LAWRENCE, Kan.  - A mining company is seeking approval to create a 351-acre sand pit mine in eastern Kansas.
     Bill Penny, of Lawrence-based Penny's Concrete, has asked Douglas County officials for a conditional use permit to create the mining operation between Lawrence and Eudora. The facility could mine up to 5,000 tons of sand per day.
    The Lawrence Journal World (http://bit.ly/SrVNkP) reports that the review process is in the early stages and that Douglas County planners want more information about the number of pits and other details about the plant's operations before proceeding.
    Two other recent mining proposals in the Kaw River Valley have been turned down because of concerns for the environment and area farmland.
     A hearing on the proposal before the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission is tentatively set for Sept. 24.