A message from our Lincoln County Sheriff

Help with Weatherization of your home

NM Energy$mart Weatherization Program The NM Energy$mart Weatherization Program provides energy-saving retrofits and home modifications at no charge to eligible homeowners and renters. Click here for more info. https://housingnm.org/home-repair-and-energy-efficiency/energymart-weatherization-assistance Blogger Note - speculation and FYI: Maybe weatherization will help keep the dust from the Concrete Batch Plant from infiltrating your living quarters? Also found out N95 is the required type of mask to keep Crystallin Silica from penetrating your lungs.

Tree Seedlings available

Ordering for seedlings from the NM Forestry Division Conservation seedling program for Spring 2022 began December 6, 2021, and orders will be accepted through April 15, 2022.

Distribution of seedlings begins March 7, 2022. The last day of distribution will be on April 22, 2022.

You may order on-line at: https://www.emnrd.nm.gov/sfd/seedlings/. You may mail in an order form with payment (order forms can be downloaded and printed from the website, call 505-660-0412 if you don’t have computer access to print a form).

Since many species are limited in availability it is recommended you order on-line if possible. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover for on-line orders and check for mail orders.

The cost of seedlings is $80.00 per 49 small container seedlings and $57.00 per 20 large container seedlings (limited species availability for large container) See website for availability. Also, please note there is a $5.00 handling fee and for each lot of seedlings ordered that are shipped UPS there is a $10.00 shipping fee.

Concrete Batch Plant Update

Alto Coalition for Environmental Preservation (AltoCEP) is trying several methods to shut down the building of the proposed plant.

There is the Multiple-Plaintiff Private Nuisance Lawsuit, which you can still join as a plaintiff (see website AltoCEP.org)

On Dec 15, 2021, a motion to dismiss the NMED Air Quality application based on lack of notice to all property owners within 1.5 miles was heard. The motion was denied.

Deed Restriction violation to be taken to court by property owners in the same subdivision to try to stop the building of the plant.

The NMED Air Quality Public Hearing on the Roper's application is scheduled Feb. 9, 10 & 11. Times and local location of hearing as yet to be announced. Plan to attend. Make your voice heard. Our letters of opposition written to NMED-Air Quality forced the NMED to have a public hearing.

Please donate on the website AltoCEP.ORG through Go Fund Me or by paypal or if you prefer to pay by check, send check to: Phyllis Bewley, CPA, PO Box 123, Ruidoso, NM, 88355-0123 Attn: ROSPOA CBP. In check memo put: Concrete Batch Plant Legal Defense and make your check or money order payable to “ROSPOA”. The Ranches of Sonterra Property Owners Association has established a separate, dedicated account to receive donations and pay the fees.

If all of us with a house in the 88312 zipcode donated $10, $15, $20 each month until we win, AltoCEP will have the money necessary to fight the building of this plant. It will pay the environmental lawyer hired plus any experts needed to gather data and to give testimony at the public hearing. Any monies not used will be available to fight any future heavy industry projects that try to come into this corridor. There is no county ordinance to keep heavy industry out. Hence the name of the group- Alto Coalition for Environmental Preservation instead of specific to this particular fight: Alto Coalition to Stop Concrete Batch Plant.

Please write your representatives. Most of the US and State representatives/senators have on their website a form to email them directly. Continue to write the Lincoln County Commissioners.

A letter of opposition and solidarity sent to the New Mexico Environmental Department (address below) would be extraordinarily helpful in preventing this travesty.”

Permit Programs Manager,

Deepika Saikrishanan

New Mexico Environmental Department

Air Quality Bureau

525 Camino de los Marques, Suite 1

Santa Fe, NM 87505—1816

We have 200 homes & businesses in Sun Valley that will be directly impacted by the concrete batch plant. Here's a map so you can see how close we are to the proposed Concrete Batch Plant

We must fight this Concrete Batch Plant for so many reasons:

Air Pollution (see previous post on Crystalline Silica & also new info on wind below)

Noise pollution

Night Lights - Reduced visibility of stars and harmful to bats from Ft Stanton Cave (and elsewhere)

Run off water pollution from cleaning of cement trucks every day will infiltrate Little Creek, Bonito River, private wells and Snowy River Cave National Area formations

Heavy Truck Traffic

Road condition deterioration

Endangerment to all wildlife

Excessive water withdrawal from the Hondo Watershed - a closed basin

Less that 1 mile from a Wilderness Area

Property Values will drastically reduce. Realtors predict up to 50% drop in value

Billy the Kid SCENIC Byway, no longer scenic

Don't forget the public meeting of AltoCEP Wednesday, Dec 15 @ 6:30 pm at Alto Lakes G&CC Pavillion

The Alto CEP will be hosting a Public Meeting on Wednesday, December 15 at 6:30 PM. Alto Golf and Country Club will graciously provide our venue in their Pavilion. Everyone is invited!

We will announce several recent legal notifications concerning the Roper Cement Batch Plant and reveal updated information pertinent to all local residents who are opposed to the construction of this concrete plant.

Our community is supporting our opposition efforts in many valuable ways; donating auction items and services, as well as money to help cover ongoing legal fees, however, we continue to request donations and will host another silent auction during our upcoming meetings.

Please plan on joining our Coalition next Wednesday at Alto, at 6:30 PM.

You may be a lucky winner of a wonderful locally donated gift. And, you will be contributing to a valuable, life enriching, healthful effort to save our beautiful residential community.

Placing Christmas wreaths on 400 graves on Saturday, December 18th at 9:00 a.m.

The Wreath Across America project led locally by the Spencer ushers, Legion Riders Chapter 20, and personnel from Fort Stanton Veteran’s Cemetery will be laying wreaths on 400 graves on Saturday, December 18th at 9:00 a.m.

Come and join us for the ceremony and the wreath laying. It is a beautiful way to celebrate the veterans who are interned at Fort Stanton.

The cemetery is located at 1398 Hwy 220 that can be reached by turning left off Airport Rd. or through Capitan on Hwy 48 to 380 to 220. It is near Ft. Stanton.

Wreaths will be placed regardless of the weather, so be sure to check the conditions at Ft. Stanton and come appropriately dressed. Individuals, families, and groups are all welcome.

Public Meeting for Alto CEP Wed. Dec 15 at 6:30 pm at Alto Lakes Golf & Country Club Pavillion

Announcements to stay up-to-date and what we all can do to help.

