Welcome

Perhaps you have found this page by doing a web search for Boxley Aggregates or W-L Construction and Paving or maybe The Harvest Foundation who’s contractor as reported on their website “plans to subcontract approximately $2 million in work… to some Martinsville-area contractors, including W-L Construction/APAC Fieldale, Boxley Materials”

http://www.theharvestfoundation.org/news.cfm?ID=265.

Maybe you were looking up VDOT or any of the other customers of these companies. Maybe you read in the Martinsville Bulletin how Boxley received the impressive sounding “Gold Award for Excellence in Community Relations” as well as the “Bronze Award for Environmental Excellence.” and you want to know the other side of that.

Whatever your reason for finding us, please read the information documented on this site and find out what most of the community really thinks.

Contact Us by email: faces@post.com

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More articles are underway & will be posted soon.

PSA Document: “The primary problem with this part of the system is the blasting shaking the lines”

FACES has obtained a Henry County Public Service Authority Complaint Information Sheet dated March 23, 2007. This document raises numerous questions that have been asked in letters that have been mailed to county and federal officials. Of particular interest is the fact documented herein that the blasting at the quarry is the primary problem with the system on this part of Carver Road, which indicates that the effects of quarry operations are known by the county to be impacting homes and businesses off the Boxley site. It is interesting to note that seeking grant money or waiting for a general line replacement – wouldn’t either be at the expense of PSA customers or county taxpayers- are apparently the primary solutions considered in the report. They are certainly the only ones mentioned. Considering that we already pay some of the highest water and sewer rates in this area. It is interesting to know that we could be paying so much in part to fix problems caused by a very profitable private company whom the citizens have repeatedly complained to the county about in vain.

Reference:

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=1297&back=archives

Below are a few direct quotes from the PSA document.

“The primary problem with this part of the system is the blasting shaking the lines and disturbing the buildup resulting in orange water.”

“Amos stated he would check to see if there is any grant money left to replace the line serving this customer.”

“This will continue to be a problem until the service line feeding this customer is replaced”

“Also it should be noted that line trash in the Carver area can be related back to the quarry blasting.”

“Talked with Tim Pace in Engineering he said all the lines in the creek side area will be replace with the future system upgrade.”

“Until then ask Shop to flush lines in this area more frequently.”

At who’s expense is this happening? What has been done to address the true cause of the problem that is documented here?

 

DEQ Issues Warning Letter After Fieldale Site Inspection

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a warning letter on March 11, 2008 as the result of a site visit to W-L Construction & Paving in Fieldale made on March 6, 2008. Documents detailing, “out of compliance “issues have been obtained by FACES under the Freedom of Information Act. The Air Inspection report states, “The purpose of this inspection was to investigate a complaint received on March 4, 2008. The complainant stated that new equipment had been recently installed at the W-L Construction and Paving facility located in Fieldale; and that dark visible emissions were observed coming from the equipment.”

The report goes on to note “it was noted that the equipment in question is owned by Interstate Custom Crushing, LLC and is permitted to operate under Registration No. 61495. However, the facility failed to notify the department and obtain written approval to relocate the portable crusher to this location. The portable crusher was relocated to this site on February 27, 2008.

3 Items were noted as “out of compliance” on the inspection checklist. In addition to relocating the portable crusher in Fieldale without approval as required by Conditions 19 and 20 of the February 9, 2006 permit, there were also air pollution issues. The warning letter states, “At the time of inspection, the plant was crushing Recycled Asphalt Product. The visible emissions observed from the internal combustion engine exhaust were greater than ten percent opacity.” Condition 13 of the February 9, 2006 permit states that visible emissions shall not exceed 10 percent opacity.

A “mountain” of dark material – apparently crushed Recycled Asphalt Product seems to have been made by this improperly located machine as seen in one of the photos below. The plant has been operating as evidence by the photos and by the strong smell of asphalt in the community. Isn’t it good to know the neighbors are watching – very closely – and know how to report things that don’t look quite right? We suspect a lot more questions will be asked soon. Is the operation of this plant enabled by material made by an improperly located machine?

