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ACS- -0010- 054-- <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />RESOLUTION REGARDING THE USE OF COAL AS AN ENERGY SOURCE <br />FOR THE CO- GENERATION FACILITY OF <br />THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL <br />WHEREAS, medical research has yielded compelling evidence that toxic chemicals, <br />including mercury, arsenic, lead and particulate matter emitted by coal -fired plants can <br />adversely affect human health; and <br />WHEREAS, the UNC- Chapel Hill cogeneration plant is responsible for more than 320,000 <br />metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, contributing to global warming; and <br />WHEREAS, coal mining is socially and environmentally destructive, and UNC's coal may <br />be extracted using mountain top removal, a method that causes egregious damage to the <br />environment and communities of Appalachia; and <br />WHEREAS, the energy cost savings from burning coal are actually shifted to increased <br />public health and environmental costs; and <br />WHEREAS, a representative of the group Citizens for a Coal -Free Community presented a <br />petition on April 20, 2010 for the Board of Commissioners' consideration; and <br />WHEREAS, on May 7, 2010, UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp issued a statement adopting <br />the recommendations of his appointed Energy Task Force, committing the campus to be <br />coal -free by the year 2020; and <br />WHEREAS, the Commission for the Environment has reviewed the petition and the status <br />of the plant with recommendations regarding needed future monitoring; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />thanks the Citizens for a Coal -Free Community for raising this issue and shares the interest <br />in public health and the move away from coal as an energy source for the UNC co- <br />generation facility. <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board applauds the actions of Chancellor Thorp to <br />make the university coal -free by the year 2020, thanks the Commission for the <br />Environment for its thoughtful consideration of the implications of this planned energy <br />source change, and encourages the University to proceed on this path towards a coal -free <br />future at all due speed, mindful of the implications and monitoring needs that are critically - <br />important to assess the impact of this change. <br />This, the 15th day of June, 2010. <br />Valerie P. Foushee, Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />ATTEST: <br />Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board <br />