Planning Commission keeps Martus Valley Quarry on five‑year review cycle, cites continued compliance

The Truckee Planning Commission voted 5‑0 on Dec. 17 to approve a project amendment allowing the Martus Valley Quarry and its asphalt plant to return to a five‑year review cycle and to determine the amendment is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Staff presented the item as a two‑year review of the quarry’s existing use permit and conditions of approval. The quarry is an open‑pit aggregate mine with an on‑site asphalt batch plant located on Jorger Drive adjacent to the Truckee Truckee Sanitary Authority wastewater facility and north of the Truckee River and Legacy Trail. Staff said the operation has been subject to periodic review since Nevada County approved the original use permit in 1983 and that subsequent judicial decisions limit the town’s ability to add or change permit conditions without either substantial evidence of impacts to public health, safety, or welfare or agreement by the applicant.

The staff report summarized permit history and compliance actions. Staff said quarterly noise monitoring is continuing, a complaint log is sent to the town weekly, a dust suppression plan is in place, an asphalt tank infiltration system was installed, and the operator uses EcoSorb and other best management practices to minimize odors. Staff noted the town hires the noise consultant and the applicant reimburses the town for that service. Staff recommended the commission adopt Resolution 202416 (with a minor date correction) to allow the review cycle to return to five years and to find the amendment CEQA‑exempt.

Michael Smith, aggregate resource development manager for Teichert / Tigard (the quarry operator), told the commission the company has made multiple investments in controls since 2017, including lining tanks, adding a carbon filtration system and the “blue smoke” control system, resealing tanks and adding EcoSorb. Smith said the operator has spent “about $1,700,000 in improvements to the plant” since 2017 and that the blue smoke system reduced measured odors by 86 percent at the source in its tests. He also described vehicle and site changes intended to reduce noise and said water trucks, magnesium chloride road treatments and driver education are used for dust control.

A neighbor, Mike Jocelyn of Glenshire, said residents remain concerned about odor and that odor complaints are “pervasive during August months every year,” and he urged the town to press the local air district to respond more actively to neighborhood complaints. Staff and the applicant replied that the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulate stationary air emissions and that the local nuisance rule (Rule 205) and state air‑quality statutes govern odor complaints. Staff said the town does not perform off‑site ambient air sampling at residents’ homes and directed residents to the air district for emissions enforcement; staff added that if agencies such as the air district or Lahontan (for water) reported a permit violation, the town could bring the permit back to the commission sooner than five years.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about whether additional or feasible technology remains to reduce odor and whether nighttime production required by Caltrans or other clients could be further avoided. The applicant said some night work is contractually required by Caltrans and by the town for certain road projects but that the plant attempts to batch earlier and store material when feasible.

The commission approved the staff‑recommended actions with a 5‑0 vote. The resolution as described in the staff report (Resolution 202416) will be edited to correct an incorrect date before finalization. Staff noted the applicant’s request to return to a five‑year review cycle and the commission’s approval do not preclude the town from bringing the use permit back for earlier review if independent monitoring or outside agency action shows noncompliance.

Ending: The planning commission’s action returns Martus Valley Quarry to routine five‑year reviews while preserving the town’s ability to reopen the permit if evidence of noncompliance arises; residents were advised to file odor or dust complaints with the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District and staff indicated it can request earlier review if outside agencies report violations.