How Does an Asphalt Plant in Petaluma Benefit the Environment?
Greenhouse gas (GHG) is a major contributor to Global Warming. Reducing GHG emissions is the stated environmental priority of federal, state and county efforts. Large trucks carrying asphalt are diesel powered and emit GHG in the environment. Simply put, reduce the number of diesel trucks on the road and GHG emissions are reduced.
Petaluma has had the benefit of a Dutra Materials asphalt plant serving the needs of southern Sonoma County for over 20 years. Without the asphalt plant in Petaluma, the nearest plants are in Santa Rosa and Vallejo. And the source of aggregate rock needed to make the asphalt in Santa Rosa is Vallejo.
Having a local source of asphalt and aggregate in southern Sonoma County reduces GHG emissions by eliminating the need to truck aggregate and asphalt from Santa Rosa or Vallejo which keeps hundreds of trucks per day off of Highway 101 and Highway 116.
In addition, the barging operations will reduce traffic and GHG emissions by removing over 80 trucks per day—which equates to over 21,000 trucks per year otherwise needed to deliver material to the project—from Highway 101.
The majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the project comes from diesel emissions from trucks and barges. While the plant will generate GHG from truck and barge operations, the impacts to air quality without the plant are significantly higher.
Environmental costs of not having an asphalt plant in Petaluma.
If Caltrans needed 100,000 tons of asphalt for the Highway 101 widening project between Petaluma and Novato, the following would be the GHG generated by proposed plant operations and by no plant, which requires the trucking of material from Santa Rosa and Vallejo:
With Plant: 535 metric tonnes of CO2e per 100,000 tons of asphalt delivered for the widening of Highway 101 between Petaluma and Novato at the county line.
Without Plant: 1331 metric tonnes of CO2e per 100,000 tons of asphalt delivered for the widening of Highway 101 between Petaluma and Novato at the county line.
Graph shows amount of greenhouse gas emissions (in CO2e) per 100,000 tons of asphalt delivered to the county line.
Why does the environment need an asphalt plant in Petaluma?
Asphalt must be delivered hot, shortly after it is produced in order to spread it, roll it, and for the asphalt to properly bond and cure for pavement. Asphalt is a heavy material. Trucking asphalt longer distances increases costs and environmental impacts—including greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion. It is therefore important to have a local source of asphalt for projects like the recently-approved Caltrans Marin-Sonoma Narrows project for widening Highway 101, as well as County and municipal public works projects.
The Petaluma area has had an asphalt plant for more than 20 years. Dutra Materials operated an asphalt plant at their former quarry site on the west side of Highway 101 and for the last three years at a temporary plant and barging offloading facility across the Petaluma River from the Sheraton Hotel. Dutra has operated these facilities in compliance with local agency and Bay Area Air Quality Management District permit requirements and as a good neighbor to residential, commercial and other industrial users.
The new plant at Haystack Landing will enable Dutra Materials to continue serving the needs of southern Sonoma County by replacing these older asphalt, aggregate distribution and barge offloading facilities with state-of-the-art, efficient operations that reduce environmental impacts and enhance esthetics.
Over 80% of the aggregate and asphalt that leaves the Dutra Materials plant will be used for publicly funded road and infrastructure projects either for the County of Sonoma, the City of Petaluma, Caltrans or other government agencies.
Additional Environmental Enhancement & Petaluma River Dredging
- Site dedicates and enhances 19 acres of wetlands habitat (50% of site)
- Continues historic riverfront industrial uses and provides future river traffic needed to ensure continued funding by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Petaluma River
- Provides local barged source of rock in case of earthquakes or other natural disasters for road or levee repairs
