WALLACE - The Shoshone County Planning and Zoning Commission has tabled a decision on a proposed asphalt batch plant near Bear Creek until June 11.

After meeting for three hours Wednesday evening, and listening to testimony from numerous area residents, Planning Administer Dan Martinsen and members of the commission opted to delay the decision until the next scheduled board meeting to provide time to review reams of technical data presented to members by opponents of the asphalt plant.

Woods Crushing and Hauling is seeking to capitalize on a $55 million joint project between the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Environmental Quality that focuses on re-paving roads throughout communities in Idaho, including Shoshone County.

Some 50 people filled the meeting room to capacity Wednesday, with the vast majority voicing their displeasure with proposed plant. Residents also spoke out about rock-crushing activities in nearby quarries, one of which would be home to the asphalt batch plant.

One attendee said conditions at her Bear Creek home - more than a mile away from the quarry - were so bad her husband wasn't able to attend the hearing because the dust had aggravated his existing health conditions to a degree that he wasn't able to go outdoors.

Residents cited trouble with dust, smoke and noise from the quarries, and said the asphalt will only add to the issues the approximately 20 homes in the area are already experiencing.

If fully operational, the plant could experience as many as 120 truckloads of material exiting the plant each weekday.

The plant has already been approved, with some adjustments, by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, which is the caretaker of the nearby Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes biking and walking trail.

Nearly 100,000 people use The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes each year. The section of trail nearest the site of the proposed asphalt batch plant - between Pinehurst and Enaville - is the fourth-most-traveled part of the 72-mile trail. Some residents say the plant would make that part of the trail less attractive and would mean a potential loss in revenue for area businesses.

Kellogg resident Mike Domy said the plant wouldn't be the end of outdoor enthusiasts utilizing that part of the trail. It just won't be as palatable.

"Will tourists stop coming? No," he said. "They just won't enjoy it quite as much.

Even when the commission hands down its ruling, it's not likely to be the end of the issue. Either side can appeal to the Shoshone County Commission, which has the ability to overturn Planning and Zoning's decision. The county commission's decision can then be appealed in District Court.