PLUS to help raise money to fight the Cement Batch Plant:

Silent Auction Holiday gift tables. Perfect for some last minute gift items

Please help support this effort to protect our community and beautiful mountain valley AND specifically protect our mountain air being degraded with Crystalline Silica. If you don't know what Crystalline Silica is, go to Nov 26 blog post titled: Health Effects of Respirable Crystalline Silic OR look it up the internet. It is some nasty stuff that will affect all of our breathing capabilities, but especially leads to a variety of serious health problems particularly in children and other vulnerable populations, such as people (and animals) with any kind of respiratory problem. Crystalline Silica dust is so small that it can stay in the air for up to 12 days. Sometimes when we don't see dust, there are still particles circulating! Wind will push it beyond what is considered to be a safe zone. Here's what the blogger thinks: when Covid 19 goes away - we'll still be wearing masks to protect ourselves, in our homes and outside!

IF you haven't purchased all your presents - consider buying local. Support local artists & ENMU-Ruidoso

Alto residents ask court to label proposed concrete plant a nuisance in lawsuit

Reyes Mata Special to the Ruidoso News

Roper Construction Inc. owns and operates this concrete plant in Carrizozo, New Mexico, which lies yards from the home of Alice Stokes. Stokes said her home is often filled with fine dust, a result of operations at the plant.

ALTO, N.M. — The group of Alto neighbors resisting a proposed concrete plant have filed a lawsuit to block the industrial operation from breaking ground in their scenic mountain community.

“We are now in full-steam ahead for battle,” said Ellen Hightower, a resident of Alto who lives a quarter of a mile from the proposed concrete batch plant. “I think we are moving forward really well on this.”

The lawsuit is asking that the court declare the proposed concrete batch plant — owned by Roper Construction, Inc. of Carrizozo — to be a “private nuisance” that damages the property values of area homeowners. The suit also asks the court for “an award of damages … in an amount sufficient to compensate each Plaintiff for diminution in value of their property” if the concrete plant opens, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit, which names about 50 Alto homeowners as plaintiffs, lists Roper Construction Inc. as the defendant and was filed Nov. 10 at the 12th District Court in Lincoln County.

“[T]he proposed industrial plant would fundamentally alter the scenic, residential and rural nature of the locality and deprive the Plaintiffs of the quiet use and enjoyment of their respective, unique real properties,” the lawsuit against the construction company states.

Ryan Roper, the owner of Roper Construction Inc., declined to comment on the case.

In previous statements to the Ruidoso News, Roper said he believes in the American free market, and was trying to apply the “highest and best use” of the unincorporated land he owns. Roper said he was mindful about following all Lincoln County laws and regulations.

Alto residents organize opposition to proposed concrete batch plant. Lincoln County Commission passes resolution backing them.

"We did our due diligence before this all started, so we could make sure we were doing everything within the law and restrictions. We believe we are doing everything by the law and by the code and going through the correct procedures to do that," Roper said in late October.

Roper Construction Inc. operates a concrete plant near Carrizozo, New Mexico. From the front of Philip Humphrey's mobile home, the plant lies just in view.

The standoff between Roper and the neighbors — who organized themselves into the Alto Coalition for Environmental Preservation (AltoCEP) to keep the proposed concrete batch plant out of Alto — began in early June with a small notice posted in front of a property owned by Roper on New Mexico Highway 220.

The posting was a public notice regarding the proposed concrete batch plant opening on that property, which sits near the intersection of N.M. Highway 48 and N.M. Highway 220 in Lincoln County.

From that point, a grassroots effort among neighbors gained steam, and communication between AltoCEP, the New Mexico Environment Department, state and county officials began.

“Initially several different neighborhood groups and individuals were doing the research and finding out stuff and starting petitions, trying to figure out a way to get attention to stop this,” said Craig Cathey, who lives on Legacy Lane near the proposed plant. “We wanted to see about getting a public hearing before it became a done deal."

Kaitlyn O’Brien, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Environmental Department, said the NMED requested a “New Source Review Construction Permit” for Roper’s concrete batch plant, but that its acceptance or rejection is delayed.

“Normally this type of permit must be issued within 120 days of receiving a complete application, but because this permit is going to a public hearing, permit issuance or denial is delayed until after the hearing,” she said in an email.

The public hearing is still several months away, according to the NMED.

Until then, the AltoCEP has turned to the Lincoln County Board of County Commissioners for assistance in resolving the issue.

In October, Commissioners considered a resolution stating that the concrete plant “if constructed along N.M. Highway 220 could be considered a nuisance to surrounding property owners.” The October resolution passed on a 3 to 2 vote in favor. Commissioner Todd Proctor and Commissioner Elaine Allen voted against the resolution.

In November Commissioners discussed whether regulations should be created to intercede in situations like the concrete plant in Alto’s residential area. The discussion led to an impasse that will be visited again in the next commissioners meeting, according to Lincoln County Commissioner Tom Stewart.

At the upcoming Dec. 21 meeting, Commissioners will discuss “perhaps going to the electorate to see if the citizens want us to zone the county,” Stewart said, and added that he agreed that Roper’s concrete batch plant “may be a public nuisance” in Alto.

“But it's not built yet,” he said. “That’s a very important distinction. We can't judge that it's going to be a public nuisance until it's built and we see what kind of steps you take to prevent it from being a public nuisance.”

Proctor said the issue, for him, is primarily about protecting the private property rights of Lincoln County residents.

“Why is the County Commission going to stick its neck out and infringe on people's rights for their private property? I am representing a whole different area of people that do not want their private property rights invaded,” he said.

During a recent meeting of the AltoCEP, neighbor Dave Edler told the group that he’s worked 20 years at a half dozen concrete plants.

“So I've done just about everything at these plants,” he said. “I’ve driven every truck, seen it all. And all concrete plants run the same.”

Edler shared with the group the typical day of a concrete batch plant, from the 3 a.m. arrival of “the batch man … the guy who pushes all the buttons, runs all the trucks, turns on all the lights” to the hundreds of gallons of water — with retardant and antifreeze additives — dumped into ground pits after cleaning trucks, bins and equipment.

“We have deer and elk come right to our back porch. My wife has half of them named,” he said. “At the end of the day, if that property does not have a huge elk fence around it, there's going to be wildlife drinking that.”

Edler described conveyers, blast hoses, the revving diesel-powered trucks as fixtures of those type of facilities.

“An 80,000-pound truck, the tractor trailer, comes in with a dry cement in the trailer, and there's a gas motor in the back of the cement truck,” he said. “And that has to start up -- it's an air pressure system -- that is hooked up with hoses, and it blows up to the top of the tank,” he said, describing the billows of dry cement as being “like talcum powder.”

“If it gets on your hands you can't just blow it off you actually have to wipe it off. It sticks on whatever it gets to.” Swept up in the wind, the airborne concrete dust, he said means that “your days of sleeping with the windows open, sitting and enjoying coffee on your porch, they will not be the same.”

