Low emissions expected from truck stop

An emissions report claims a truck stop west of Jamestown would produce “very low levels” of pollutants compared to other facilities in the area.

The report, produced for Love’s Travel Stops by Terraconn Consultants of Minnesota for the proposed truck stop, was released last week by the Sweetwater County Planning and Zoning Office. The report identified sources of emissions associated with the proposed truck stop, as well as calculating the expected amount of emissions and modeled how those emissions would disperse while comparing those results to National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The report also compared emissions from a truck stop to other facilities in the area.

“The emissions associated with the Love’s Travel Stop are minor compared to emissions from other area sources,” the report states. “Therefore, the air emission impacts from the operation of Love’s Travel Stop are insignificant.”

The study used a modeling system known as dispersion modeling because it would use worst-case assumptions on wind speed, direction and other meteorological conditions to predict impacts. If the other system, known as ambient monitoring, were used in the report, Terraconn believes the concentrations observed would be well below modeled concentrations because weather conditions at the time of sampling would result in greater dispersion on pollutants.

While the report dismisses concerns about pollutants, one Jamestown resident said she’s skeptical of the information presented in the report.

“I’m not putting a lot of water into that study,” Donnalee Bobak said. “Did they have 300 trucks out there when they conducted the study?”

Despite what the report claims, Bobak continues to question how emissions from trucks will impact the area around Jamestown. She said the area is surrounded by hills and continues to have concerns about emissions remaining around the truck stop and the Jamestown area.

According to Jim Zimmerman, code enforcement specialist for the Sweetwater County Planning and Zoning Office, the office anticipates a conditional use permit application for the proposed truck stop to be heard during the planning and zoning commission’s meeting in August. The Sweetwater County commissioners will host a public hearing regarding the application. Regardless of if the planning and zoning commission is in favor of the permit or not, the final decision rests with the county commissioners. The conditional use permit is the final hurdle Love’s needs to clear prior to starting construction.