Qualla residents ask for relief from proposed asphalt plant

Community meeting planned for April 30

By Lisa Majors-Duff

But the plant's developer, Mark Fortner of Bryson City, and the engineer he hired to assist him with the project say the communityšs concerns are based on misinformation and fear of the unknown.

Fortner, owner of HMC Paving with his father, Henry Fortner, presented his plans to construct an asphalt plant on the old Worley Farm property to commissioners last month. The plant, he said, will be used to produce between 500 and 800 tons of asphalt five days a week during the warmer months.

Residents' concerns ranged from potential health problems for the young and elderly to degradation of the area's scenic beauty, increased pollution and traffic problems, to a potential negative impact on the area's tourism industry.

"I appreciate Mark Fortner opening this up for discussion," said Whittier farmer and county planning board member William Shelton. "When I think about the Qualla community and the Gateway, I think about how growth issues are becoming a concern in this county. I would request that Mr. Fortner look at other possible locations before he put it here."

"Jackson County has no zoning, and when someone puts an asphalt plant next to your property, you lose your property rights," said Harmer Weichel, who also pointed out the proximity of Smokey Mountain Elementary School and the Eastern Band's planned recreation center. "Those places will be filled with children, and Western North Carolina already has one of the highest rates of respiratory problems among its young people."

Tommie Saunooke and Marie Junaluska, both members of the Cherokee Tribal Council, also voiced concerns for enrolled members who attend SMES and who will take advantage of the recreation facility under construction in Qualla.

"Pollution is my concern," said resident Debbie Worley. "I have a child on allergy medication. I have to protect her; now I won't allow my child to go outside because of the pollution this plant will produce.

"This plant will also hurt the tourism industry," she continued. "It's just pathetic that such a thing can go up in our community."

Trucks entering and exiting the property from U.S. 441 will create a hazard, said former Jackson County Sheriff Fred Holcombe, who lives across the Tuckaseigee River from the proposed site.

"The man who wants this plant is not from Jackson County," said Joyce Cooper, a resident of Olivet Church Road. "I think your first obligation should be to the citizens of Jackson County."

To that, board Chairman Jay Denton explained that Jackson County has no zoning regulations in place to prevent such construction.

"I never thought I'd vote for zoning, but I'm ready to," Cooper said. "What do we have to do to get some?"

Denton turned the matter over to county attorney Raymond Large, who said, "I can look into the matter and report back at the next meeting."

"I canšt imagine any county thinking they know more about asphalt plants than the EPA or the people who created the state's air toxic regulations," said Conrad Carter, president of Alpha Environmental Management of Albemarle, the firm Fortner hired to assist him with the state's permitting process. "North Carolinašs air quality regs are some of the toughest in the nation, and if Mark can pass their tests, he can operate this plant."

State regulations were designed to protect human health, Carter said. In fact, a group of doctors were involved in developing the air toxic regulations in 1990, he said.

"Everything has pollution," Carter said. "But asphalt plants are not big polluters in the state's eyes."

Asphalt is a paving material made from gravel and sand mixed with tar, also called asphalt oil, a petroleum product. The mixture is heated, either by a fuel oil or natural gas method, and stored until needed for a paving project. Fortner's plans call for building a plant about half the size of Harrison Construction's asphalt plant in Dillsboro and about 30 years younger.

"This will be a state-of-the-art facility," Carter said, "one that will have to meet current standards. Older plants only have to meet the regulations in place at the time they were constructed."

According to information produced by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Division of Air Quality, the statešs current air toxic rules set limits for 105 pollutants that are known to pose either a short- or long-term hazard for people who breathe them. Under these rules, asphalt plants are not allowed to emit pollutants in amounts that exceed any of the limits at or beyond the property lines. Thus, says DENR, citizens living near plants that meet the air toxics rules should not be exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution.

In reviewing permit applications for asphalt plants, air quality officials use computer models to determine if emissions will exceed state or federal air quality standards, Carter said. These computer models, which are approved by the EPA, factor in such information as plant emissions rates, production levels, property lines, local terrain, winds and temperature.

"The models assume the worse-case scenario," Carter said. "If you pass this, you can build a hospital on the property line."

Fortner addressed many of the other concerned brought up during last week's commissioners' meeting while touring the proposed site with Carter this weekend. "This plant is not going to hurt the tourist industry," Fortner said, "especially those who enjoyed driving here on paved roads."

Fortner also has plans to contact the Department of Transportation about incorporating a turnoff lane to his property. And to those who say he's not a Jackson County taxpayer, Fortner points out that he pays taxes on more than 70 acres of land and three rental properties in Jackson County.

"Plus, I'm planning on moving my entire operation to this site," he said, "which will change the value of this property on the tax books."

Community residents will have an opportunity to hear from Fortner, who has been invited to a meeting at 8 p.m. Monday, April 30, at the Qualla Community Building across from the Qualla Volunteer Fire Department.

"When the facts are stated, (the plant) is going to be a help to the entire community," Fortner said.

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