Alice Stokes said she’s currently living exactly that scenario.

“Oh I know all about that, believe me,” said Stokes, whose 4 ½ acre property abuts Roper’s current concrete plant in Carrizozo. She was standing on her porch last week, looking out to Roper’s multi-story cement plant next to her land. “The whole place is dirty. They have that dirt there and it blows right on here, you can't even come outside. It's terrible. Sometimes it's no visibility,” she said.

“Even my dog coughs all the time,” Stokes said. “It's all that dust floating everywhere. Every time I empty my vacuum cleaner it has that real fine powder, that gray powder,” she said. “They also ruined my view of these mountains,” she said, pointing to the direction of the high Sacramento ridges obscured in the distance.

On the opposite side of the Carrizozo concrete plant, was a mobile home owned by Bob Carrisco, a Carrizozo resident since 2008. He said he has not noticed any dust in his home from the concrete batch plant, but said there was a noise issue.

“There is a hum that comes from there. I’m not sure what decibel level. But I have to get used to it because I know it’s not going away,” he said. “It’s a slight nuisance, but it doesn’t affect my quality of life. Those are the pros and cons.”

On the third side of the plant, closest to the highway, 43-year-old Philip Humphries was making cookies in his mobile home, and said he had no complaints about the concrete plant.

“None at all,” he said. “I hear them in the morning, they start real early but that's their trucks moving around back over there. Sometimes late in the afternoon when they park their trucks, but that's it.”

No dust and no excessive noise, he said.

Steve Fortelny, another neighbor of Roper’s concrete plant in Carrizozo, said he lost “an unbelievable view of the mountain” when the concrete plant was constructed, and “probably lowered my property value by around $20,000,” he said.

“But it is a free enterprise world, and he's a businessman, and he did it legally. So there it is. Some win, some lose,” said Fortelny, adding that Roper was “an entrepreneur and a damn good businessman."

Roper, said Fortelny, “grew up in a society where a person can succeed if he has motivation and drive.”

“So I don't fault him for that. I'm on the losing end of this stick, but I don't fault him for it. He went through the gate. Not many people do that,” said Fortelny, who originally tried to block Roper from building his concrete plant near his property.

“I hate the sight of that thing,” he said about the towering concrete plant. “But I’m trying to get used to it.”

Getting accustomed to life near a concrete batch plant is not something that the AltoCEP group is ready to accept.

Cathey said he has no intention of easing his opposition to the concrete plant. His home and the homes of his friends, their health — physical and emotional — are threatened by Roper and the incursion of his industrial plant into their neighborhood, he said.

“It's worth fighting, ‘til the death. And if he has more money than I do, then we'll figure that out in court. If we lose this attempt that we are making now to prevent him — to bring him to his senses as I see it — that doesn't stop my opposition,” said Cathey, who says his only option is to move if the concrete plant is constructed.

Until then, he said, “I'll drag his butt into court every time he turns around. As a reasonable businessman, he needs to understand that's what he's facing.”

Reyes Mata III is a freelance journalist who writes about the issues of the U.S.-Mexico border. Born and raised in El Paso, he is a graduate of New Mexico State University. His email address is rmataonline@gmail.com. Story ideas are always welcomed.

One day with rain in November

Fire Danger Rating: Moderate. It is VERY dry and many people have tall grass/weeds in yards from the rains this Summer. Protect your home and other's homes by chopping down those tall, dry grasses!

Fire Restrictions: There are no fire restrictions on the Lincoln National Forest at this time.

View maps and information for Forest Orders, Closures, Fire Restrictions, Large Active Fires.

Current Fire Danger Rating

Smokey Bear Ranger District: Moderate

Sacramento Ranger District: Moderate

Guadalupe Ranger District: Moderate

Wildfires on the Lincoln National Forest

Cathey Vista 4 Fire, Sacramento Ranger DistrictCathey Vista 4 Fire Update

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 BY LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST 0 COMMENTS

Location: Near Cathy Vista and Cathey Canyon Trail (T105A) on the Sacramento Ranger District, Lincoln National Forest

Size: 0.75 acres

Cause: Unknown

Update: Firefighters have stopped forward progress of the Cathey Vista 4 Fire, previously called the Cathy Vista Fire. The fire is burning in dead and down woody debris and is causing dead, but still standing trees, commonly known as snag trees, to fall. Crews will continue to work tonight and tomorrow to construct control lines around the perimeter of the fire. Cathey Vista and the Cathey Canyon Trailhead will be closed to the public while firefighters work in the area. Smoke will be visible along the Sunspot Highway.

Final Update: Cathey Vista 4 Fire Update 11/24/21

NOVEMBER 24, 2021 BY LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST 0 COMMENTS

This will be the last post of the Cathey Vista 4 Fire unless there is a significant change.

Size: 0.75 acres

Cause: Human

Update: Firefighters were able to built fire line around the perimeter of the 0.75-acres fire. The fire received light precipitation this morning. Crews will continue to monitor the fire over the coming days. Cathey Vista and the Cathey Canyon Trailhead continue to be closed for public safety and to allow for firefighters to work in the area.

POSTPONED: Lincoln National Forest, Prescribed Burn Planned in the 16 Springs Area, Sacramento Ranger District

NOVEMBER 30, 2021 BY LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST 0 COMMENTS

UPDATE: 11/30/2021 – The 16 Springs Prescribed Burn has been postponed.

CLOUDCROFT, NM – 11/29/20: The Sacramento Ranger District plans to begin prescribed burning in the 16 Springs area approximately 3 miles north of Mayhill, NM beginning the last week in November and continuing throughout the winter and spring as conditions allow. Smoke from the prescribed burn is expected to travel northeast towards Roswell but may impact nearby homes.

Why We Prescribe Burn

A healthy forest is a resilient forest that undergoes fire regularly, just as it has for thousands of years.

“We are centered on long-term forest health, which includes reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape,” said Fire Management Officer Caleb Finch.

This past summer, the country saw the devastating effects of intense wildfires. Thousands of acres burned, and poor air quality permeated much of the western United States on and off. Prescribed fire is used to reduce risks associated with uncharacteristic wildfires that can pose significant threats to public health and safety.

How are Prescribed Burns Conducted

Before beginning a prescribed fire, fire managers evaluate local weather patterns, temperatures, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, fuel moistures, and smoke ventilation. Daily ignitions will only occur when environmental factors align with the required prescription that will achieve desired results and meet land management objectives. Prescribed fires are conducted in a controlled environment with experienced fire managers on-site carefully implementing the ignition and holding functions on the fire.

