Air Quality
- During the asphalt production process, a baghouse will capture more than 99% of dust and particulate matter (PM)
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has noted there are no significant hazardous emissions from modern asphalt facilities
- The location of the facility within the site has been designed to minimize dust and particulate emissions
- By operating an asphalt facility on-site, Canyon Rock will be able to pave more of its road surfaces, further reducing dust from its operations
- Based on the effectiveness of modern emissions control technology, in 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delisted asphalt facilities from the list of categories of major and area sources of hazardous air pollutants
- Over the past several decades, advances in technology have allowed air pollutant emissions from asphalt facilities to decrease despite an overall increase in the production of asphalt
Odor
- Odors from the production of asphalt should be undetectable
- The location of the facility on-site is designed to minimize or eliminate odors. Best Available Control Technology (BACT) will be used to further reduce odors to the maximum extent possible
Aesthetics and Lighting
- The design location of the facility, its elevation, and visual screening from berms that surround the site all serve to minimize changes to aesthetics and minimize perceptible lighting to receptors outside the quarry
- Asphalt facility would be built below grade behind existing berms and natural topography along Highway 116 to protect the scenic corridor
- Tallest component of the facility, the storage silos, would be largely shielded from public view
- Lighting would be guided by International Dark-Sky Association (IDA)-approved fixtures
- Downward-pointing, well-shielded fixtures will help reduce fugitive light and limit lighting pollution
Benefits to Traffic and Roadways
- There is no anticipated increase in truck traffic associated with Canyon Rock’s operations. Regional truck traffic associated with asphalt production would likely be reduced
- Currently, a large portion of Canyon Rock’s aggregate material is sent to asphalt facilities elsewhere in Sonoma County, where, after processing, much of the same material is sent back as asphalt to local projects in Western Sonoma County
- In the case of West County road and infrastructure projects, some truck trips through Forestville (delivering aggregate/empty return trip and delivering asphalt/empty return trip) would be eliminated
- A local source of asphalt can help meet the repaving needs of the 524 miles of roads in unincorporated West County (5th Supervisorial District)
- The 5th District has more road miles in unincorporated areas (38%) than any other Supervisorial District in Sonoma County