Petition for a moratorium on new asphalt plants

[Gonzo]

I'm no tree-hugging hippy, but I do care about the environment, especially in the High Country. Please sign this petition to prevent a new asphalt plant (and potentially more) from polluting the High Country with toxic waste.

Not only would the plant cause environmental consequences, but it would also negatively impact the economy of the area.

I'm a generally conservative-leaning man who values industry and job growth. That being said, there is a prudent and responsible means for such growth and environmental responsibility, especially in treasured areas like the High Country, is paramount. This is an inappropriate place for an asphalt plant.

https://www.change.org/p/concerned-citi ... reason_msg

[firemoose]

I've already signed. This is the same plant that was going to be built less than a 1/4 mile from my house on the banks of the New River and that we've been fighting since the 90's. Just because they've moved it a little further away (less than two miles) doesn't change the fact that we don't need another one nor do we want one. Maymead has a long history of violations plus the reason they are giving that they need one is the 221 widening project from Deep Gap to West Jefferson (the same reason they gave way back when-The new highway 421 project. It was built and paved with no problems). Most of that project is in Ashe County. They already have a Watauga plant plus they also own the plant on Hwy 16 in Jefferson. Between the two I think that's more than enough. A lot of counties in NC that are much bigger than Watauga and have cities much larger than Boone have one or even none. No reason Watauga needs two.

[WataugaMan]

I had a good friend from my high school days that ran the Maymead Asphalt Plant near Mountain City. He passed away a few years back at the age of 56. I've often wondered that the reason he passed at such an early age was due to being around all the "crap"/pollution from the Asphalt Plant (at least in part).

[TheMackAttack]

Who is this petitioning? I'm assuming the county commission, but I wouldn't get my hopes up with them. Welch is the only one worth a damn. I'd sign it if I still lived in the high country but I have a policy against getting involved in stuff like this since I'm not directly affected.

[firemoose]

Who is this petitioning? I'm assuming the county commission, but I wouldn't get my hopes up with them. Welch is the only one worth a damn. I'd sign it if I still lived in the high country but I have a policy against getting involved in stuff like this since I'm not directly affected.

Honestly Mack this fight is going on at all levels (local, state, and federal) and has been for years. Not only the air pollution fight but the water pollution also, since they were trying to put the asphalt plant about 30 yards from the banks of the New. The petition, from what I was told, was directed at the CC and would be included in conjunction with several other things going to the state. But you are right about not getting hopes up with the county and the GA for NC, since both of our GA reps pushed the removal of ETJ through. Boone didn't help at all with their over the top inspection problems and should have tried harder to work with ETJ residents but the real reason we wanted the protection was because of the asphalt and concrete plants just yards from our houses. Really this is going to finally end up in the courts. But every concession they can bleed out of the county will add a little to their legal case.

The High Impact Land Use ordnance the county keeps referring to is a joke. As it is written now, based on the only restrictions being setbacks, I could build any plant, all the way up to an explosives plant, in our front yard as long as I put a parking lot in. We meet all the other requirements. And if I did something so stupid it would be surrounded by close to 70 homes in two neighborhoods. The fact that something like that would even be possible is crazy.

This is going to be a long fight no matter what.

[Gonzo]

Support builds

http://theappalachianonline.com/2015/06 ... alt-plant/

[firemoose]

Support builds

http://theappalachianonline.com/2015/06 ... alt-plant/

They left out one new part of the story. On Tuesday, the same day the CC had a public hearing on the proposed Maymead plant, the county received an application for a second new asphalt plant, which if allowed to be built would give Watauga THREE asphalt plants. This one was sent by Radford Quarries, the people that own the rock crusher on Bamboo Rd. They want to put another plant on Rainbow Trail Rd. For those who might not know or remember the road go to Perkinsville, turn onto 194, go past Hardin Park School to the top of the hill and turn left. Rainbow Trail Road. Anyone want to guess how close that is to New Market and Hardin Park? And it would take a while to count the number of homes within a mile of the site. Map is in the link I included below.

This is pretty crazy. Why in the world does Watauga need two asphalt plants, much less three. There are many counties in NC much larger that Watauga, with cities much bigger than Boone(= more road miles) that have one or no plants and they want to build three here. I wish it was a joke but unfortunately it's not.

http://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/cou ... e37b9.html

[AppGrad78]

The location of the proposed asphalt plant that Firemoose mentioned is smack-dab between ASU Lake and Howard's Knob Country Park. You couldn't draw up a worse location for an asphalt plant if you tried ... unless of course you put one on a major highway into Boone on 421, better known as the Doc Watson Scenic Gateway.

[moonshine]

This is pretty crazy. Why in the world does Watauga need two asphalt plants, much less three. There are many counties in NC much larger that Watauga, with cities much bigger than Boone(= more road miles) that have one or no plants and they want to build three here. I wish it was a joke but unfortunately it's not.

Just a thought but do those same counties/cities have to deal with the same climate and salt that wreak havoc on the roads as Watauga County? This is not to say that I am for or against high impact usage and I understand property owners being worried about seeing their property values plummet if a business of that nature were to open up near their property. At the same time, things like landfills and asphalt plants do bring value. Another asphalt plant would create competition and possibly help to reduce material prices in this area while being regulated by the state. Of course, most realize something like a landfill are necessary but no one wants one in their back yard. How much does Boone/Watauga County pay to ship our garbage to TN?

As for the ETJ being discussed in an earlier post, I think the town needs to shoulder that blame as they kicked the can down the road for far to long. ETJ's are not meant to be in perpetuity. I know of some property owners who have been in the ETJ since it's inception and have yet to be annexed. I also know of another owner who's commercial property is in the ETJ and surrounded on all sides by property that has been annexed. The town won't annex them because they make more off the property owner's water bill than they would off the taxes. I realize folks were upset about the ETJ being dissolved because they had no say but on the flip side, folks were forced into the ETJ with no say and unable to vote on town matters while being held to the same regulation.

[firemoose]

Every county in the mountains has to deal with salt damage and climate issues. And that goes for mountain counties in TN, VA, WVA, etc. And the counties down state have to deal with climate issues of their own (see the current heat wave. Extended 90+ degree temps do as much damage as cold and salt do here). But most of these counties have no plants in them or one for a several county area that has been there for years. Roads have been being paved in Watauga for many years with one plant. Do we really need three?

As for the ETJ, I stated that Boone caused many problems for residents in these areas with their procedures that were difficult in the extreme. There were many ways that they could have done a better job and made things easier on those in the areas. That is entirely their fault. But those of us in the Eastern ETJ area requested to be added for one reason. Protection. Maymead's plant was going to be built on the banks of the New less than a 1/4 mile from most of our front doors. The county had no regulations at that time and it was the only way we could stop the plant from being built. We did what we had to do. I can't speak for the other ETJ areas and hate that they had to deal with Boone's crap with no say. But none of those other ETJ areas were dealing with what we were. The eastern area ASKED for ETJ. And today if you go door to door to the 100+ homes within 1/2 of a mile of that site you'll get the same answer. We would rather put up with the town BS than to have a plant in our front yards. There were door to door and phone polls conducted in the eastern area and they ran 90+% in favor of staying (haven't asked anyone yet but I'd be willing to bet that many in and around the Rainbow Trail area are wishing for a little protection right about now. Welcome to our world). But that's not an issue any more because the GA took that away. And now proposed plants are popping up all over the place. Why? Because every surrounding county has put regulations in place to stop any new plants from being built. But not Watauga. Looks like were headed towards being the new asphalt supplier for all of Northwest NC.