Air Quality: Prescribed Fires vs. Wildfires

Officials recognize that impacts to air quality during a prescribed burn may be unpleasant at times. However, prescribed burns significantly reduce the amount and duration of smoke more effectively than in an uncontrolled wildfire situation. Additionally, fire managers will actively monitor atmospheric conditions daily and use strategies to minimize smoke impacts to rural developed areas.

Safety

During operations, fire personnel and vehicles working in these vicinities may be visible to the public. Motorists are reminded to slow down and drive with heightened caution when passing through active project areas.

Health Effects of Respirable Crystalline Silica. Let's ask -- Does this belong in our mountain air?

Health Effects of Respirable Crystalline Silica

https://altocep.org/

November 2, 2021

This post focuses on release of respirable crystalline silica by concrete batch plants. It does not purport to be a comprehensive discussion of all the activities which may produce silica dust.

Silica dust is released during the manufacture of concrete. Crystalline Silica dust is a known carcinogen. The dust particles are very small (1/100 the size of a grain of sand) which allows them to bypass the body’s defenses against dust and similar inhalants and penetrate to the deepest recesses of lungs.

Silicosis is the principle disease resulting from prolonged exposure to silica dust. The NIOSH CDC states: “Silicosis, an irreversible but preventable lung disease, is caused by inhalation of respirable silica dust. Work exposures to silica dust also cause other serious diseases, including lung cancer.“

The problem I have with the above statement is that an insignificant (my word) number of studies of non-occupational exposure to silica dust have been conducted. This is important because there are very limited data about what might be acceptable exposure limits and the effects of placing concrete batch plants near residential neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, and similar. There is an increasing number of Concrete Batch Plants near the above mentioned areas. It is my opinion these are being allowed by governing bodies because of the lack of information (studies) showing the hazards they pose to the general population.

To become more informed about the detrimental effects of silica dust and the symptoms of silicosis, I found this article https://amienvironmental.com/health-effects-silica-exposure/ to be a good place to start. I hope it helps inform and maybe even alarm you. Here's the article refered to above. The diagrams did not copy, so you will need to go to the article at https://amienvironmental.com/health-effects-silica-exposure/ to see.

AMI ENVIRONAMENTAL

Silica Exposure Health Effects & Risks

August 23, 2017 by Dan Taylor

We know that silica exposure is bad. It can lead to serious, sometimes fatal, health problems. And exposure is more common than you’d think. Learn about respirable silica dust, exposure risks and the health effects of silica exposure.

What is Crystalline Silica? Crystalline silica is a mineral that is part of natural materials like sand, soil, stone and mineral ores. It can also be used to manufacture products like concrete, bricks, mortar, artificial stone, pottery, ceramics and glass. Respirable crystalline silica is most commonly found in a range of construction and industrial settings, such as metal work, abrasive blasting and hydraulic fracking.

Respirable Crystalline Silica: Crystalline silica becomes dangerous when it is broken down into tiny particles that you can breathe in (aka “respirable crystalline silica”). These particles are very, very small and measure less than 10 micrometers in diameter. That’s about 100 times smaller than regular sand.

Respirable crystalline silica dust particles measure less than 10 micrometers in diameter— about 100 times smaller than a grain of sand.

Where can you be exposed to respirable crystalline silica? Respirable silica is produced when silica-containing materials are cut, drilled or ground. These types of activities are commonplace on construction sites during demolition, new construction and renovation projects, and emergency repairs.

Common silica-producing activities that occur in the construction industry include:

Crushing, drilling and jackhammering rock and concrete.

Masonry and concrete work on buildings or roads

Abrasive blasting.

Demolition activities

Cutting, sawing or sweeping silica-containing products.

Silica exposure is also common in industrial and manufacturing settings, such as:

Quarry work, mining and tunneling.

Cement and asphalt pavement manufacturing.

Production of construction materials like granite, marble, stucco, plaster, drywall, bricks, tiles, joint sealants, cement roof tiles.

Welding and metal work.

Oil and gas operations, including hydraulic fracking.

Manufacture of glasses, plates and cosmetics.

Health effects of silica exposure: A health hazard is created when workers are exposed to crystalline silica dust, especially when it’s inhaled. Respirable silica dust particles are small enough to travel deep into your lungs. These particles scratch delicate tissues in your respiratory system, causing damage that impairs your ability to breathe and deliver oxygen to your blood stream.

“Silicosis,” the condition most commonly tied to silica exposure, develops after exposure to silica over a period of time. It can develop any time from a few weeks after high-level exposure, to ten years after exposure.

The effects of silica exposure can be debilitating. To date, silica has been classified as a human lung carcinogen and is known to cause lung cancer, kidney disease and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Exposure also increases the risk of occupational asthma, tuberculosis, renal disease, heart disease and a rare skin and tissue disease called Scleroderma. Silicosis victims can die from the disease; either directly due to lung damage, or indirectly by advancing related health issues.

How respirable silica dust affects the lungs: Most particles are too large to travel far into the lungs. The body can protect itself with coughing or mucous. But respirable silica dust is dangerous because the particles are small enough to travel all the way to the bottom of the lungs.

Respirable silica dust damages the alveolar sacs at the bottom of the lungs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with the blood stream. The particles can also become lodged in the sacs, which sets off an inflammatory response. Fibrosis and scarring will form around the dust particles, leading to further obstruction of the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange process. The scarring and stiffening of lung tissues over time makes it very difficult to breathe.

Types of Silicosis. There are three types of silicosis:

Chronic Silicosis: Develops 10 or more years after low-level exposure. Considerable scarring and upper lung symptoms are common.

Accelerated Silicosis: Develops within 10 years after being exposed to high levels of respirable silica.

Acute Silicosis: Occurs within a few weeks or years, usually after high-level exposure to respirable silica. Symptoms include fatigue, weight loss and cough.

Symptoms of silicosis:

Silicosis symptoms can progress over time. Initially, sufferers might experience a severe cough, weight loss, fever, fatigue, chest pains or bluish skin (cyanosis). Shortness of breath is also very common, especially in chronic cases.

Acute silicosis symptoms can appear quickly—even within a few weeks—as the lungs become inflamed and fill with liquid. Accelerated and chronic silicosis will also cause swelling of the lungs and chest lymph nodes, but over a longer period of time.

Fund Raiser for the Alto CEP

IF unable to attend (& have lots of fun) please consider donating to this cause to save our community and our wonderful way of life at https://www.gofundme.com/f/no-concrete-batch-plant-in-alto-new-mexico

Wreathes Across America fund raiser

The FORT STANTON CEMETERY WREATHS LAYING CEREMONY WILL TAKE PLACE THIS YEAR.

