Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 7, 1993 TAG: 9310070334
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A special grand jury, impaneled last month at the request of Signal Hill residents fed up with the clouds and the grime they leave behind, decided Wednesday to recess until Jan. 12.
The investigation has centered on an operation run by Howard Brothers, which recycles ash from the furnaces of nearby Roanoke Electric Steel. Residents want the operation declared a public nuisance, saying its billowing clouds rain dirt and metallic ash on their homes, cars and lawns.
Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell, who is assisting the special grand jury, said the three-month delay is necessary for two reasons:
It may take that long to get results from laboratory tests taken to determine if dust samples from the Signal Hill neighborhood did, in fact, come from the recycling center.
The grand jury wants to monitor the progress of plans by both Roanoke Electric Steel and Howard Brothers to construct large buildings that will house part of the operation in an attempt to prevent the billowing of dust.
Once the investigation is complete, the grand jury could authorize civil action to have the operation declared a public nuisance.
Grand jurors, who have been meeting in closed sessions, already have heard from residents and company officials and toured the facility. Before recessing Wednesday, they heard from employees of the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Bob Saunders, field manager of the agency's Roanoke office, said it was not clear whether the dust was coming solely from Howard Brothers. The company has violated no state regulations, he said.
However, Saunders said, the agency is "strongly encouraging" the construction of the shell buildings as soon as possible.
Roanoke Electric and Howard Brothers announced plans for the buildings shortly after the grand jury was impaneled but have not said when construction might be completed. Company spokesmen could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Howard Brothers recycles slag, or furnace ash, and removes metals, which are returned to Roanoke Electric. The rest of the material, dumped in huge outdoor piles, is sold as fill for road construction and other projects.
State officials and residents say that when the hot, watered-down slag is dumped into the piles, dust and steam billows into the air, sometimes as high as 300 feet.
"It's still falling," Helen Workman said Wednesday. Workman is one of 24 residents who filed a petition asking for a special grand jury, the first to be convened in Roanoke in at least 15 years.
After complaining for years about the dust, residents say they realize a solution won't come overnight. "I guess we'll have to wait until January," Workman said.
by CNB