PHARSALIA – The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is currently reviewing a permit application to develop a sandstone quarry on Center Road.

Harvey Materials Corp. of Rome and property-owner Derek Smith have applied to the NYSDEC to mine a 122-acre stretch of land located on the north side of Center Road near the hamlet of North Pharsalia. The site has been a farm for many years and is currently composed of a hay field, meadows, woods and idle land.

According to the NYSDEC application, the thickness of the consolidated sandstone and siltstone beneath the surface ranges from 18 inches to several feet.

The developers hope to begin clearing the parcel this summer, possibly by June 1. The mined sandstone would be available on-site or trucked out, either for use in a variety of landscaping applications, or crushed for road surfacing and other purposes.

Jobs would be seasonal, with from three to five laborers and equipment operators needed. “We’ll see what the market can bear as we go,” said Harvey Materials Corp. President Gary Harvey, whose company operates five mining pits near Utica.

The business intends to obtain a small, portable screening and sand crushing machine. No plans have been made to obtain permanent processing equipment.