For the last several years people in our community have donated money for the purchase of wreaths to be laid on the graves of veterans at the Fort Stanton Veterans Cemetery. This has been followed by volunteers coming together to lay the wreaths on the graves. These civic minded people led by Cecile Kinnan, the Spencer Theater ushers, the Fort Stanton Cemetery personnel and the Ruidoso Noon Lions Club are again asking for community help to purchase the wreaths and to lay them on the graves on Saturday December 18th at 9:00 a.m. Veterans have been interred at the Fort Stanton Cemetery for 117 years. It is an honor to recognize those who have given so much to our country. This is an active cemetery, so the number of wreaths needed for this project increases each year. Many cemeteries throughout the nation allow charitable organizations to take on this project as a fund raiser. The result is only those graves with purchased wreaths are decorated. It has been the successful goal of the volunteers for the Fort Stanton Veterans Cemetery wreath project to place a wreath on each veteran’s grave. This year 400 wreaths are needed.

This project is part of the “Wreaths Across America” program that was started in 1992 by Morrill Worcester when he placed wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery. He continued to quietly practice this tradition until 2005, when a picture of the wreaths on the graves went public. The result was volunteers stepping forward to honor veterans at other military cemeteries. The project reached Lincoln County, and volunteers from as far away as El Paso have joined local people yearly in placing the wreaths on the graves.

According to the “Wreaths Across America” website: “In 2008, over 300 locations held wreath-laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries. Over 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves. Over 60,000 volunteers participated. And that year, December 13, 2008 was unanimously voted by the US Congress as ‘Wreaths Across America Day’.”

“In 2014, ‘Wreaths Across America’ and its national network of volunteers laid over 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and beyond, including ceremonies at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as well as Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and the sites of the September 11 tragedies.” Lincoln County is part of this great national project, and we need the support of its people to continue.

The funds must be gathered by November 27, 2021 to meet the deadline for ordering. Tax deductible checks can be made out to Ruidoso Noon Lions Club and mailed to PO Box 1130, Ruidoso, NM 88355, Atten: Treasurer Don Fowler. As little as $15 would allow you to adopt one veteran’s grave. Any amount would be appreciated and used solely for the purchase of the wreaths. Please indicate on the check that the funds are for the Fort Stanton Wreaths Across America project.

Individuals who have family members buried in the cemetery may place a wreath on the specific grave.

In addition to the donated wreaths for the Fort Stanton Veterans Cemetery, this year individuals and organizations may also purchase wreaths for veterans’ graves at other cemeteries. It is not possible at this time to recruit enough volunteers to lay wreaths at every cemetery in Lincoln County, so the wreaths for graves not at Fort Stanton must be pre-paid by November 27, 2021, and they must be picked up at Fort Stanton Veterans Cemetery the morning of December 18th. The price for these pre-paid wreaths is the same ($15). Please contact Cecile Kinnan, 336-9157, for a non-Fort Stanton order form.

The hope is that individuals, businesses, civic organizations, and veterans’ groups will step forward to support the purchase of the wreaths.

The requirements set forth by county health officials relating to the COVID-19 pandemic will be closely monitored.

Rainfall in October. Not much - but loved the beautiful days!

Got Electronics you need to dispose? Since Sun Valley Water customers use Green Tree for trash service, we can dispose our electronics for FREE November 6!

Where to go to help and get information on Concrete Batch Plant fight

Contribute towards legal fees at GoFund Me site at

https://www.gofundme.com/f/no-concrete-batch-plant-in-alto-new-mexico?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet

Go often to the Alto CEP website to stay informed

https://altocep.org/

OR stay informed on FaceBook page

altocep.org

Ruidoso News Article October 23, 2021: Alto residents organize opposition to proposed concrete batch plant. Lincoln County Commission passes resolution backing them. Roper Construction Inc. owner Ryan Roper said the concrete batch plant would benefit the developing region.

by Reyes Matta III For the Ruidoso News

Lincoln County Commissioners earlier this month passed a resolution in support of an outspoken group of Alto residents who are trying to stop a concrete plant from opening in their community.

“The proposed use of the property is totally out of character for the area,” said Lincoln County Commissioner Tom Stewart, who voted in favor of the resolution that declared the plans for the concrete plant — filed by Roper Construction, Inc. — to be a possible nuisance to the area. The plant would be located near the intersection of Highway 48 and Highway 220, just north of Ruidoso

“And here we have a national wilderness area that is right about 1.9 kilometers from there, plus we have some very high-end homes,” Stewart said.

The Oct. 19 County Commissioners meeting was attended by more than two dozen members of the Alto Coalition for Environmental Preservation (AltoCEP), which is a group of residents, business owners and property owners who have organized to keep the proposed concrete batch plant out of Alto.

"I want to thank the board for listening to the voices and opinions of your constituents who have expressed concern and opposition to the proposed concrete batch plant," said Mark Severance, chair of AltoCEP. He said his organization represented the wishes of 500 property owners in the affected area, and added that more than 1,200 people have signed an online petition to express their opposition to the concrete plant.

The resolution regarding Roper’s concrete plant that was passed by Lincoln County Commissioners states in part: “The board … finds that the existence of such a potential nuisance would likely result in visual and environmental blight and unhealthy, unsafe and the devaluing conditions.” The concrete plant “if constructed along N.M. Highway 220 could be considered a nuisance to surrounding property owners,” the resolution stated.

Ellen Hightower, assistant chair for AltoCEP who lives nearby the proposed location, told the Commission that she has “been doing a lot of soul-searching and praying about this” and said her conclusion was that she and her husband have an obligation to protect the natural beauty of their land for their children, but that the county commission has a higher obligation.

“It is more about your legacy, about how you are choosing to leave our land in this beautiful pristine area by decisions that you guys make as a county commission,” she said. “It is far greater your legacy with what you ordain in our County that will last for generations.”

Photo of the Hwy 220 corridor at sunrise by local photographer, Mark Stambaugh.

Robert Phillips, an Alto resident, spoke bluntly to the commission.

“Currently I am paying taxes to live in a pristine area,” he said. “I am going to ask for my property to be re-evaluated at a lower rate and I think everybody in that area will too. And the county is going to lose tax money that goes into the budget that you all spend.

“I will be one of the first ones in line asking for a new appraisal if this gets approved.”

Another speaker, Charles Gordon, said he lives less than a mile from the proposed site of the concrete batch plant and was concerned about night pollution.

“I am an astronomer and that's one of the reasons why I decided to live in this area, because it has a good night sky,” he said. “And putting the plant where it is, only about eight-tenths of a mile from my house … that will end up scattering across the sky and it will cause a lot of damage to my astronomy.”

Gordon said he was aware of other amateur astronomers in the area who would also be affected.

The clear night sky, he said, “is a precious resource that we are really lucky to have here. People around the rest of the country are envious of our ability to be able to do astronomy at night,” he said.

