Orange County NC Website
556 <br />the county could lose an additional 136 acres to OWASA. <br />(3) Throughout the EIS, it is reported that OWASA has made or will maY <br />critical inspection of the water leaving the Quarry and Aspha <br />operations. He fears that without impugning the dedicated staff ar- <br />OWASA it Pay be more difficult to find a minute amount of some <br />hazardous trace element by an employee whose management. is, <br />contractually obligated to help get these approvals. <br />(4) He asked that the Board please note the careful wording and phrasing <br />throughout the EIS regarding the asphalt plant. He made reference <br />to specific sections dealing with the 401 water quality <br />certification, and air quality measures. He emphasized that OWASA <br />itself prohibits any asphalt, concrete, or ready mix plants under <br />the proposed lease betT,:aen OWASA and American Stone dated May 10, <br />1990.. He noted that the document titled "Spill Prevention and <br />Counter Measures Plan" was not done on site but by a professional <br />engineer in Indiana. <br />(5) On the question of rare and protected species, Mr. Danziger noted <br />t'.;at the document presumes some species to be extinct because a <br />literature search did not identify any records or names of <br />"threatened or endangered spe.:ies in the vicinity of the proposed <br />project. The information has never been verified by actual field <br />trips. <br />Mr. Danziger feels there are three options that were not discussed in the <br />EIS: (1) close the quarry and asphalt plant now and if OWASA really needs <br />more storage, buy the hole that now exists, (2) close the quarry in 15 years <br />when the stone runs out and the asphalt plant after upgrading in 7 years when. <br />the lease ends or (3) permit a quarry operation somewhere in Orange County bi <br />outside of any watershed protected areas. <br />Allan Spalt noted that the purpose of an EIS is to inform decision makers <br />and the public about all reasonable alternatives and all potential impacts in <br />order to promote sound decision making. An EIS does not require that the most <br />environmentally sound decision is made. He feels that the proposal being made <br />is probably, in the long run, good for Orange County. However, in the short <br />run there is a lot of people living in that area and the environmental impacts <br />.need to be considered in any decision that is made. He feels that if the <br />quarry is such a great long run benefit to the County it should be worth it <br />to be sure it does not have real serious impacts on the environment or the <br />people living in that area while this plant is operating. He does not feel <br />the document helps in making these kinds of. decisions for the short run <br />because it does not. consider all potential impacts. This EIS was done in the <br />office and the wetlands issue needs to be addressed fairly. The language that <br />is used in the EIS applies that things will be improved. This is not starting <br />out with a fair attitude. It is a document that set out to prove conclusions <br />that had already been reached rather than one that is intended to inform the <br />public and decision makers about all reasonable alternatives and potential <br />impacts in order to promote sound decision making. That is why it is a flawed <br />EIS. Two of the main issues is that this is in the watershed. If the asphalt <br />plant was not already there, this would not be under consideration. The <br />second issue is that even though this is to be a new state-of-the-art asphalt <br />plant which is more energy efficient, it will use the same energy as before <br />This means the plant is going to be twice as large. One of the most serioL <br />flaws in the EIS is the potential for a spill and the traffic generated by <br />enlarging the asphalt plant. He feels this should be considered elsewhere.