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Re: Community meeting to talk about ballast rock piles in Menlo Park
Author: mook
Date: 03-23-2015 - 15:50
The Bay Area is a PM2.5 nonattainment area for federal standards, and PM10 and PM2.5 for state standards (state standard is currently tighter than federal). The air district could pass rules beyond basic "don't be a nuisance" for dust control related to material storage but has not, at least not as strict as San Joaquin Valley's (where they have a much worse problem). SJV's rules and guidelines provide a number of common-sense approaches to keeping material storage piles from being a problem. If Caltrain would commit to doing those, the NIMBYs would have little to complain about (not that we would give up...).
Have any of the NIMBYs filed complaints with the air district? That's the first step if they want to actually do anything more than make noise. Some evidence of a problem is also needed if the complaint is to go anywhere.
Ballast rock, if my understanding of its use is correct, should have few fines - it should be clean to allow water to penetrate easily. That simple characteristic of the material should minimize dust problems to start with. Of course, NIMBYs are fairly resistant to facts and common sense. In any case, Evil Thomas etc etc.
Have any of the NIMBYs filed complaints with the air district? That's the first step if they want to actually do anything more than make noise. Some evidence of a problem is also needed if the complaint is to go anywhere.
Ballast rock, if my understanding of its use is correct, should have few fines - it should be clean to allow water to penetrate easily. That simple characteristic of the material should minimize dust problems to start with. Of course, NIMBYs are fairly resistant to facts and common sense. In any case, Evil Thomas etc etc.
