City council faced a barrage of concerns at its Wednesday night meeting from residents worried about plans to locate an asphalt plant at an existing gravel quarry north of the city.

There is the possibility of air pollution causing illness in nearby neighbourhoods, the potential for ground water contamination, dust poisoning streams leading into the Yukon River and a wide range of other implications, council heard.

It was also noted that next to nobody in the surrounding neighbourhoods of MacPherson, Hidden Valley and Ibex Valley are aware of the proposal by Castle Rock Enterprises, and many are just hearing about it now.

"I live about two kilometres from where this plant is going to be,” council heard from Charlene Patterson, the first of many to speak Wednesday. "The air is a concern to me because where I live on Echo Lane.”

Patterson said the prevailing south wind will blow any emissions in the direction of her home and Echo Lake.

Diesel fuel and other hydrocarbons used in the production of asphalt which fall to the ground will find their way into the water table very quickly, she said of what she's been told by experts.

Patterson emphasized Echo Lake is not far away.

"I am a supporter of business but I'm not sure that location is going to be a good location.”

Laura Grant said she grew up in the MacPherson subdivision and is raising her own family in Hidden Valley.

She chooses to live in the rural neighbourhood because it's beautiful, it's clean and it's quiet, Grant said.

The Hidden Valley School, she pointed out, is nearby and providing approval of the asphalt plant means more trucks and a heavier mix of industrial traffic and school buses.

"It is a beautiful place and it would be devastating to see industry move into the area,” she said.

Grant, like many who appeared before council, said area residents need more information, because right now they know very little if anything of this proposal.

Castle Rock has applied to the city to place a portable asphalt plant at its quarry site below Haeckel Hill, on the south side of the Alaska Highway.

Asphalt plants are provided for in the city's zoning bylaw as a conditional use at quarry sites. There is no requirement for any official zoning or land use amendments, but simply a yes or no from city council following a public-input session, which was held Wednesday night.

Castle Rock was recently awarded a $12.9 million contract to construct the roads, sideways and provide asphalt surfacing for the new Whistle Bend subdivision. Skookum Asphalt bid $13.9 million, and P.S. Sidhu bid $14.4 million.

Coun. Dave Austin suggested if the asphalt plant was required for Whistle Bend construction, perhaps it could be located at the new subdivision.

Representatives of Castle Rock, however, told council Wednesday the plant needs to be located at the pit next to the gravel source.

They said it appears there is a lot of misinformation floating about, and they suspect area residents are picturing some large industrial complex being built with hundreds of trucks coming and going.

Nothing could be further from the reality of the proposal, Castle Rock vice-president Ted Danyluk told city council.

He said Castle Rock has done its research and is planning to purchase state of the art technology which meets or exceeds the B.C. air emission standards, the toughest in Canada and North America.

Danyluk suggested residents are already smelling the smell everybody knows from standing next to a street being paved, or their neighbour's driveway been done.

The portable plant, he said, is a closed loop system that emits next to nothing.

Danyluk said noise hasn't been an issue with the existing quarry operation, and it won't be an issue with the asphalt plant.

Distances to the subdivision are almost double that of the distances from the Skookum Asphalt plant on top of Robert Service Way to the Lobird Park, he said.

He pointed out the distance from Skookum's plant to the Christ the King School is 2.5 kilometres, while the Haeckel Quarry is three kilometres from the Hidden Valley School, and 2.68 kilometres from the MacPherson subdivision.

Murray Arsenault dismissed the suggestion there'll be 10 or 15 trucks an hour rolling in and out of the quarry. In fact, he said, Castle Rock is estimating there'll be an increase of about five per cent in truck traffic, which currently runs anywhere from zero to 15 trucks per day.

Arsenault also impressed upon council that Castle Rock is seeking permission to proceed with an industrial activity that is already identified in the zoning bylaw compatible with a quarry operation.

The proposal, he emphasized, does not require an environmental screening.

"This is not a major industrial development going on at our quarry,” Arsenault said. "If you are not disturbed by our existing operation, you won't be disturbed by our asphalt plant.

The portable plant in question, it was pointed out, can be moved on three flat-bed trucks.

Arsenault told council Castle Rock is on a tight timeline, and needs an answer soon, as there is a four-month lead time to order the plant if it's to be here in time.

"We hope the system that is in place to regulate does not get changed while we are going through the process,” he said.

City administration informed council at last week's meeting that it could always limit approval of the plant to four years, to provide an opportunity to review the operation when Castle Rock's quarry lease comes up for renewal in 2015.

Administration also told council the project proposal was advertised, and the three residents within 1.5 kilometres were notified by mail.

Under the zoning bylaw, it was noted, concrete plants are primary use for quarry operations which would not require further approval of council.

Coun. Florence Roberts asked residents if they were aware of the existing plans by the Yukon government and city for Stevens Quarry.

Stevens Quarry is located on the north side of the highway, between the Mayo Cutoff and the city boundary. Drill work is currently being conducted to further define the quarry, with an aim of bringing it into production.

Lake Laberge MLA Brad Cathers appeared before council Wednesday to recommend further public consultation on the asphalt proposal, which he only became aware of during the recent election campaign.

Cathers said he was not there to debate the specifics of the project, but to recommend more public consultation be carried out.

City council would be wise, he suggested, to accept the suggestion that Castle Rock organize some neighbourhood meetings so area residents have an opportunity to understand exactly what's being proposed.

Jim Boyd told city council there is well established research which shows airborne particles from asphalt plants are deadly for salmon and other fish.

With streams in the area leading down to the salmon-bearing Yukon River, and with the chinook salmon population already in trouble, it's best to exercise caution, he said.

Hidden Valley resident Liz Reichenback told council she has gone to great lengths and expense to build her new home because she suffers from multi-chemical sensitivity caused from a work place injury.

Is there any guarantee she won't be affected by a nearby asphalt plant? she asked.

Reichenback wondered if the trucks leaving the quarry will be covered to prevent any exposure of the material.

Thomas Luxomberger said when he and his wife sit on the deck of their Echo Lake home for coffee in the morning, the very sound of their voices will cause the Arctic loon family on the lake to go quiet. It's rare to have Arctic loons in this neck of the woods, but the lake offers the habitat they require, he said.

The loons, he added, have been there for years, and he wonders what impact the asphalt plant would have on their continued interest.