December 23, 2014 RE: Response to Colton Pinto public comment dated August 30, 2014 on Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. Taft Hill Road, hot mix asphalt plant Permit Number 13LR2446. Dear Mr. Pinto, Thank you for your comments on the above referenced permit. The Air Pollution Control Division (The Division) has reviewed your comments regarding the Taft Hill Road Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) plant. Listed below are the responses to your comments. 1.

I don't think it's fair to allow the Martin-Marietta asphalt plant to operate within miles of so many neighborhoods and school children, let alone the Poudre River. Please do not allow this operation to continue in that location, Fort Collins is a beautiful place and I think that our citizens have the right to live and attend school in an area free of toxic pollutants.

Response: The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment. The Clean Air Act identifies two types of national ambient air quality standards. Primary standards provide public health protection, including protecting the health of "sensitive" populations such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly. Secondary standards provide public welfare protection, including protection against decreased visibility and damage to animals, crops, vegetation, and buildings. The State of Colorado implements these standards within the state in a variety of ways including through the air quality permitting program. The Division does not consider local land use issues in the air quality permitting process and in fact does not have the authority to do so under state and federal law. Land use and zoning issues and decisions are addressed at the local or county level. As described above, the NAAQS are established to be protective for all land uses. If the project demonstrates that it meets all applicable air permitting standards and regulations including the NAAQS, the Division is required to issue the permit. Based on the Division’s analysis of the proposed project and the fact that the proposed project demonstrated compliance with all applicable requirements, including NAAQS requirements through computer dispersion modeling, the Division is moving forward with the issuance process for the permit for this project. Thank you again for your comments and your interest in this draft air permit.

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4300 Cherry Creek Drive S., Denver, CO 80246-1530 P 303-692-2000 www.colorado.gov/cdphe John W. Hickenlooper, Governor | Larry Wolk, MD, MSPH, Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer

Sincerely,

K.C. Houlden Permit Engineer Stationary Sources Program APCD/CDPHE 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South Denver, CO 80246 303.691.4092 [email protected]

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4300 Cherry Creek Drive S., Denver, CO 80246-1530 P 303-692-2000 www.colorado.gov/cdphe John W. Hickenlooper, Governor | Larry Wolk, MD, MSPH, Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer