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Curtis Industrial Park seeks doubling of annual asphalt limit; Planning Board schedules hearing amid SEQR and air-quality questions
Summary
Operators asked to increase permitted asphalt production from 100,000 to 200,000 tons per year; applicants say prior 2016 EIS studied a larger facility and DEC has a draft modified permit, while the Board scheduled a public hearing and sought legal/engineering confirmation of SEQR coverage and emission compliance.
Representatives for Curtis Industrial Park asked the Town of Ballston Planning Board on June 24 to amend the site plan approval to increase the allowable annual asphalt production from 100,000 to 200,000 tons per year.
John Ahearn (Couch White) and David Straw (JMT for Callanan Industries) said there are no proposed physical changes to the plant; the facility's 2016 environmental studies evaluated a far larger operation and the plant's hourly capacity remains constrained by equipment limits. Straw said the existing baghouse filter is highly efficient (he cited a 99.96% cleaning efficiency) and that the plant reports production and compliance annually to the DEC; stack testing is required about every 10 years. He also noted a draft modified DEC permit for the higher annual limit had been issued and that new state regulation (noted in meeting as 220-3) is prompting either increased use of warm mix asphalt or installation of additional emissions-control equipment.
Board members asked whether increasing the annual tonnage would require a new SEQR review or whether the prior EIS and finding statement could cover the change. Ahearn said prior documents studied an even larger facility and JMT provided a consistency analysis concluding no new significant adverse impacts were expected; counsel suggested the Board could word public hearing notice and findings to reflect the change to the adopted finding statement.
The applicant said truck trips per peak hour will not increase because the plant's physical processing capacity limits the number of trucks handled; the prior site approval required a left-turn lane on Route 67. The Board agreed to schedule a public hearing for July 29, 2026 at 6:40 p.m. and requested that the Town attorney and Town Designated Engineer clarify whether the change can proceed without repeating SEQR in full.
Next steps: the Board scheduled a July 29 hearing and asked staff to confirm SEQR coverage, air-monitoring compliance and any necessary conditions tied to the DEC permit and new state air regulations.