Commissioners split on resolution passage. The Resolution passed on a 3 to 2 vote in favor. Commissioner Todd Proctor and Commissioner Elaine Allen voted against the resolution that labelled the proposed plant as a possible nuisance.

Allen did not respond to media inquiries.

Proctor said he voted against the resolution because he did not feel it was the County’s responsibility to enter the fray in what will possibly become a legal issue in the future.

“I don't feel it was our job to get involved in this cat fight,” he said in an interview after the meeting. He also said he was concerned that the owner of the concrete plant — Ryan Roper of Roper Construction Inc. — was in an unfair situation because he had violated no laws and had the right to pursue his interest on his property unfettered.

“Do I feel that the government is overstepping private property bounds? Absolutely I do,” Proctor said. “Here we are, stepping and interfering with somebody’s private property rights and bounds.

"He had no limitations set upon him for what he could do when he purchased the land. No laws were broken."

Proctor added: “The squeakiest wheel does not always get greased. And that's how I voted.”

Ryan Roper, owner of Roper Construction Inc., said he is adjusting to the negative portrayal of his business, and is doing his best to be a lawful, responsible corporate citizen of the area.

“I am surprised by the amount of pushback … there's a lot more than what I expected,” Roper said. He said he believes that the opposition to his proposed plant derives from misinformation spread on social media.

“It’s fueled by a bunch of false statements,” said Roper.

He said he believes the concrete plant will be a positive addition to the area because it will help build infrastructure for the Alto and Ruidoso. His company, he said, would focus on providing local service to the growing Lincoln County.

Born and raised at a family ranch about 18 miles north of Carrizozo, Roper graduated from Carrizozo High School in 2000, attended business school at New Mexico State University and started his company in 2005.

He said he believes in the American free market, and is trying to apply the “highest and best use” of the unincorporated land he owns, and has been mindful about following all laws, he said.

"We did our due diligence before this all started, so we could make sure we were doing everything within the law and restrictions. We believe we are doing everything by the law and by the code and going through the correct procedures to do that," Roper said.

Before Roper Construction Inc. can be approved for an air quality permit, the New Mexico Environment Department must first hold a public hearing, state officials said. That hearing, according to New Mexico Environment Department Air Permit Specialist Deepika Saikrishnan, has not yet been scheduled.

Roper said he has been advised to wait until the air quality permit is approved before beginning construction of the concrete batch plant.

Until then, Alto residents are continuing their push to keep the plant out of their community.

Yvonne Lanelli, a member of the AltoCEP group, said it is a regional interest to keep the concrete plant out of the pristine Ruidoso area.

“This is a huge thing. This impacts not only Ruidoso or Lincoln County but as you know the area is like a playground for southern New Mexico (and) West Texas so the whole issue goes way beyond Lincoln County,” she said.

This article was reported by freelance journalist, Reyes Matta III, for the Ruidoso News. Born and raised in El Paso, he is a graduate of New Mexico State University. His email address is rmataonline@gmail.com. Story ideas are always welcomed.

County Commissioners Meeting report from Galen Farrington, Alto CEP Communications chair

County Commissioners 19 October 2021

Summary of item 13, Public Comment and Agenda item 14, Consideration for approval ​Resolution 2021-24, declaring any concrete batch plant built at the intersection of Highways 220 and 48 to be considered a public nuisance.

The commission chambers welcomed a standing-room only crowd due to community objection of Roper Construction's proposed cement batch plant near the intersections of Highways 48 and 220. Promptly at 9:30 am, Chair Tom Stewart advised all in attendance of the parameters of Public Comment period including the three minute time limit per individual which would be strictly enforced. He then asked for comment from county officials before inviting public commentary. For approximately one hour individuals from the 220 corridor expressed dissatisfaction with proposed industrial intrusion on the area. Commentary from concerned citizens included: decreased property values and its effect on lowering tax rates, severe toxins compromising the breathing of all residents, pets, livestock, and “performance” animals in the area but especially on the high density of the elderly and children, lack of water to fulfill Mr. Roper's permit request, infringement on the Scenic Byway status, proximity to a Class 1 Wilderness area in violation of Federal law, road destruction/maintenance issues, noise pollution, compliance with New Mexico's Dark Skies Act, general scenic beauty which will be drastically compromised, the character of the surrounding communities not commensurate with such an enterprise, and a citation to the Mission Statement of the 1983 formation of the County Commissioners Board which stated in part that the Board would “...plan effective, harmonious, and appropriate uses of land....”

Mr. Roper then defended during his three minutes of rebuttal his legal right to not only build the proposed cement batch plant on his land but also stated that his application is completely legal in form and function.

Chair Stewart then asked for the lawyers' input as to the wording of Resolution 2021-24: Alan Morel representing the county, Tom Hnasko representing Alto CEP, and Kristen Burby representing Mr. Roper. Mr. Roper was asked for a final statement and the Commission asked for a recess of ten minutes for Mr. Morel to draft the resolution with acceptable linguistic changes. Upon presentation of an appropriate document, Chair Stewart asked for a motion which was seconded and Resolution 2021-24 went to a vote. Chair Stewart, Commissioner Dr. Lynn Willard, and Commissioner Jon Crunk voted for the Resolution. Commissioners Elaine Allen and Todd Proctor voted against the Resolution. The Resolution declaring that the proposed cement concrete batch plant “...could pose a nuisance to surrounding property owners” was passed.

The Commissioners indicated that an enforceable county ordnance would be the next step to preventing conflict of this nature and will be placed on a future agenda.

Galen Farrington

Alto Coalition for Environmental Preservation now has a GO Fund Me

https://www.gofundme.com/f/no-concrete-batch-plant-in-alto-new-mexico?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet

Go often to the Alto CEP website to stay informed

https://altocep.org/

Lincoln County NM Commissioners listened to their constituents regarding the proposed Cement Batch Plant on Hwy 220 in Alto, NM

They passed the resolution below Oct 19, 2021. It was a cliffhanger for a while. Voting for: Tom Stewart, Lynn WIllard and Jon Crunk. Against - Elaine Allen and Todd Proctor. Plan to write the 3 YES and thank them for listening to their constituents. Resolution holds absolutely no power to stop the building of the plant, but should hold some influence with NMED-Air Quality and other powers that should step up, like BLM, Lincoln National Forest/White Mtn Wilderness and BTK Byway.

