The 30-year-old Central Florida division of Tarmac/Titan America Inc., based in Norfolk, VA, is being allowed to expand its 977-acre tract on Center Lake to a nearby 240-acre field near Hartwood Marsh Road where excavations can continue for another 10 years. Sand is a key material used in the manufacture of concrete.

Residents in Clermont, FL at the southern end of Lake County, which is enjoying a commercial boom, are satisfied the agreement worked out by Lake County commissioners will direct the sand mine company to buy its highly treated wastewater from Orlando's Conserve II project without depleting the local source of fresh drinking water. The sand mine pumps 5.6 million gallons of water daily from the fragile underground Florida Aquifier for its round-the-clock excavation process.

That heavy water usage was the residents' sore point five years ago and remained so until this week when the county negotiated a compromise.