Jul. 15—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Testimony in the Richland Township zoning hearing for Quaker Sales Corp.'s proposed asphalt plant on Mine 37 Road ended at 11:30 p.m Thursday after more than five hours of presentations.

Quaker Sales attorney Denver Wharton said the Richland Township Zoning Hearing Board has scheduled a meeting on Aug. 11 to render a decision.

Caleb Overdorff, Quaker Sales' estimator and project manager, said he was grateful to the board for its due diligence. During the hearing, his father and company president, Don Overdorff, outlined what he said was a "key component" to the $10 million proposed plant.

"A key component of this investment is the affect it will have on production cost. There's only so much business out there; we can't increase production a whole lot, it's just not there." where our gain comes is the cost of material. It makes it more efficient. The real gain is this is a more efficient plant that lowers our costs that increases our profitability that allows us to play another year."

The few dozen residents at the hearing had concerns about air quality and property values if the board grants zoning variances to allow the proposed asphalt plant to be constructed in a light industrial area less than a mile away from residentially zoned housing developments.

Brian Cernic, of Locust Street, said he worked in a manufacturing setting with screen printers that produce the same gaseous chemicals, he said, that are not always detectable by the nose.

"As someone who was diagnosed with cancer after working around these chemicals, that's not something I want my 4-year-old daughter being exposed to," he said.

Quaker Sales is requesting a "similar use" interpretation to construct an asphalt plant on Mine 37 Road. The plant's structures would be built on six acres of a 109-acre parcel of wooded ground, but a third of those acres would be cleared, too, according to Quaker Sales.

Township ordinance lists 27 acceptable uses in light industrial areas, but it doesn't explicitly allow or disallow an asphalt plant.

Attorney Joe Green, representing about a dozen residents against the proposal, called Robert Czarnek, who has a doctorate in engineering science and mechanics, to testify as an expert on volatile organic compounds (VOC) and pollution.

Czarnek spoke about Quaker Sales previous testimony — that the proposed asphalt plant would produce 1.8 tons of particulate matter — dust and gas — in a year, and 7 tons of volatile organic compounds or gases, some of which are carcinogens, he said.

"Stack emissions are tested by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), but there are also fugitive sources of those VOCs not confined to ducts but emitted when you load the asphalt to the truck," he said.

Czarnek warned of fumes including VOCs that he said would be emitted from the plant's stacks as well as trucks as they travel through the neighborhood.

"The plant is in a valley," he said. "When the wind isn't blowing, the gases will accumulate without being dissipated. For residents of the neighborhood of Mine 37 Road, they would be immersed in aquarium filled with poisonous gases."

Czarnek said he collected Johnstown airport data showing prevailing wind in Johnstown blows from the south and west, toward populated areas of Richland.

"Once wind starts blowing, these fumes would roll over hills toward Richland school, UPJ, and the Teryln Drive neighborhood," he said.

There were 30 members of the public attending the hearing Thursday at the township's municipal building, 322 Schoolhouse Road. Eleven people representing the applicants, Quaker Sales Corp., were in attendance.

Real estate appraiser Ginger Jakubowski was hired by residents of Richland Terrace and Hunters Ridge housing developments. She also gave testimony.

Jakubowski presented a report of overall "marketability" for the Hunters Ridge and Richland Terrace developments if a plant was built. Those housing developments encompass Sanrue, Teryln and Fox Point drives as well as Old Farm Lane.

"I do feel there would be marketability issues if and when the plant comes," she said. "The view would not the same, enjoyment outdoors not the same as what it was before the plant. To sell property in most cases, there's a concession to be had."

Jakubowski said the plant would be visible to people at those higher elevation. She said she believes people would be able to detect a smell of asphalt, so she said she felt the asphalt plant would not fit with the township's light industrial ordinance.

"My interpretation is that it would change the character of the neighborhood," she said.