Sign the petition against the Asphalt Plant in Marshall, NC

The fight is not Over! Help keep Marshall’s air clean and free from noxious asphalt fumes!

The Department of Environmental Quality is currently holding a public comment period in which anyone can offer comments stating their concerns about this plant’s operation.

The Modeling the DEQ has done to determine if they can issue a permit for this plant is flawed- it is not reflective of the actual site
• They have not taken into consideration that the asphalt plant would sit at the beginning of a rock canyon on the French Broad River valley where the air is frequently trapped and condensed above the town of Marshall. Because of this, the emissions from this plant would accumulate in the inversion layer, they will not be mixed or dispersed as their modeling purports, and will impact our health and quality of life.

The NCDEQ Weather Data Modeling is Inadequate!
Toxic emissions from the plant will accumulate hourly during inversions instead of dissipating into the atmosphere and could exceed maximum levels.

They have used the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as the background nitrate level for their modeling, which is unrealistic and underestimates the pollution levels already in our area.They use 9 ug/m3 as the background emissions for their modeling, while most monitors in the state measure 60-90 ug/m3. They should use more comparable background levels, ones which actually reflect an area where people live and work, NOT levels from a pristine National Park.

• Onsite weather stations are needed to determine the true impact of inversions and this topography on toxic emissions.

Please let your voice be heard by completing the email form below which will be sent to the DAQ.

Email Concerns to DAQ re Madison Asphalt permit application

To the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, regarding the Madison Asphalt permit being considered,
My name is %first_name% %last_name% and I am personally concerned that this asphalt plant will negatively impact my health and the quality of life in my area.
I have several legitimate concerns about the DEQ’s modeling for this plant and therefore question the findings:
• 	The DEQ used an unrealistic assumption of background toxins around the town of Marshall. The DEQ used a background level of 9 ug/m3 for the magnitude of toxins that exists in the town of Marshall. This extremely low number is derived from the Smoky Mountain National Park monitor station, which is in an extremely pristine environment. There are no other background values from monitors in NC state that approach this low a value, and therefore, the average of all the monitors which are placed in populated areas should be used as a more realistic reflection of background toxins for this location.
 This location is surrounded by multiple heavily trafficked roads, one of which is also a trucking route between NC and Tennessee, as well as many businesses on the 25/70 bypass (including the Printpak distribution center and packaging facility), an active railway, the town of Marshall itself, and hundreds of residences that rely on wood-burning fuel for heat. To compound the issue of these already existing background levels which aren’t being accounted for, in addition to the pollution from the existing quarry activity, is that the contaminated air in this area will also linger in the valley during times of inversion, compounding the toxins that originate from the plant. 
We ask the DEQ, to set up monitoring stations for NOX around Marshall or use a conservative background level around 60 ug/m3, which is more representative of the state background levels. When a more realistic background level is used, the concentration of NOX will exceed the state limits for acceptable air quality once the plant is operating. 
• 	The DEQ’s modeling does not account for the frequency of Inversion in this area: They have not modeled the extreme impact of the canyon that McCrary Stoneworks has created through decades of mining for rock The shaded rock walls inside this canyon allows the air to rapidly cool in the late afternoon and will continue to stay colder than surrounding locations till the next midday. This cool air will drain towards the French Broad valley that adjoins the property. This airflow will direct pollution into the French Broad River valley, where it will be trapped and accumulate in the inversion. Polluted air filled with toxins, and a noxious odor will ooze into our town: lingering for hours, or even days!
• 	Lack of Dispersion: the town of Marshall is located at the beginning of a deeper canyon that cuts through the spine of the Appalachian Mountains. The inversion layer frequently extends through the average depth of the canyon, which is about 300 feet deep. Since the inversion of trapped cool air is so deep, it is separated from the free atmosphere above. This means that turbulence from above can’t effectively enter the inversion layer to disperse the toxins that have accumulated in the valley. The model shows a dispersion of toxins that is unrealistic of the unique climatology and topography of this area. The toxin will not be effectively dispersed but will accumulate in the town.  
•	Jupiter site used as analog is incomparable to this location: The site used in the model to represent Marshall is located near the ridgeline of Jupiter, 4 miles away. More importantly, the Jupiter site does not have the unique topography and steep canyon that exist at the site of the proposed asphalt plant. Therefore, it does not effectively model these extreme conditions (inversion of cool dense air trapped at the surface). The Jupiter site is more representative of a location connected to the free atmosphere, therefore dispersion occurs at a much higher rate at Jupiter than in the area surrounding this location. The location used for modeling does not capture the magnitude of toxins that will accumulate in the canyon that connects the asphalt plant to the town of Marshall.
•	DEQ used Tier 2 modeling for how NOX will impact the town of Marshall which is not acceptable for this site: The climatology, topography, and geology of this location all point to the notion that the NOX will linger and transform into toxins that are detrimental for the health of the citizens. We ask the DEQ to use the Tier 1 standard for determining the amount of toxins that accumulate in the valley and ooze into the town of Marshall.   
We are grateful to the DEQ for this hearing, however, we still have serious concerns. We have no choice but to place our trust with you. Please don’t let this community down- this permit must be denied until on-site data is collected and better data is utilized. Please don’t expose us to harmful air and the potential for a damaged river. Please hear our voices and do the right thing.

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Say no to the Asphalt plant in Madison County

Keep Madison the “Jewel of the Blue Ridge”

The fight is not Over! Help keep Marshall’s air clean and free from noxious asphalt fumes!

Please let your voice be heard by completing the email form below which will be sent to the DAQ.

Email Concerns to DAQ re Madison Asphalt permit application