LAGRANGE – A proposal to add an asphalt plant to an existing facility that recycles old blacktop into item 4 has drawn criticism from neighbors of the proposed location.
Blacktop Maintenance Corp. (BTM) on Commerce Drive in the Town of LaGrange is seeking to add large silos and a blast furnace to produce hot asphalt for use in projects such as the paving of roads, driveways, and parking lots.
Blacktop or hot-mix asphalt is made by combining sand, rocks, and asphalt cement together, heating the ingredients to 300 degrees, and then blending them together in a large mixing drum before loading onto the trucks to haul to the job site. Asphalt cement is the black binding agent that holds the materials together. Asphalt cement is a dark heavy mixture of hydrocarbons, also called bitumen, that is extracted as a byproduct of gasoline production during crude oil distillation.
The LaGrange Planning Board has been reviewing the BTM proposal for several months. At a public hearing in December, there was no public comment. The board also issued a SEQRA negative declaration on the project, indicating that it would not affect the environment.
When residents learned that the addition would include two silos approximately 60 feet tall that would require a variance from the Zoning Board, the public became interested and began researching the project.
The residents began questioning the proposal and the town has decided to take another look at the plans, according to Town Supervisor Alan Bell.
Many people thought the plan was to bring in another piece of equipment used for recycling asphalt, which BTM has performed at the location for approximately 20 years. The recycling operation uses large crushers to break up the asphalt that has been recovered from roads during repaving projects. The used asphalt is crushed and mixed with other materials such as gravel to create Item 4, a sub-base for building roads.
Bridge Engineer Blaise Blabac lives within 200 feet of the BTM property and pointed out what he believes are several flaws in the planning board’s negative declaration. “BTM has been a good neighbor,” Blabac wrote to the town board but raised several concerns. According to Blabac, the planning board indicated that the asphalt plant would not have an impact on noise, odor, and light in the area. Hot asphalt emits an odor when released from the silos into dump trucks and the plant, and, additional truck traffic would increase noise levels.
The BTM plan also calls for lights to be installed so the company can operate around the clock if necessary, requiring the large lights to be on all night long. There is also a federal wetland within the BTM boundaries and no extensive examination was conducted by the planning board, according to Blabac.
“Our Planning Board is revisiting SEQRA, and has also asked the town zoning department (at last night’s meeting) to verify its finding regarding the use, given the updated and more detailed knowledge we have of the operation,” Supervisor Bell told Mid-Hudson News.
