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Mr. Kevin Swanson <br /> August 16, 2011 <br /> Page 3 <br /> c) Inexplicably, the Project Description fails to disclose the number, location and <br /> proximity of offsite rural residences. Figure 2-2, according to Section 2.5, is <br /> supposed to depict neighboring residences. It does not. The most important issue <br /> relating to extended night operations is its impact on neighboring residents. Indeed, it 1-7 <br /> was the potential for land use conflicts, coupled with expert testimony as to noise <br /> impacts, which drove the need for an EIR for this project in the first place. Given <br /> that, failing to include the number, location and proximity of offsite rural residences <br /> renders the DEIR inadequate as an informational document. <br /> d) The Project Description is accurate in one important respect; namely,the fact that the <br /> Munn and Perkins project is no longer an actual quarry excavation, but rather, a mere <br /> assembly plant where offsite raw aggregate material is trucked in, processed, crushed <br /> and manufactured into products including asphalt. Rather than moving the processing <br /> facilities and asphalt plant, which would require costly air emissions upgrades,Munn <br /> and Perkins continues the wasteful and inefficient practice of importing offsite raw 1-$ <br /> materials,thereby doubling(at least)the number of trucks, vehicle miles and <br /> emissions to which their neighbors are now subjected. Thus, from a policy and <br /> environmental standpoint,the standard industry maxim that quarry excavations and <br /> processing facilities must be located where"Mother Nature"put the material is <br /> utterly inapplicable. The DEIR should evaluate the additional impacts associated <br /> with importing increasing amounts of material for night operations. <br /> e) The Project Objectives are impermissibly narrow, in an obvious attempt to limit the I 1-9 <br /> DEIR's subsequent discussion of mitigation measures and project alternatives. <br /> f) There is no mitigation measure or proposed condition of approval to ensure that the ! 1-10 <br /> maximum permitted air pollution limits identified on page 2-2 are not exceeded. I <br /> g) On page 2-6 of the DEIR,the author makes a generic reference to the fact that the <br /> County Public Works Department has requested additional lighting for nighttime <br /> traffic safety. There is no diagram, schematic or discussion of the nature, intensity or <br /> location of this additional lighting. Chapter 3.1 merely references the County 1-11 <br /> Development Title, but contains no further analysis. The DEIR should include this <br /> information in sufficient detail to assure the public that the lighting will be effective <br /> and won't result in additional environmental effects to neighboring properties. <br /> Traffic:Impacts are Inadequately Evaluated. The environmental "baseline" is <br /> represented by the existing maximum traffic which can be generated during existing approved <br /> operating hours. This is, incidentally, acknowledged in Munn and Perkins' March 2, 1999 letter <br /> to the undersigned, in which Project Coordinator Carol Vierra stated: "The plant design limits 1-12 <br /> operations and allow a maximum hourly production. Once capacity is met,we simply <br /> cannot produce anymore." Ms. Vierra was correct on that point. But if the County now allows <br /> that same maximum hourly production to occur during both daytime and nighttime hours, the <br /> cumulative traffic is increased dramatically. This increase in traffic, which may or may not be <br />