Huffman to host Dutra meeting

<p>Three panels will discuss the controversial, proposed Dutra asphalt plant in a public meeting hosted by Assemblymember Jared Huffman at the Petaluma Veterans Building on May 30.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The meeting will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the Petaluma Veterans Memorial Building, and will feature a panel of proponents, followed by a panel of experts from regulatory agencies and a panel of people with other perspectives on the plant, Huffman said, adding that the participants still are being arranged.</p><p>“It isn’t my job to weigh in on the land permit decision, but it is my job to look at the bigger implications for the district,” said Huffman, who chairs the state Assembly’s Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife and is a member of the Committee on Natural Resources. “I want to help raise the level of understanding of people on both sides of the issue. So, I want to have as many perspectives represented as possible.</p><p>“I am doing this in a way that I hope will be of benefit to everyone, including the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.”</p><p>Huffman, D-San Rafael, says that as a member of several state committees that will need to discuss and decide whether to approve the project — proposed for just south of Petaluma, adjacent to Highway 101 — as it moves forward, he needs to further his own knowledge of the controversial plant.</p><p>“And I want to understand if existing laws are working in this case. The project has caused such concern and is happening in a very sensitive location that is a habitat for wildlife. So, it’s important for me to educate myself,” he said.</p><p>Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey will attend the meeting.</p><p>“We share an interest in some of the same, broad issues that will be discussed,” Huffman said.</p><p>State Sen. Mark Leno, members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and members of the Petaluma City Council will also be among those invited, Huffman said.</p><p>The Board of Supervisors has not set a date to vote on whether to approve the location for the plant.</p><p>“And I hope that the city manager (John Brown) will have a spot on a panel,” he added.</p><p>The meeting is being videotaped so that it can be seen by those not present.</p><p>The Petaluma Health Care District had planned to facilitate a community forum on the proposed plant on April 28. The PHCD had arranged for two speakers — Alvin Greenberg, a toxicologist for Risk Science Associates, and Brian Bateman, the director of engineering at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District — to participate, but was unable to arrange for a member of the medical community to speak about health-related issues. </p><p>So, the PHCD canceled the forum.</p><p>(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)</p>