SUMMARY OF A UNIFIED PUBLIC HEARING ON
LANDFILL MATTERS, CHAPEL HILL HIGH
SCHOOL, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1996, 7:30 P.M.
The hearing was
called to order at 7:41 p.m. by Orange County Commission Chair Moses
Carey. He called upon the Mayors in
attendance to declare quoroms of their boards and to select a moderator for
this evening's hearing. Chair Carey
declared a quorom of the Orange County Commissioners to be in attendance, to
wit: Commissioners Bill Crowther, Alice
Gordon, Steve Halkiotis and Don Willhoit.
He also stated that the Commissioners were opening their hearing on the
matter. Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary
Waldorf, Carrboro Mayor Michael Nelson and Hillsborough Mayor Horace Johnson
also declared quoroms of their bodies to be in attendance and opened their
body's hearings on the matter. Chapel
Hill Town Council Members in attendance were:
Julie Andresen, Joyce Brown, Joe Capowski, Mark Chilton, Pat Evans,
Richard Franck and Lee Pavao. Carrboro
Aldermen in attendance were Jay Bryan, Jacquelyn Gist and Alex Zaffron. Hillsborough Board Members in attendance
were Kenneth Chavious, Catherine Martin, Richard Simpson and Remus Smith.
CHAPEL HILL MAYOR
WALDORF MOVED, SECONDED BY CARRBORO MAYOR MICHAEL NELSON, TO APPOINT MOSES
CAREY AS MODERATOR. THE MOTION WAS
ADOPTED BY ACCLAMATION.
Commission Chair
Carey noted that there although was no time limit on speakers this evening,
speakers were encouraged to be concise.
He also stated that more detailed information could be submitted in
writing. Commission Chair Carey also
noted that
written comments
would be received through 5:00 p.m. on July 1st.
B. B. Olive asked
whether such comments should be forwarded to one address or all four local
governments. Commission Chair Carey
said that comments would be shared with all boards if the comments were
forwarded to one address.
COMMISSION MEMBER
HALKIOTIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSION MEMBER GORDON, TO ADOPT THE PROPOSED
AGENDA. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY BY ALL OF THE BOARDS.
Chapel Hill Solid
Waste Management Director Gayle Wilson said that this evening's hearing was
being held in compliance with state statutes pertaining to municipal and county
regulations concerning the siting of a landfill next to an existing landfill
site. He also said that statutes
required that socioeconomic and demographic data be presented for all four
possible landfill sites.
Chapel Hill Planner
Robert Wilson said that the report on socioeconomic and demographic data for
the four sites and governmental jurisdictions had been prepared in accordance
with State law.
Orange County
Commission Chair Moses Carey asked whether any speakers/property owners wished
to address potential sites two, nine or eleven. A citizen inquired about the scope of comments. Chapel Hill Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos
said the intent of the hearing was to receive comments from property owners
who's property might be taken as a result of landfill siting. Hearing no persons wishing to speak on sites
two, nine or eleven, Commission Chair Carey inquired whether anyone wished to
address the governmental units regarding site seventeen.
Frank Emory, representing
Duke University, said his client preserved its right to object to substantive
defects in the landfill site selection process. Mr. Emory stated that the greatest number of impoverished persons
lived near site seventeen, as compared to the three other potential sites. Mr. Emory also said he believed that the
conclusions reached in the staff's report regarding socioeconomic and
demographic conditions were inaccurate.
Stating that more children under the age of twelve, minorities and
persons in poverty lived near site seventeen than all of the other three sites
combined, Mr. Emory urged the governments in Orange County not to site the
landfill on site seventeen. Noting that
many homes near proposed site seventeen had groundwater wells, Mr. Emory expressed
concern about the potential for groundwater contamination. He requested that the local governments find
a place other than site seventeen for disposing of the community's garbage.
Stating that he
sincerely respected the efforts of elected officials. B.B. Olive said he spoke
for hundreds of Orange County residents when he expressed his objections to
this evening's public hearing.
Expressing concern that options other than landfilling had been
eliminated, Mr. Olive said he pleaded with local elected officials to direct
their time and attention to the question of how Orange County's solid waste
should be processed.
Mr. Olive concluded
his remarks by noting that he had placed a petition at the table this evening,
signed by thirty-nine Orange County residents, requesting that local elected
officials examine options other than a landfill.
Cornelius Kirschner,
a resident of Mill House Road, said that well water at a number of homes in the
area was contaminated by two manmade pollutants only present at industrial and
landfill sites. Mr. Kirschner also said
he could not presently sell his home due to its proximity to the existing and
proposed landfills. He urged local
elected officials not to open the existing landfill for mining. Mr. Kirschner also expressed concern that a
number of landfill-related complaints had not been forwarded to the State of
North Carolina for further investigation.
