Citizen complaints would prompt road dust survey, says DNR official

Winneshiek County has plenty of gravel roads.  The gravel roads that have 30 or more vehicles driving on them each hour probably require steps to be taken to control dust.

That was the advice Monday from Iowa DNR Manchester Office Supervisor Joe Sanfilippo, who met with Winneshiek County board members to answer their questions about road dust control.

The supervisors requested the meeting with Sanfilippo in order to discuss the system for monitoring for fugitive dust from quarries.  The issue surfaced during the county board's discussion of the Wiltgen Construction Company's request for a modification of their conditional use permit for the Canoe Valley Road quarry.

Sanfilippo told the board his office--which covers 15 counties in NE Iowa--gets 15 or 20 dust complaints during dry summers and fewer than that when it rains a lot.  Those complaints lead to an environmental specialist from Sanfilippo's office taking a road survey to see whether the traffic level meets the 30 vehicle per hour level.

If it does, the Iowa DNR would send a letter to the road owner--usually the county government--asking for a plan of action to bring the dust under control.

Sanfilippo says the plan can include watering the road, imposing an embargo, adjusting the speed limit, or using chemical dust control.  Sanfilippo says using a tree sap-based chemical treatment provides the best results, but lowering the speed limit is also helpful.

Sanfilippo told Winneshiek County supervisors the state's system is designed to keep road dust from crossing the property lines of nearby homeowners.  He told the supervisors even if a traffic survey shows fewer than 30 vehicles an hour, if there are issues involving dust on local roads, "I would suggest you take care of it."