Judge Sugg’s Order: Reflections, Part 2

By the Alto CEP

Now that it has been established that the immediate and expanded areas surrounding the proposed Alto concrete batch plant (cbp) are primarily residential as unraveled in part one, Judge Sugg suggests a historical complicity favoring the placement of such plants in Lincoln County with misleading and antiquated information.

The lead sentence (pg. 25, statement 125) for the section, “Concrete Batch Plants in Lincoln County, New Mexico,” states the obvious:  “Concrete is a necessary building product….”  Following statements concur with the delivery time established in 1933 and upheld by some current contractors as the “standard” by which they may not deviate.  Although Judge Sugg cites the New Mexico Department of Transportation as “requiring” concrete to be “…deliver(ed) and pour(ed) within 90 minutes” of batching, the facts are very different.  NMDOT statute 510.3.4.2.1 clearly states that “In rural and remote areas of the State where mixing time cannot be met, the contractor shall submit a written request…” for extended mixing time.    

The American Society for Testing and Materials which establishes global standards updated the antiquated 1933 standard in April, 2021 due to the fact science has created “admixtures” that compensate for a variety of end-product and delivery needs.  Standard ASTM C94/94M-21 recognizes that current concrete mixtures may have up to an extreme five hour delivery time over a 200 mile one-way distance.  Clearly the NMDOT is current with the batching process and allows for more than the 90 minute “standard.”  

The contractor for the proposed Alto plant has stated many times that the 90 minute standard is one of his main reasons for selecting this site – to serve area residents.  Current chemistry has enabled a better product.  Judge Sugg suggests potential problems when admixtures are included in batching (statement 128).  These potential problems are rectified with the skill and knowledge acquired with experience by a conscientious  contractor. 

Judge Sugg completely ignored the current standard when attempting to justify the proposed location.  Actually, the contractor’s Carrizozo plant can meet all time and delivery constraints without requesting extended delivery parameters .          

Statement 134 (pg. 26) indicates that “The new proposed  batch plant would allow Defendants to provide concrete services to Mescalero Apache Reservation, Cloudcroft and Mayhill, and areas between Hondo and Roswell, New Mexico.”  Current chemistry allows deliveries to these locations from Carrizozo without sacrificing the final product.  In truth, there are contractors in the state of New Mexico embracing the new ASTM standard (and capitalizing from it) for up to twice the delivery distances alluded to in the Judge Sugg Order without diminishing the product quality, a construction which ultimately  depends on the contractor.

In point of fact, due to the distances and computed times via the global positioning system available to anyone, it may be easily determined that the contractor’s current cbp in Carrizozo is capable of deliveries to all but one of the listed areas listed above within the 90 minute antiquated limit and that one only requires 3 extra minutes.

This section of the Order describes the historical existence of the Capitan cbp being located within a ¼ mile of a school, the Ruidoso Downs cbp located within a ¼ mile of hundreds of residences, and the current cbp located behind Walgreens as within a ¼ mile from the Lincoln County Medical Center and many residences.  None of these statements declare that these are safe, healthy conditions but the illusion is suggested.  Science has established the deleterious health effects on populations within the sacrifice zone referenced in part one.*  Again, misleading information.

Finally, in the section, “Conclusions of Law” statement 174 (pg. 81) Judge Sugg states, “Given there are no other suitable properties available from which to operate a concrete batch plant to service Lincoln County demand, Defendant’s substantial investments in the proposed batch plant would potentially be lost if not permitted to operate.”  This statement ignores the many alternatives offered by locals.  More substantive is the fact that the contractor has a parcel of land of over 145 acres where his current rock crushing facility is conveniently located just five miles north of the proposed site.  “… (N)o other suitable properties available…”?  Misleading at best. 

The Alto CEP  and residents of the area find this an extremely questionable statement in light of the county’s website opening statements and the county’s comprehensive plan,  “Smart growth acknowledges that growth will happen but that choices to direct that growth need to be community choices.  It does not abrogate … the quality of life (emphasis Alto CEP).” 

The Defendant in this Order has never considered community well-being and the many dubious statements in the Order represent a language facade that masks an environmental injustice thus nullifying residents’ expected natural quality of life.

*as revealed by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University reported on 19 August 2020 5,200 people died prematurely in Houston, Texas (2015) as a direct result of living in the proximity of area concrete batch plants.  Global research supports these findings.

To be continued.