SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — Residents living near the intersection of Pete Domenici Highway and McNutt Road in Sunland Park are concerned about a proposed concrete batch plant expected to be built close to their homes.
MTI has proposed building the plant at 6050 McNutt Road. However, people living nearby say they are worried about potential health impacts tied to air pollution. Pat Freddi, who lives in the neighborhood across from the proposed site, is among the residents voicing concerns,
First of all, I didn’t know anything about it. I think it is important to share that kind of information with the community that is going to be affected by it, which would be us here at Valencia. We want to know what’s going on in our neighborhood. We wouldn’t like someone taking over without telling us what’s going on.
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KFOX14/CBS4 spoke to Victor Waters, Chief Medical Officer at University Medical Center of El Paso, who told us how the plant could impact people’s health.
“A plant like that could expose populations to dust particles, and it can impact people who have underlying medical conditions like lung disease, chronic lung disease, and asthma. And so those are the usual concerns,” Waters said.
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Sunland Park City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tempore Raul T. Telles Jr. told us he shares residents’ concerns about the proposal.
“The idea is to incorporate a light industrial company that is going to produce particles in the air. There are concerns for the elderly; there are concerns for nearby schools, for our children, for our families,” Telles said.
After multiple attempts, MTI, the company that proposed the project to build a concrete batch plant, did not respond to our emails or calls seeking comment about the project.
KFOX14/CBS4 reached out to the New Mexico Environmental Department for comment. NMED said it is reviewing the application, adding that plants such as these are required to be at least one-quarter mile away from homes, office buildings, schools and even parks.
Below is NMED’s full statement:
NMED has received a permit application for the facility. NMED is reviewing the application under all requirements for a concrete batch plant facility. With regard to location, NMED reviews the latitude and longitude coordinates at the center of the facility’s area of operations, land status (for example, private, state, federal, Tribal, etc.), and direction and distance from the perimeter of the facility to the nearest occupied structure, amongst other items. The perimeter of the facility’s area of operations is required to be at least one-quarter mile from an existing state park, recreation area, school, private residence, office building, or other occupied structure.
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Source: kfoxtv.com
