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During a public commentary hearing for a potential special-use permit for a construction debris remediation site on Tuesday, the LaGrange-Callaway Airport expressed concerns with dust from the site, urging the council to delay approval until tests can be done.

The applicant would like to operate a site to reclaim and recycle construction debris, so it can be reused as an aggregate material rather than shipping it off to a landfill. Essentially, the company crushes concrete and asphalt for reuse. Wood, shingles or more traditional construction debris would not be recycled on site.

The request also comes with a rezoning application that would have 28.5 acres in the 1900 block of Lukken Industrial Drive zoned from Corridor Mixed Use (CR-MX) to Campus General Industrial (CP-HI) to accommodate the use. 

The Board of Planning and Zoning Appeals (BZA) recommended the zoning change, but recommended it on the condition that no debris of any kind be buried on the parcels and no landfill activities can occur on these parcels at any point in the future, along with other buffering and hours of operation conditions.

The site is also located near the LaGrange-Callway Airport within the city’s airport overlay district, so approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was also sought..

Airport Manager Troy Anderson said that while the site in question is outside the bounds of the airport, there is the possibility of the special use creating visibility issues for incoming and outgoing planes.

“The airport does have concerns, not necessarily about the noise, but of the dust if it cannot be controlled,” Anderson said.

Anderson said there is a process that the FAA highly recommends for visibility concerns with dust.

“As part of this process, our recommendation is, prior to approval to move forward, that an aeronautical study be conducted,” Anderson said. “The FAA is concerned about anything in the national airspace.”

“[Dust] just like smoke, obscures visibility, depending on how thick. Dust storms, if you’re in the Middle East, winds kick up and wreak havoc on pilots trying to get from point A to point B,” Anderson said.

Anderson recommended that they go through the FAA’s Obstruction Evaluation / Airport Airspace Analysis (OE3A) program to ensure the dust from the special use would be mitigated enough to be safe for the nearby airport.

“We are exceptionally concerned about the national airspace and how that dust potential can cause problems for aircraft getting to and from the airport. Will that cause delays? Will it cause diversions? And most certainly, we don’t want any fatalities or injuries as a result of decreased visibility in and around the airport.” Anderson said.

The applicant also spoke during the public hearing, saying he was completely in agreement with doing any testing needed to ensure the dust would be mitigated enough to be safe for the airport.

While first readings for both the rezoning and special use permit were held, the council is expected to not move forward with the vote until the requested FAA study can be completed.