News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Marinscope Community Newspaper
By Chris Rooney News Pointer Thursday, 15 January, 2009

Reports praise quarry and lawsuit is dropped.

Seeking to both stave off critics and reassure nearby residents, the owners of the San Rafael Rock Quarry completed two extensive reports and both came back with favorable results.

The Dutra Group, which operates the quarry, announced this week that two health risk analyses confirm "no significant health risk" at the site.

"This was a year in the making," said Aimi Dutra, company spokesperson. "We wanted to have data for a complete year, with all of the seasons and types of weather."

Dutra said a firm called Environ conducted extensive studies into the quarry's soil and air quality.

The positive news was buoyed by an activist organization dropping a lawsuit against the quarry.

As You Sow, a San Francisco-based nonprofit environmental agency, dropped its Proposition 65-based complaint against the quarry, citing faulty analysis of health risks from diesel emissions from quarry trucks. As You Sow brought the lawsuit against the quarry, Bill Dutra and the Dutra Group, claiming violations of Prop. 65 for failure to warn residents about excessive diesel emissions.

Aimi Dutra said the quarry could have paid a settlement, but the firm didn't want to erect any signs that would have only caused more concern from those who live nearby. Instead, the company endured heavy legal fees and paid for Environ's studies, which helped resolve the matter.

In a letter to the Marin Supervisors, As You Sow acknowledged that its consultant's analysis overstated health risks by 60 times. Once corrected, the analysis shows no significant health risk. Specifically, As You Sow's analysis failed to convert grams per hour to grams per second and instead converted to grams per minute. The result was the analysis overstated health risk significantly. As corrected, it shows "no significant health risk" as defined in Prop. 65.

As You Sow will dismiss the lawsuit and retract its claims and otherwise correct the record with the county and the court, according to a press statement from the Dutra Group. Dutra said, "We are pleased with the retraction. As You Sow did the right thing. Dutra also did the right thing by addressing the claims head-on despite the time and expense required to establish that they were erroneous. The outcome offers fresh proof that truck operations to and from the quarry create no significant health risk."

Quarry officials asked Environ to also perform a health risk assessment of diesel particulate emissions and crystalline silica in dust measured in and around the facility - a topic of debate among some of the quarry's detractors.

"The outcome of the Environ study confirms the county's findings in the draft EIR last year that quarry operations produce no significant health risk from either dust or diesel emissions," said Dutra. "People weren't comfortable enough [with previous studies], so we created our own report to delve in even deeper. I get that people are scared. This is serious stuff. It's good to be able to have positive results for the community and for Dutra - it's a good day for everyone."