Debate resumes over Winchester asphalt plant
As published on page one of the September 20, 2011 edition of The Keene Sentinel, and online.
WINCHESTER -- An asphalt plant that drew vocal protests in the spring went online late last month, and neighbors say it's just as they expected: It stinks.
Calls and complaints have been flowing into Town Hall, according to Leroy E. Austin, the Winchester code enforcement officer.
Residents of both Winchester and Swanzey are unhappy about odors, noise and smoke they say are coming from the plant and the gravel pit where it was built off Route 10 near the Swanzey border, Austin said.
"The asphalt plant that is not supposed to be having an effect on our area is definitely having an effect," said William Ryan of Swanzey, who lives near the plant.
He described the plant as "stinky and smokey" -- not always, but sometimes.
But its owner says the plant is not even operating regularly.
"Last Monday they complained and we were open for all of a half hour," said Robert Snedeker, a spokesman for Mitchell Sand and Gravel, the Massachusetts company that owns the plant and the gravel pit.
On that day, the asphalt smell that caused complaints most likely came from paving work in Swanzey that had nothing to do with the Winchester plant, Snedeker said.
The Winchester Planning Board held a compliance hearing for the plant Monday evening, and gave permission for its continued operation under the condition that the company add two more wells for groundwater testing, according to Gustave A. Ruth Jr., who represents the board of selectmen on the planning board.
Air quality monitoring is outside the town's jurisdiction and also beyond its means, Ruth said.
"As a small town we can't measure emissions," he said.
Air quality is regulated by the state, and the Mitchell plant is all squared away on that front, according to Barbara Dorfschmidt, senior permit engineer with the N.H. Department of Environmental Services.
The environmental agency made a surprise visit to the plant Sept. 1, Dorfschmidt said, and the official didn't see or smell anything that raised concerns.
So far the plant has only produced asphalt for its own use and a few small orders, Snedeker said, but it has recently been hired for projects in Keene and Surry.
Asphalt plants in this region usually shut down for the winter about Thanksgiving, though the exact date depends on the weather, Snedeker said.
Austin, the Winchester code enforcement officer, asks residents with concerns about the plant to submit their complaints in writing, he said, because his voicemail box is full.
tagged with: asphalt, land use, Winchester N.H.
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