May 04, 2020: Today, residents of Caswell County made a formal request to the Board of Commissioners for a comprehensive review of existing and proposed paving industry permits in the Prospect Hill and Anderson communities. The request echoed one made Thursday to the Division of Air Quality by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.

Jan. 07, 2020: The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and Protect Our Fresh Air have joined Ashe County's legal challenge of an asphalt plant permit in Glendale Springs. On January 2, 2020, the citizen groups filed a friend-of-the-court brief, known as an amicus curiae, in the Supreme Court of North Carolina. The groups' legal arguments will be considered by the high court alongside the appeal filed by the Ashe County Board of Commissioners, which also calls for denial of the county polluting industries permit.

Nov. 04, 2019: The Dynax facility has been issued at least three violations within the decade. We applaud VA DEQ for inspections and enforcement so that Dynax adheres to permit conditions. However, to better protect public health and welfare, VA DEQ should strengthen permitting requirements instead of allowing emission increases - once a problem has been discovered.

Nov. 04, 2019: We support the removal of the startup, shutdown, malfunction exemption.

Regarding the industry proposal to create a new type of "work practice standard" malfunction exemption , EPA may not lawfully or rationally create the new kind of malfunction exemption the American Coatings Association has requested.

Although we stress that the EPA should not finalize any type of malfunction exemption because it is unlawful and arbitrary and the Clean Air Act requires emissions standards to apply at all times, the option of continuing operations while doing repairs is especially unacceptable.

BREDL chapter Sustainable Madison has aired 2 radio spots expressing the group's concerns regarding a proposed asphalt plant in Madison County.

Listen to the Ads: Spot 1 | Spot 2

April 1, 2019: BREDL comments included: "40 to 85 percent of the fuel burned produces no electric power. But air pollution and global warming gases are created by combustion whether power is produced or not. Moreover, how the turbines are managed and the conditions under which they operate affect efficiency and air pollution emissions."

"The potential emissions of formaldehyde may affect the children attending the Page County High School and Middle School ... each located less than a mile from the Shenandoah Compressor Station."

"The DEQ must take steps to reduce this and other hazardous air pollutants at this compressor station."

BREDL Comments

On January 31, 2019, we presented a letter of request to the Madison County Board of Health. At the meeting, the medical director made some very disconcerting comments: that asphalt plant pollution is less worrisome than second-hand cigarette smoke. Clearly, many people do not understand the gravity of the air pollution problem posed by asphalt manufacturing in mountain regions. We are planning to bring the issue up again at the County Commissioners meeting on February 12.

View Letter to Madison County Board of Health