DENR, Air Quality Division Stress Importance of Public Input on Asphalt Plant Permit Decisions
RALEIGH -- Department of Environment and Natural Resources officials today stressed the importance of public input in the permit review process for the proposed asphalt plant in Watauga County. The proposed plant would be located near the New River on Roby Greene Road, off U.S. Highway 421, about two miles east of Boone.
“Our department will be making a thorough review of all the air quality and water quality issues associated with this plant to make sure the New River community and the surrounding natural resources are protected,” said Bill Holman, DENR assistant secretary for environmental protection. “The comments we receive during the public hearing and comment period are critical parts of that review.”
Maymead Materials Inc. applied for an air quality permit for the plant in June, and the state Division of Air Quality (DAQ) held a public hearing on the draft permit in Boone on Tuesday. The DAQ will accept written comments on the permit until August 28, and it expects to make a final decision in September.
“We take very seriously any input we receive during the public comment period for a draft permit,” DAQ Director Alan Klimek said. “In July 1997, we denied Maymead’s initial application for an air quality permit based on comments we received about the potential effect of fugitive emissions from the plant.”
As a result of that decision, the division placed a moratorium on permits for new, expanded or relocated asphalt plants while it conducted a study of fugitive emissions, which include fumes from asphalt storage and loading areas. The division lifted that moratorium in March 1998, when it adopted tougher permit review procedures that require asphalt plants to evaluate their fugitive emissions as well as those from smoke stacks.
Although the DAQ tentatively has determined that the Maymead plant could meet state air quality regulations, Klimek said the final permit decision could be influenced by several other factors -- including any technical comments it receives as well as a proposal to rezone the area where the plant is located. The Boone Town Council plans to consider the zoning proposal on August 27, the day before the DAQ’s comment period ends.
Other factors that could influence the final decision on the air quality permit include the state Division of Water Quality’s stormwater discharge requirements and other measures to protect the nearby New River.
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Date Posted: August 13
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