, according to the administrative order.

Washington County planning staff knew about the illegal mine for awhile. Former Planning Director Juliet Richey filed the initial complaint against the Thurmans, according to a 2016 complaint and inspection report.

No open-cut mining application had been filed with the state as of January 2017, the order shows.

Richey was replaced by Jim Kimbrough, who resigned effective Friday. The county wasn’t involved in the state’s investigation, staff said.