Help fight to keep this out of our mountain forest valley

Stay informed: FaceBook page altocep.org

webpage: www.altoCEP.org

Help the legal defense fund by donating to Paypal on webpage or by mailing check to:

Phyllis Bewley, CPA

PO Box 123

Ruidoso, NM 88355

ATT: ROSPOA CBP

Please add a “For/Memo” note: “Concrete Batch Plant Legal Defense

REMEMBER: Attend the Lincoln County Commissioners Meeting Tuesday, October 19 at 9 am in Carrizozo at the county court house at 300 Central Avenue. Also available as a Zoom Meeting. Zoom info at the Lincoln County's website

Show your support & inform everyone with yard signs/bumper stickers "No Cement Plant"

2'X6' Banner $100

Yard Signs $25

Bumper Stickers $10

Order by mail to Jim Burnett, 340 Santiago Circle, Alto, NM, 88312

Will be available end of October. Be sure to add your phone # so they can call you for pick up instructions.

Join the Multi-plaintiff Nuisance Lawsuit to fight Cement Plant on Hwy 220.

Announced at the Alto CEP community meeting on October 7 that in addition to already announced legal defense preparations, a parallel approach, a Nuisance Lawsuit, will be pursued. To that end, we are seeking property owners, residents, and businesses interested in becoming co-plaintiffs. This is not a class action lawsuit but an aggregation to present a large and unified front to the court. There is no cost to any individual or business to join as a plaintiff.

The link below will take you to download of the PDF file:

https://altocep.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Private-Nuisance-Initial-Questionaire_RevA.pdf

Or Go To www.altoCEP.org to find the questionnaire for the Nuisance Lawsuit as well as more information

Alto CEP Public Meeting October 7, 7 pm at Alto Golf & Country Club pavilion

Come hear updates from the Alto Coalition for Environmental Preservation in the fight to stop the building of a cement plant at Hwy 220 and Hwy 48. A major legal announcement will be made at this Thursday meeting.

Still need volunteers for various committees! Need for you to write NMED-Air Quality and Lincoln County Commissioners & County Manager! And dontions are greatly appreciated!

Email, write or call your Commissioners. Attend the October 19 Commissioners Meeting

Alto Coalition for Enviromental Preservation is on the agenda for October 19 Commissioner Meeting. The more people who come to the meeting, the better. It is also offered to attend by Zoom. Meeting starts at 8:30, but public comments and agenda items start at 9:30.

Attend to show your concern about a Cement Batch Plant on Hwy 220 in Alto. In the meantime, email, write or call the commisisoners and express your opposition to all of them, including the County Manager. Alto (District 4) Commissioner, Tom Stewart, tried to express & get on record disapproval of a cement plant in this primarily residential, tourist area, but none of the other commissiones would agree to vote, much less even second his motion. So this October 19 is our chance to make the commissioners take a stand.

COUNTY MANAGER: Ira Pearson

575-648-2385 ext. 101, ipearson@lincolncountynm.gov, 300 Central Avenue, P.O. Box 711 Carrizozo, NM 88301

District 1: COMMISSIONER TODD PROCTOR

505-401-2922, PO Box 745 Capitan, NM 88316, tproctor@lincolncountynm.gov

District 2: COMMISSIONER LYNN WILLARD

575-404-1794, 109 Nogal Place Ruidoso, NM 88345, lynnwillardlincolncounty@gmail.com

District 3: COMMISSIONER JON CRUNK

575-937-0461, 127 Sleepy Hollow Road Ruidoso, NM 88345, jcrunk@lincolncountynm.gov

District 4: COMMISSIONER TOM STEWART

575-973-7363, PO Box 515 Alto, NM 88312, tstewart@lincolncountynm.gov

District 5: COMMISSIONER ELAINE ALLEN

575-653-4251 PO Box 74 Lincoln, NM 88338 eeaela@yahoo.com

Below is a letter Tom Stewart sent to a constituent in July 2021 expressing his concern and efforts to get the County to somehow stop, or a least voice oppostion, to the building of a cement plant.

From: Tom Stewart To: Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2021, 11:38:48 AM MDT Subject: RE: Is it true about a proposed cement plant in your district?

Unfortunately, the Board of County Commissioners does not have the authority to prevent this project.

I happen to agree with you and wish I could do more than write a letter myself to the NMED who has the authority to not grant the permit for the facility. I brought this issue to the Board of County Commissioners at their meeting of June 15. We had a good discussion on the issue and I made a motion to oppose the plant to NMED….but I could not get a second. Regret to say my fellow commissioners did not want the county to express an opinion to NMED. Needless to say , I am dismayed.

I told everyone on the Zoom call to write NMED to ask that the permit not be approved and provide as much detail as possible. The property owners of Legacy Lane are apparently represented by Attorney Freda McSwane and former Judge Counts of her law firm. Sonterra Property owners also appear to be mounting a protest. This proposed use of the property will be a disaster.

Regret I can’t do more, Tom Stewart

Rain in September. We're moving up in totals for the year!

No Public Meeting this Thursday (Sept 30) for Alto Coalition for Environmental Preservation. Will let you know date of next meeting. Information below was on table at the last meeting on 9-16-21

Meeting 9-16-21 Concerned people join Alto Coalition for Environmental Preservation

"Cement is the second-most consumed material in the world, after water"

Are We Stuck With Cement? The cement industry has little reason to improve its material’s enormous environmental impact.

The Outline: Mike Disabato

In early 2018, Sara Law of the Carbon Disclosure Project raised her hand at a conference in New York on government and private sector initiatives to address climate change. She politely asked the panel, which had been assembled to discuss opportunities for investing in low-carbon infrastructure, whether they knew how much cement each project might require. The panel members shifted uncomfortably in their seats and chuckled; no one jumped in immediately to respond.

Law didn’t mean to embarrass her peers. But her question unraveled some of the panel’s forced optimism that has hung around climate conferences of late. Environmental academics and activists have been joined onstage by financiers with promises of investment opportunities in the ongoing transition to a more sustainable economy. Not many want to fret over cement, the world’s second-most consumed material behind water, and how its use in this economic transition might prevent our society from achieving its climate goals.

Because there are just so many opportunities, they say, for savvy investors and conservationists alike: renewable energy projects; new energy grids; updates to our nation’s battered piped water system (which leaks enough drinking water a day to serve 15 million households). Governments and environmentally minded investors luxuriate in these types of projects because they can help prevent human-caused, or anthropogenic, global warming without sacrificing economic growth.

The problem is that many of these projects require concrete. A lot of concrete. This worries Law and her colleagues at the Carbon Disclosure Project, a non-profit that tracks industrial greenhouse-gas emissions and promotes proper carbon disclosure. The CDP recently released a report, “Building Pressure: Which cement companies will be left behind in the low-carbon transition,” warning the cement industry — cement being the main binder in concrete — that “in its current form, it will not be compatible with” any nation’s commitment in the Paris agreement; and if radical changes do not occur the world will “risk missing [its] climate goals.”

