Much-needed asphalt resource
by Aimi Dutra

My family and I appreciate the opportunity to communicate directly with you regarding our proposed Haystack Landing asphalt facility. We are humbled and grateful for the outpouring of support from countless Petalumans throughout this process.

The Haystack Landing project will provide a much-needed asphalt resource for southern Sonoma County and serve as an economic boost to the greater Petaluma area. The demand for asphalt is best met by local plants distributed around the county. Petaluma is the second-largest city in Sonoma County, and it is vital to have an asphalt plant in the Petaluma area, just as there has always been in the past. If a local source of aggregate and asphalt were not available, importing these resources from more remote locations would dramatically increase greenhouse emissions and costs.

For more than 20 years, Dutra Materials operated an asphalt plant and barge off-loading facility on Petaluma Boulevard South. The proposed Haystack Landing asphalt plant project relocates Dutra’s asphalt facility to a 37-acre industrial site one-half mile away from the original plant, on the east side of Highway 101.

The Haystack Landing location is situated in an area that has been zoned commercial/ industrial for decades. It will border an existing aggregate facility operated by Shamrock Materials and an existing recycling facility operated by Novato Disposal to the north. It is also an ideal location for reduction of traffic and diesel emissions. Having access to the Petaluma River allows the facility to use the environmentally sensitive approach of delivery of materials by barge, which will take 21,000 trucks off Highway 101 annually, reduce emissions, and ensure the Petaluma River continues to be dredged by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Haystack Landing plant will be a state-of-the-art facility, providing clean and efficient operations while reducing environmental impacts. The proposed plant’s asphalt production will be fully enclosed to reduce noise and emissions, and air from these contained areas will be filtered before being released to the atmosphere. Astec, the world’s leading manufacturer of asphalt plants, has stated that the proposed Dutra plant includes more components for protection of human health and the environment than any plant they have designed anywhere else in the world.

Of the 37 acres at the site, over 50 percent (19 acres) will be permanently preserved and devoted to open space and wetlands/brackish marsh habitat. Historic hydrological conditions will be restored by reintroducing tidal circulation to the area.

Additionally, a portion of the property will be used for a new fire station for the San Antonio Volunteer Fire Department, which is in need of a new home. The new location will provide the department immediate freeway access in order to respond rapidly to any emergency situation in Sonoma County.

The environmental review and analysis of the proposed plant has been thorough and considered both short- and long-term impacts in finding air emissions to be below all applicable regulatory thresholds designed to protect public health. Among conditions which will be imposed if the project is approved are requirements that the plant be subject to Bay Area Air Quality Management District permits and inspections, as well as random inspections by the county to ensure compliance.

We have also reduced plant operations to address concerns voiced by the Board of Supervisors at its last meeting. The new proposal outlines three specific items that will further reduce the already less-than-significant impacts of the project: (1) Reducing peak production by 25 percent, from 400 tons per hour to 300 tons per hour; (2) Reducing the height of the silos by 18 percent, from 76 feet to 62 feet; and (3) Eliminating the on-site crushing of recycled material. These modifications will further reduce air emissions; eliminate certain noise aspects; lower the amount of trucks coming and going to the site; and decrease the visual impact of the facility.

We hope that our efforts convey how committed we are to working with the community to provide a continuing source of aggregate and asphalt that will benefit people and the environment in southern Sonoma County, while at the same time maintaining the quality of life residents of Petaluma enjoy.