At Vulcan, we’re committed to operating in a safe and responsible manner

Although Val Vista is in compliance with all laws and regulations and is considered by local, state and federal regulatory officials to be protective of public health and safety, we made a commitment to make improvements.

1. In April 2018, we began conducting meetings with neighbors to hear their concerns. We took several actions in early May aimed at minimizing potential odor impacts while the review and engineering work was underway, including: temporarily reducing hot mix asphalt (HMA) production and suspending the production of HMA mixes with recycled rubber blends, which is an Arizona Department of Transportation requirement for certain jobs; rescheduling supply deliveries to daytime hours; and continuing to use eco-friendly products to control odors.
2. Although the facility is permitted to operate 24/7, we implemented a Nighttime Work Policy, which prohibits aggregate crushing and screening during night hours.
3. We shifted operations and designated permitted thoroughfares farther away from residences to reduce traffic and noise.
4. We hired an outside technical team of engineers and experts to help evaluate the operation and identify potential odor sources and factors within the plant and in the production process. In July, the technical team announced their recommendations, including best practices for operations and maintenance, plant upgrades and new environmental controls. We are now designing new systems and procedures to control and capture potential odor-causing factors, which will take place throughout the remainder of the year. These include:

• • Drum and burner enhancements: We will adjust the configuration of the burner, which heats the material, and “flights” that lift and transport the material through the dryer drum as it rotates. This will more effectively and efficiently heat the aggregates and help reduce odors in the first place.
  • New air capture systems: We will install new state-of-the-art air filtration and collection systems throughout the HMA plant, including the finished product conveyer, storage silos and customer loading area. The controls will capture and filter the air.
  • Enhanced tank controls: We will install additional controls to further capture vapors coming from the liquid asphalt tanks.

We will continue to provide the community with updates as we move forward with the improvements. Please read the May 29, 2018 neighbor letter and July 27, 2018 neighbor update for the full details on the improvements.