Cement is perhaps the most essential ingredient in an economy’s growth. The incredible scale of its importance was illuminated in the historian Vaclav Smil’s book, Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization, which told of Chinese companies using more cement between 2011 and 2013 than the U.S. did throughout the entire 20th century. That staggering figure doesn’t even account for the cement needed to complete China’s ambitious (and environmentally destructive ) Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the CDP report, the cement industry is the second-largest industrial emitter of carbon after the steel industry. And when accounting for its use in human-made structures, it is responsible for more than a third of the world’s carbon emissions. But unlike the transportation sector, in which a new type of fuel can dramatically decrease the sector’s pollutants, cement’s problem is, well, cemented in its formulation: Limestone is mixed with other raw materials in an immense kiln at high temperatures; as the kiln separates the limestone’s calcium carbonate structure, an extremely dirty strand of carbon is emitted by the ton.

The resulting hard substance is called a "clinker” (this onomatopoeia has its origins in Holland from the word “klinken,” which means “to ring”), and it is then pounded into the recognizable powder that is blended with material binders and water to form cement.

For cement companies, lowering emissions would mean either developing a whole new material or investing in carbon-capture systems, a technology that can capture and store the carbon dioxide emitted by an industrial process. Yet the CDP found the industry to be unwilling or unable to finance the research required to develop a low-cost, low-carbon alternative to cement.

The report chalks up the industry’s intransigence to a business model that, economically at least, is doing quite well. Infrastructure projects need concrete and cement, regardless whether they’re for a low-carbon economy. The average wind turbine, for example, needs about 12,400 to 17,700 cubic feet of concrete made with cement. On the conservative end, that’s 57 trucks worth of concrete. The turbine will produce about three megawatts of energy on average which, when working at full capacity, is enough to power 2,400 U.S. homes for one month.

And wind farms require less cement than most other proposed infrastructure projects. The turbine hall of a nuclear reactor requires 945,000 cubic feet of concrete (4,400 trucks); a wastewater treatment plant requires 270,000 cubic feet of concrete (1,100 trucks).

Concrete is needed to upgrade all our roads to accommodate the autonomous vehicles being developed by tech companies, to construct and upgrade buildings to be LEED certified, to secure all the solar panels being fitted here and abroad, and to build desalination plants for water-stressed communities. The report exposes quite the paradox: We desperately need these infrastructure projects to transition to a carbon-neutral world, but in doing so we will have to emit a massive amount of carbon.

The issue goes beyond the industry. Material scientists, those best suited to study and improve cement’s molecular chemistry, have begun developing a form of cement that uses far less calcium (the pollutive material in cement) in its production. Franz-Josef Ulm, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT, has worked with his team to lower the amount of pollutive calcium in cement’s molecular structure, dramatically decreasing the emissions associated with it and increasing its strength two-fold. The material is in production but not yet feasible for widespread use and hasn’t been tested for long-term durability.

“We have created the Ferrari, now we need to create the Ford,” Ulm said. To accomplish this, Ulm and his team have partnered with the Portland Cement Association, a non-profit that promotes the use of concrete, to bring their alternative cement into the mainstream. “We desperately need more industry partners,” Ulm told me. “The cement industry is a business, they will keep selling the product everyone already knows and wants. Really, what we need is [carbon-pricing] legislation.”

This would require the cement industry to explore the use of alternative materials in their factories, but according to the CDP report, the industry has only used a token amount of their revenues to explore alternatives. And due to their lack of scientific acumen, they’ve focused on using different raw material mixers for cement which are introduced after the carbon intensive portion of the process.

We desperately need new infrastructure projects to transition to a carbon-neutral world, but in doing so we will have to emit a massive amount of carbon. No one in the cement industry has seriously engaged in the herculean task of enhancing the material’s molecular chemistry, nor have they looked to use Ulm’s alternative at scale, according to the professor. Why introduce a new product if everyone is already buying your old one?

Ultimately, the wider consequences of the CDP’s findings are hard to predict. But its conclusions savagely lay bare the fallacy that, at our current state, we can solely use large scale infrastructure to develop ourselves out of the problem of anthropogenic global warming. The CDP’s findings suggest that we scale back development, focus on enhancing the materials we encounter every day, and push governments to regulate the cement industry.

This was the hope of Marco Kisic, the report’s main author. In a recent interview with The Outline he was optimistic, speaking about new technologies for cement plants that have been brought to market in places like Norway and Belgium that are 80 percent less polluting than their traditional counterparts.

Kisic said companies are beginning to understand that the tide is moving against them. “There is some low-hanging fruit the industry can take advantage of to become more sustainable; like changing the fuel used to make cement from coal to clean sources,” he said. “After that, you hit the hard stuff: retrofitting [plants with] carbon capture systems, pushing for legislation on carbon pricing, and using low-carbon cements that are slowly being developed.”

Kisic believes the sector will see the risks its creating and act accordingly. It’s a gesture discordant with the report’s findings, which emphasize that “companies see a much higher likelihood of opportunities occurring than risks, and those opportunities occurring” before the risks manifest themselves, a mindset that prevents their “investing in solutions to reduce [cement’s] carbon intensity.”

As long as the world clamors to build, the cement industry has little incentive to disrupt the status quo.

Feel like this relates. How can any intelligent person even think that a industrial cement plant belongs in the middle of a tourist-driven economy on a scenic, forested mountainside?

Other communities fight Concrete plants

Read the following article from San Antonio that a neighbor forwarded.

Four things I immediately picked up on: WE need a big sign close to the property

Need to write NMED Air Quality with concerns of Cystalline Silicia. Its Periodic Table symbol is SiO2. Do not see that listed in Roper's list of expected air emission pollutants per day during normal plant operations (3am to 9 pm).

Pollutant / Pounds Per Hour / Tons Per Year

PM10 / 3.50 pph / 5.72 typ

PM2.5 / 1.26 pph / 1.95 typ

SO2 / 0.00068 pph / 0.0030 typ

NOx / 0.063 pph / 0.28 typ

CO / 0.053 pph / 0.23 typ

VOC / 0.0070 pph / 0.031 typ

HAPs / 0.0012 pph / 0.0052 typ

TAP / <0.0001 pph / <0.0001 typ

CO2e / na / <10,000 typ

Instead of spending money on a lawyer - spend the money on making a park. Not really. Just my wishful thinking that maybe a park could solve all our problems AND we'd have a park! From the article:

As previously mentioned at Alto CEP meetings: Elect future County Commissioners willing to implement zoning laws. That is our problem here, likewise in this Texas town the article is about - No Zoning Laws. Change is needed to protect our prestine forested mountains and valleys.