Health Risk Facts:

Air pollution and children:  Air pollution limits the growth of lung capacity in children, thus permanently reducing lung function as an adult. Air pollution exacerbates existing asthma in adults and children and causes asthma/respiratory infections in those who are not otherwise predisposed. Air pollution increases the incidence of SIDS, low birth weight syndrome, premature birth, and infant mortality.  Air pollution increases the incindence of the most common forms of childhood cancers, especially leukemia. Air pollution increases genetic damage in newborns, probably leading to increased morbidities as an adult including heart disease, diabetes and cancers. These genetic aberrancies can be passed on to subsequent generations. (Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.)

Significant Unavoidable Impacts:  The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) States there are "significant unavoidable project-specific impacts related to aesthetics (scenic vistas, visual character) air quality (operational emissions and inconsistency with the Clean Air Plan), land use (conflict with applicable plans, land use incompatibility), traffic (access for neighboring residential land uses) and noise (from barge unloading facility, asphalt plant, recycling facility and operation of all equipment simultaneously). The proposed project would also result in significant and unavoidable cumulative impacts related to: aesthetics, air quality, water quality, land use and noise (Dutra EIR Chapter VI. General Impact Categories).

Fugitive emissions: Fugitive emissions are emissions of gases or vapors from pressurized equipment due to leaks and various other unintended or irregular releases of gases, mostly from industrial activities. As well as the economic cost of lost commodities, fugitive emissions contribute to air pollution and climate change. A detailed inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from upstream oil and gas activities in Canada for the year 2000 estimated that fugitive equipment leaks had a global warming potential equivalent to the release of 17 million metric tonnes of carbon monoxide, or 12 per cent of all greenhouse gases emitted by the sector. Venting of natural gas, flaring, accidental releases and storage losses accounted for an additional 38 per cent. Fugitive emissions present other risks and hazards. Emissions of volatile compounds such a benzene from oil refineries and chemical plants pose a long term health risk to workers and local communities. In situations where large amounts of flammable liquids and gases are contained under pressure, leaks also increase the risk of fire and explosion. Because of the technical difficulties and costs of detecting and quantifying actual fugitive emissions at a site or facility, and the variability and intermittent nature of emission flow rates, bottom-up estimates based on standard emission factors are generally used for annual reporting purposes. (Wikipedia.)

Can Fugitive Emissions be Contained?  By definition they can not.  Fugitive blue gases outside the plant (carcinogenic PAHs) will enter the air from trucks loaded with hot asphalt. Diesel exhaust from these trucks, potentially loading every 3 minutes, all day long, is a health hazard to nearby residents, visiting school children at Shollenberger Park, and wildlife. The risks to the public are too great. 

Urban Blight Facts:  

Health Impacts & Loss of Property Value. The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL), a regional environmental organization, has done two studies on the adverse impacts on property values and health for residents living near asphalt plants. A property value study documented losses of up to 56% because of the presence of a nearby asphalt plant. In another study, nearly half of the residents reported negative impacts on their health from a new asphalt plant. The door-to-door health survey found 45% of residents living within a half mile of the plant reported a deterioration of their health, which began after the plant opened. The most frequent health problems cited were high blood pressure (18% of people surveyed), sinus problems (18%), headaches (14%), and shortness of breath (9%). [BREDL]

The County Already Has Sufficient Asphalt Production and Recycling Facilities:

The Environmental Impact Report states that the three asphalt plants already in business can produce and recycle enough asphalt for our county:  "Other considerations include whether the proposed project would remove an obstacle to growth. There are three existing asphalt plants in Sonoma and Marin counties, including: 1) Bodean, 1060 Maxwell Drive, Santa Rosa; 2) Syar, 260 Todd Road, Santa Rosa; and 3) Dutra, 1000 Point San Pedro Road, San Rafael.  Based on these plant locations, it appears the region's needs would still be met for asphalt production and recycling without the proposed project, although implementation of the proposed project would reduce distances and costs for trucks delivering asphalt to projects in southern County and northern Marin County. (Dutra FEIR Section VI. General Impact Categories Page VI-2.)

Dutra Group Has a History of Poor Business Practices:

The Dutra Group has been in a battle with Marin County and the San Pedro Coalition for years. They have completed huge expansions without permits,  they had noise complaints, pollution complaints, complaints of late hours of operation and "illegal intensification of the non-conforming use". (Read the Marin County Grand Jury document.)  

The Dutra Group stated they had a good neighborhood relationship with no complaints while operating in Petaluma in the past. Read Mayor Torliatt's article to the contrary and complaints and Notice of Violations from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). (Read Email from Sheri Chlebowski to Board of Supervisors with documented BAAQMD Complaints and Violations.)

U.S. EPA, NOAA fine dredging company $735,000 for ocean dumping violations off northern California coast. (Read article here.)

The Dutra Group is not moving an asphalt plant.  The asphalt plant they had they shut down in 2007 because they could not operate the plant within the permit conditions that they had from the BAAQMD.  This plant will be a new plant in a new location.