He stated that one of the previously seated Board of County
Commissioners had promised to site the County's landfill at a site other than
near the existing landfill property.
Stating that too many people would be hurt and held captive by siting a
landfill at site seventeen, Mr. Kirschner urged elected officials not to site a
landfill in this location.
Linda Carver said
she lived within one mile of site seventeen.
She noted that her neighbor Julia Blackwood was too tired and too ill to
attend this evening's meeting. Stating
that area residents had experienced a number of health-related problems, Ms.
Carver said she hoped that elected officials would be responsive to the
concerns of area residents by not siting a proposed new landfill in their
neighborhood.
Jean Barr said this
evening's public hearings did not satisfy the law since many interested
participants were out of town due to the summer holidays. She also stated that although the hearing
had been tentatively scheduled since April, Ms. Barr said written notices of
the hearing had not received by area residents until about one week ago. Ms. Barr also said that information
pertaining to this evening's hearing was not available for public review until
Monday, June 17th at about 3:00 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Public Library's
Reference Desk. Ms. Barr said she did
not believe that the intent of the law was satisfied by this evening's hearing.
Kathy Schinley,
owner of a home adjacent to site seventeen, expressed appreciation for the high
level of attendance by elected officials at this evening's hearing. Ms. Schinley said she entirely agreed with
Ms. Barr's comments. Ms. Schinley also said she knew people who lived less than
one-half mile from site seventeen who did not receive notice of this evening's
hearing. She inquired why all County
residents had not been notified of the hearing. Stating that the Eubanks Road area had been the site of the
County's landfill for twenty-four years, Ms. Schinley said that the new
landfill needed to be sited somewhere else.
She urged Orange County's elected officials not to consider site
seventeen at all as a possible landfill site.
David Caldwell, a
lifetime resident of the Rogers Road area, thanked local officials for getting
refuse trucks off his street. Noting
concerns about groundwater contamination, Mr. Caldwell said area residents were
attempting to raise funds to pay the $20 per home fee for this service.
Roger Barr said that
if garbage were piled as proposed in the site consultant's report, it would be
an aesthetic disaster given the level of bedrock and the height of area water
tables. He stated that the proposed
landfill would ultimately be sixteen to seventeen stories high, about the same
height as the "pickle" building in Durham. Mr. Barr also urged the officials to seriously examine
landfilling alternatives.
Fred Brooks, a
resident of Granville Road, said although he did not live near any of the
sites, he was concerned about the wisdom of the process to date. Expressing his general concurrence with Dr.
Barr's and Mr. Emory's remarks, Mr. Brooks said economics and
technological
alternatives needed to be thoroughly rethought and reexamined.
Sally Crane said she
lived near the present landfill site.
She also said it would be wise to alternative methods to landfilling
such as incineration.
Betty Maultsby said
although she did not live near any of the proposed sites, it appeared that the
process had been directed to the conclusion of siting the landfill at site
seventeen. She appealed to the collective
boards not to send mixed signals and misinformation to Orange County residents
about incinerating waste outside of the county. She said that VEDCO only guarantee that fifteen percent of
recyclables would be recovered, a percentage which did not meet the State's
standard. Ms. Maultsby said that a
landfill was needed to handle construction and debris and organic wastes. She urged local elected officials to have a
full discussion concerning landfilling and other alternatives.
William Hutchins, a
registered professional engineer and Orange County resident, said the present
landfill was sited on a divide between two watersheds. Noting that he was a member of the Friends
of New Hope Creek, Mr. Hutchins said that monthly testing of the creek's waters
found them to be of generally good quality.
He urged local
elected officials to be creative in reusing the existing landfill facility.
Bonnie Norwood
inquired whether the notice of the hearing had been intentionally placed near
the obituary column in newspapers.
Commissioner Gordon
inquired how far site seventeen was above ground level. Mr. Wilson said he could report back on this
matter. Commissioner Willhoit suggested
that staff retrieve this information and make it part of the public hearing
record. He noted that the total
projected height was for a period of fifty years. He also requested that the hearing record reflect data referenced
by Mr. Kirschner and from the Landfill Owners Group. Commissioner Willhoit also suggested that a portion of Landfill
Fund funds be used for testing for chemical contamination in groundwater wells
near site seventeen.
Stating that the
present 202 acre landfill site had lasted for twenty-four years and that sites
two, nine and eleven were over five hundred acres each, Council Member Evans
inquired why the four alternative sites were so much larger than the existing
landfill. She also inquired whether or
not a two hundred acre site would be sufficient for a new landfill site if an
aggressive recycling program were undertaken.
