Aug. 03, 2022: The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League has released a report which shows that hazardous air quality during the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire was downplayed.

Jun. 06, 2022: The Chemours facility has caused massive pollution in the Cape Fear region and the pollution is ongoing. Thousands of people have been impacted.

Sep. 22, 2021: The Burlington North draft permit made available for public comment on the NC DAQ website contained numerous errors and must be denied. These errors include duplicate numbering of conditions and an exclusion of a referenced condition. In addition, there are several issues with the air modeling which was completed to demonstrate compliance with criteria and hazardous air pollutant standards. Revised air modeling analysis and a revised draft permit must be posted.

The Prospect Hill Quarry Distribution Center needs revised air modeling analysis including cumulative impacts from the nearby already permitted Carolina Sunrock facility on Wrenn Road. Until the cumulative impacts are considered, this permit must be denied.

Mar. 03, 2021: This facility will significantly impact the ambient air quality of the surrounding community affecting public health. We are respectfully requesting that NCDAQ require AERMOD air modeling for ITD at least for the criteria pollutant of NO2. Our air modeling results indicate that the ITD facility has a high probability of exceeding the NAAQS ambient air quality 1-hr standard for NO2 - especially when adding the background concentration.

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