Minutes - 20081117 - Transfer Station

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and this road is narrow with many hills and blind curves. Cyclists, farm machinery, logging trucks, and school buses use the road frequently. He said that garbage and transfer trucks would present a real hazard because of the weight, size, and braking distance. He asked the County Commissioners to consider what is happening in the White Cross area. OWASA dumps Chapel Hill's and Carrboro's toilet waste, or sludge, on many fields in this area. White Cross is also a prime site for an airport. He said that it would be appropriate to distribute some of these responsibilities around the County. He said that the Greensboro transfer site occupies only ten acres and handles four times as much garbage as Orange County produces daily. He said that there must be more sites available in Orange County. Patrick Mulkey lives in Bingham Township. He spoke about the impacts of OWASA on this community. He said that his wife's family had to sell their farm and house back in the 1960's to OWASA, under the threat of condemnation. He spoke about how OWASA has not been a good neighbor to Bingham Township. He said that OWASA owns over 3,000 acres in Bingham Township, burdening the taxpayers of Orange County because it pays no property taxes. He said that the governments of this County view Bingham Township as a dumping ground for any unwanted projects and it is carrying the burden for Chapel Hill and Carrboro water resource protection, receiving sewer sludge in exchange; and it is a target for locating another airport for UNC. He said that Bingham Township has no light at the end of the tunnel. Myra Dotson said that 20 years ago, her neighborhood became an above-ground sewer, compliments of OWASA. She spoke about the negative impacts of the things that OWASA have put in her neighborhood. Her neighborhood is site #759. She said that this site has years and years and layers upon layers of deadly noxious toxins and possible pathogens. She spoke about the characteristics of the toxins in sludge. She said that the grading and construction of a waste transfer station on this site would disturb these poisonous soils, allowing even more toxins to be released in the soil and air. The Proxy for Mike Hughes spoke on his behalf and said Mr. Hughes has a BS in Civil Engineering and an MS in Environmental Engineering from UNC. He has done some post- graduate work in the transport of toxic pollutants. He said that the site selection criteria published for the waste transfer station lacks an Environmental Impact Statement and places an emphasis on other criteria, which are subjective in nature. He said that with this transfer station, there would be destruction of wildlife habitat and runoff of leachate and this would dramatically impact the areas around it. Mr. Hughes offered his services as an environmental engineer to help find a suitable alternative to the three proposed sites — one with an adequate transportation corridor and rail transportation. Connor Blakeney lives in Bingham Township. He said that he has over 30 years' experience in material handling worldwide. He said that it is clear to him that whatever analysis was used to recommend a waste transfer station 10-20 miles distant from the County's urban centers and reachable by narrow two-lane roads is flawed. He said that efficiency is only achieved where a transfer station would be adjacent to urban centers where most of the trash is produced. He said that there are no discernable differences between the three proposed sites. He asked why a site had to be from 25-80 acres, when the transfer station needed at most a five-acre footprint. He thinks that the siting of this transfer site is a prelude to eventually siting the County's next landfill. He said that rural America is becoming the oppressed class in the 21st century. He asked the County Commissioners to come up with solutions that are fiscally responsible and fair. Cyndi O'Neal lives on property adjacent to site #779 and received the first notice last Wednesday, which was not enough time to prepare for tonight. She said that gasoline tanks are buried across from them and they have had to dig wells up to 905 feet deep at a cost of over$100,000. This water from the well is not even drinkable, but just used for bathing. They have also had to add another$65,000 to take care of the tanks as they disintegrate. Runoff