Chapel Hill Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that the Town's
population and related growth rate had accelerated appreciably since the 1970's
when the current landfill was sited. He
stated that the Landfill Search Committee had focused its energies on sites
comprising between 500 and 600 acres each.
Commissioner Willhoit said the original charge was to identify
alternative tracts of land comprised of between 300 and 500 acres.
Council Member
Andresen inquired about the staff's response on notice related
requirements. She also asked staff to
briefly summarize alternatives about homeowner options relative to groundwater
contamination concerns. Mr. Wilson said
that notices of the hearing had been mailed to all residents living within one
thousand feet of any of the four sites.
He added that newspaper notices of the hearing had been published last
week so that this evening's hearing would be fresh in people's minds. Mr. Wilson also noted that socioeconomic and
demographic data was hand delivered to elected officials on Saturday, June 15th
and made available to the public on Monday, June 17th.
Council Member
Chilton noted that although there had been no detailed discussions about water
contamination matters, one of the costs related to site seventeen, if approved,
would be
laying water
lines. Commissioner Willhoit said no
decisions regarding compensation had been made at this point.
Council Member
Capowski inquired about the comparative safety of incineration compared to
landfilling. Solid Waste Director Gayle
Wilson said that although emission control devices for incinerators had been
improved over the years, the financing and economics for such facilities had
declined. He added that minimum amounts
of waste volume were needed to make incinerators economically viable. Mr. Wilson also noted that he was in process
of putting together a discussion paper about incinerators and landfills.
Alderman Jackie Gist
inquired when facilitated meetings would be held to discuss compensation
matters. She stated that the Carrboro
Board of Aldermen was waiting for facilitated meetings to happen along with a
waste reduction plan. Noting that this
matter had been discussed at the Landfill Owners Group meeting, Commissioner
Willhoit said it would be premature to have facilitated meetings prior to the
selection of a landfill site. Alderman
Gist said that elected officials needed to meet with property owners about
compensation matters. Council Member
Andresen inquired why Alderman Gist was suggesting that facilitated meetings be
the next step when no site had been selected.
Alderman Gist said elected officials needed to discuss compensation
matters with effected property owners.
Noting that he appreciated Alderman Gist's frustration, Council Member
Chilton said maybe one of the attorneys could clarify when to have facilitated
meetings on this matter.
Mayor Johnson said
he believed it would be appropriate to sit down with effected citizens once a
landfill site had been selected and approved.
Stating that the Landfill Owners Group had recommended site seventeen as
the County's future landfill site, Alderman Gist said it was important to
schedule facilitated meetings with property owners. Stating that the question was more of a policy, rather than legal
question, Mr. Karpinos said it would probably be appropriate to have the
facilitated meetings after a landfill site was identified and approved.
Alderman Gist said
she had asked the same question regarding facilitated meetings at the most
recent Landfill Owners Group meeting.
Commission Chair said the matter was a policy issue which could be
addressed after elected bodies took the next step by selecting a site. Mayor Nelson said he did not understand why
it was so difficult to add facilitated meetings to the next steps in the
process. Council Member Chilton said he
had no problem adding facilitated meetings into the process. Alderman Zaffron said his prime focus was to
deal with neighbors about compensation matters prior to selection of a final
site. Council Member Andresen said she
agreed with the need for facilitated meetings.
Noting that a new
list of steps would be developed after the meeting, Commission Chair Carey
asked if there were any other questions or comments. Council Member Chilton said the matter could be taken up at the
next Landfill Owners Group meeting.
Commission Chair
Carey noted that each governing board needed to adopt a motion to keep the
hearing record open until 5:00 p.m.
on July 1st. The individual governing board motions, each
adopted unanimously, were made as follows:
CHAPEL HILL TOWN
COUNCIL MEMBER RICHARD FRANCK MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MARK CHILTON,
TO KEEP THE HEARING RECORD OPEN UNTIL 5:00 P.M. ON JULY 1ST, 1996. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).
ORANGE COUNTY
COMMISSIONER ALICE GORDON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNTY COMMISSIONER STEVE
HALKIOTIS, TO KEEP THE HEARING RECORD OPEN UNTIL 5:00 P.M. ON JULY 1ST,
1996. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (5-0).
ALDERMAN JACKIE GIST
MOVED, SECONDED BY ALDERMAN ALEX ZAFFRON, TO KEEP THE HEARING RECORD OPEN UNTIL
5:00 P.M. ON JULY 1ST, 1996. THE MOTION
WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (5-0).
BOARD MEMBER
CATHERINE MARTIN MOVED, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER REMUS SMITH, TO KEEP THE
HEARING RECORD OPEN UNTIL 5:00 P.M. ON JULY 1ST, 1996. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (5-0).
B.B. Olive requested
that local elected officials keep the public notified of solid waste related
matters regarding landfills and their alternatives.