 

Having A Blast

Is this Hiroshima? No, just residents of Carver Road and Fieldale having “peaceful enjoyment” of their neighborhood as seen here courtesy of a “Bronze Award for Environmental Excellence” recipient. That National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association really knows environmental excellence don’t they? Those are power lines the blast is above,

.

Asphalt Plant Pollution Is Big Pollution

W-L Construction & Paving, Inc. operates an asphalt plant in Fieldale in Henry County. Local residents oppose this pollution source because during each year of operation 249,000 pounds of toxic air pollution could be emitted from the smokestack of this plant, plus 695,000 pounds of fugitive emissions.

Virginia’s air pollution permit allows this plant to make 650,000 tons of asphalt per year.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality permit allows the plant in Fieldale to emit these pollutants into the air:

pollutant pounds/year

carbon monoxide 85,400

nitrogen oxides 37,800

sulfur dioxide 57,800

VOC 23,000

formaldehyde 2,000

Pollution data from Virginia DEQ Registration No. 30031, County-Plant No. 089-00009, W-L Construction & Paving, Inc Permit to Construct and Operate issued August 30, 2007

 

For more information contact:

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League

P.O. Box 88

Glendale Springs, NC 28629

(336) 982-2691

BREDL@skybest.com

www.BREDL.org

Locally Contact:

FACES Fieldale And Carver Environmental Society

faces@post.com

All That Glitters Is Not Gold

 

On Sunday, March 16 The Martinsville Bulletin published an article entitled “Boxley Gets Two Awards.” This little apparent attempt at a public relations piece touted their receiving the impressive sounding “Gold Award for Excellence in Community Relations” as well as the “Bronze Award for Environmental Excellence.” No doubt this was intended to plant the idea that this company is doing a wonderful job with the environment as well as having good relations with the community. In the opinion of many of us who live in the surrounding neighborhood, neither is the case.

Our first question was who is the National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association that presented these awards, and what are their objectives? It turns out that they are basically little more than an industry lobbying group that Boxley is a member of. A quick perusal of their web site (http://www.nssga.org/) was very enlightening. For example their Legislative Action Center link off the home page urges members to oppose H.R. 2421 the “Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2007.”  One wonders how an organization handing out awards for “Environmental Excellence” could do such a thing.

Their article went on to state “This action potentially would bring all wet areas at aggregate operations under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA, including active silt ponds and waters created incidental to mining.” This begs the question if they are doing such a wonderful job with the environment why are they worried that the EPA may have some jurisdiction? Wouldn’t the EPA give them an award also since these companies are doing such a wonderful job?

Further along in this article at the Legislative Action Center link, it stated, “The line of reasoning used by Reps. Oberstar, John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.) in support of the legislation is the need to reestablish the original intent of Congress to ‘restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.’” Maybe I missed something because I would think maintaining the integrity of our waters was a good thing. Apparently the NSSGA does not think so since it seems to oppose that legislation, yet they hand out environmental awards to Boxley.

This is in our opinion little more than the neighborhood fox getting an award from other foxes for guarding the henhouse and trying to impress people with it.

 

 

“Those who do not learn from history…

are doomed to repeat it” This happened in 1991. Amazingly the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy found no violation?? What would you have to do to get one… Hiroshima? Nothing but the grace of God is protecting us. Could this not happen again?

A Day In the Park

Here is a view of wind-blown dust from the “Bronze Award for Environmental Excellence” recipient. This view is from the park area. Why is all this allowed so close to homes, schools, and churches? Our guess is $$$.

Where’s 220?

Waldo may not be behind that dust cloud but the 220 Bypass is. So is a “Bronze Award for Environmental Excellence” recipient. Thanks, National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association for your great knowledge of environmentalism.

Here a wind-blown cloud of dust from the quarry hangs over the highway. One has to wonder what effects this has on the surrounding community.