Rathdrum asphalt plant proposed

Plans for a Rathdrum asphalt plant are creating an uproar on the prairie where the proposed operation’s neighbors say they are worried about noise, possible health impacts and damage to their property values.

“My biggest concerns are the health issues that would be caused by the asphalt plant and the additional mining,” said Tiny Wilson, who lives in the nearby Stepping Stones neighborhood.

Wilson and his neighbors have been rallying to stop the asphalt plant and expansion of Coeur d’Alene Paving’s gravel pit.

Wilson has health problems himself. His pancreatic cancer is in remission, but he said that he worries asphalt plant emissions could be problematic.

“We’ve been trying real hard to be good neighbors,” said Coeur d’Alene Paving Safety Manager Phill Weist, who said the asphalt plant will use the latest technology to be environmentally responsible and sensitive to nearby homeowners. “We understand we will be under great scrutiny.”

Coeur d’Alene Paving is seeking approval for two plans. The first would allow the company to swap the zoning on 20 acres of agricultural land with the zoning on 20 acres of adjacent mining land. That in turn would give the company one contiguous 50-acre site for its operations just off Highway 53, west of Rathdrum.

The second request is to build an asphalt plant on the company’s existing 30-acre site.

Switching the zoning makes sense because it would cut down on truck traffic between the two sites, Weist said.

The property the company wants to expand its pit onto also neighbors fewer residences than the land it wants to swap, Weist explained.

But Hearing Examiner Lisa Key recommended at the end of March that the zoning swap be denied.

In her report, Key stated that the change “does not appear to be ‘reasonably necessary or appropriate,’ ” that it would benefit one property owner at the expense of others and that it is inconsistent with the Kootenai County Comprehensive Plan’s rural residential designation for the property.

Key also said that the numbers of residences neighboring each 20-acre site wasn’t relevant because those living next to the property already zoned for mining knew that and those next to the agricultural property may have purchased with that zoning designation in mind.

Coeur d’Alene Paving was formed in 2001 and has been operating its asphalt plant in Athol since 2005. The company added its Rathdrum gravel pit last year.

The plan is to close the Athol asphalt plant when the Rathdrum plant opens, Weist said.

Stepping Stones Neighborhood Association Board member Marian Rawson said she has talked to Coeur d’Alene Paving staff about the project, but still hopes the plant isn’t approved.

“They were very nice people. They’re trying to do what’s best for their business,” Rawson said. “The asphalt plant is not a good idea as far as I’m concerned.”

Rawson said rock crushing on Coeur d’Alene Paving’s existing gravel pit can be noisy.

Moving that crushing closer to her home would disturb her and her neighbors, she said, adding that she also worries about the dust.

“This is kind of a scary thing when you think about particles going out into the air,” Rawson said.

Weist said the rock crushing and the asphalt plant will meet or exceed all environmental regulations. Though the mining operation is permitted to come within 35 feet of the aquifer, the company doesn’t intend to dig down any farther than 40 feet – a significant distance from the aquifer, he said.

“We’re trying to be environmentally conscious,” he said.

But Rawson vows to fight Coeur d’Alene Paving’s plans.

“We’re rounding up the troops,” she said.