Bristow residents speak out against proposed asphalt plants

It seems like every one or two years, groups of local residents unite to fight a particular commercial development that they say will be detrimental to the community.

Recent examples include the Nokesville quarry and 17-story Dominion power lines. Now, proposed asphalt plants recently recommended to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors by Planning Commission has Bristow residents upset that possible health, environmental and transportation concerns may be overlooked to allow construction of the facility.

Company executives from Finley Asphalt and Sealing want to build a hot mix asphalt facility on an 8.8-acre parcel at 9514 Hornbaker Road on the west end of Manassas near the Broad Run Industrial Park at Innovation. Finley has already purchased the land and its facility would be used to provide pavement throughout the county. GRR Land of Virginia, LLC is another company interested in establishing a nearby asphalt plant.

The BOCS indefinitely deferred a decision on the Finley asphalt plant last Tuesday, but a hearing on the GRR plant is scheduled for June 23.

Starting early last month, Victory Lakes resident Alexander Kot began researching the Finley and GRR proposals and found several items of information he did not like, including that their locations would be within a mile from his children's school, Victory Lake Elementary School.

So he launched a Web site called Bristow Opposition with the hopes that his fellow community residents would join with him in opposing the construction of the facility.

On that end, Kot succeeded. About 200 people from around the greater Bristow community, particularly residents from Victory Lakes, Saybrooke and Braemar, gathered at Old Dominion Baptist Church last Wednesday night to listen to a presentation from Kot and several professional experts ranging such as a land conservationist, doctor, editor and business owner.

"People [are] angry and people [are] saying, 'Is it too late? Is it too late?' And I'm trying to change that perception, that it's not too late and that the vote hasn't been cast yet," said Kot.

One of the most frequently mentioned topics is whether children would be breathing in toxins at Victory Lakes ES.

"A lot of us have moved from Fairfax and other places because we didn't want the congestion," said Braemar resident Kim Creswick. "We wanted the clear air and the parks and the vision that the Board of County Supervisors originally had for this end of the county."

Other common issues regarded:

-an additional 600-700 trips by heavy trucks driving along Hornbaker daily;

-trapping of toxins;

-residential property values decreasing;

-and on-site storage of chemicals.

Finley officials have stated their case on the company Web site with answers to frequently asked questions and a report issued by Cambridge Environmental Inc. regarding environmetal and health concerns.

"It is true that very high concentrations of substances such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and some members of a group of chemicals known as 'volatile organic compounds'... can harm health," stats the report prepared by __. "However, operation of the Finley asphalt mixing facility is expected to result in ambient concentrations of these compounds that are well below levels considered to be hazardous."

The same study stated carbon monoxide emissions would make up 0.02 percent of gas emissions, nitrogen oxides at 0.005 percent and sulfur dioxide and VOCs each making up 0.004 percent, the report stated.

Residents stated they didn't want even scant amounts of those types of emissions in the air.

"Right now, it's real emotional. A lot of people do not want this in their backyard, but we're not quite sure exactly what the ramifications are," said Robert LaBella of Victory Lakes.

Delegate Bob Marshall (R-13th), who represents both the Innovation part of Manassas and all of Bristow in the state legislature, penned an op-ed opposing to the asphalt plants, claiming, "Unlike other economic development projects associated with Innovation, there was no county publicity about the proposed asphalt plant. Furthermore, local homeowners, businesses within a half-mile of the asphalt plant and Manassas City Officials were not notified."

"I can't comment on that. I think in doing the due diligence on this peroprty when it was purchased, it had the zoning..." said Tim Bako, a spokesman for Finley.

His Democratic challenger John Bell of South Riding stated his case against the plant at the June 3 meeting.

"The things that mainly became troubling to me, first, separate from not having a fair public hearing and being rushed through, is the fact that it would involve hazardous chemicals that would need to be studied in the area, very close to neighborhoods and of course very close to an elementary school," said Bell, who questions the need for an asphalt facility in the first place.

Bako stressed that the zoning allows an asphalt facilty in that area of Innovation and noted that there are asphalt plants near expensive homes in the cities of Fairfax and Alexandria.

The Finley facility would ideally be running all day every day, as stated on the company Web site, in order to meet the paving demand requested by VDOT.

According to the Web site Open Secrets, which tracks campaign contributions to politicians, the Manassas-based Finley has donated $16,000 to Prince William Board of County Supervisors chairman Corey Stewart (R-At large). Of that money, Finley donated $1,000 on May 1 of this year and $5,000 in September 2007 while a separate $10,000 donation was made last year for Stewart's eventually aborted run for lieutenant governor.

Finley has not made monetary campaign donations to anyone else running for office since 2007, according to the site.

Stewart has not said how he plans to vote on authorizing the special use permit (SUP) but stated he has reservations about supporting the construction of asphalt plants near a school sites.

"As the parent of two boys who attend elementary school here in Prince William County I understand why you have concerns about the proximity of the proposed asphalt plant and I share the same concerns," he wrote.