Orange County NC Website
David Caldwell, a lifetime resident of the Rogers Road area, expressed a concern about 714 <br />groundwater contamination and said that area residents were attempting to raise funds to pay the $20 per <br />home fee for testing their well water. <br />Roger Barr said that . if garbage were piled as proposed in the site consultant's report, it would be <br />..an aesthetic disaster given the level of bedrock and the height of area water tables. He asked that the <br />officials seriously examine landfilling alternatives. <br />Fred Brooks, a resident of Granville Road, said that although he did not live near any of the sites, <br />he was concerned about the wisdom of the process to date. He feels that economics and technological <br />alternatives needed to be thoroughly rethought and reexamined. <br />Sally Crane said that she lives near the present landfill site. She asked that the officials consider <br />alternative methods to landfilling including incineration. <br />Betty Maultsby said that although she did not live near any of the proposed sites, it appeared that <br />the process has been directed to the conclusion of siting the landfill at site seventeen. She said that <br />VEDCO only guarantee that fifteen percent of recyclables would be recovered, a percentage which did not <br />meet the State's standard. She feels that a landfill is needed to handle construction and debris and <br />organic wastes. She urged local elected officials to have a full discussion concerning landfilling and other <br />alternatives. <br />William. Hutchins, a registered professional engineer and Orange County resident, said that the <br />present landfill was well sited on a divide between two watersheds. He urged officials to be creative in <br />reusing the existing landfill facility. <br />Bonnie Norwood inquired whether the notice of the hearing had been intentionally placed near <br />the obituary column in the newspaper. <br />Commissioner Gordon inquired how far above ground level the peak of the landfill on site <br />seventeen would be. Gail Wilson did not have the answer but reported back on July 1 the following <br />information: 'They show the comparative height of the proposed design capacity of Orange County-17 at <br />690' vs the Phase I (existing North Eubanks Landfill finished elevation) and Phase 2 (proposed final <br />elevation of the South Eubanks Landfill) heights. The height of Blackwood Mountain is 744' and the <br />existing Eubanks Road elevation is 510'. He again would suggest that future waste reduction be used, not <br />to significantly reduce the size/capacity of the new site, but to both extend the life well beyond the 50 year <br />estimated capacity and to reduce the final elevations to well below the 690'." He said that it was also <br />.important to note that existing height estimates for Orange County-17 is based on preliminary geotechnical <br />information and will be further refined after further, more detailed geotechnical investigation after final site <br />selection. Commissioner Willhoit said that the total projected height was for a period of fifty years. He <br />suggested that a portion of the Landfill Fund be used to pay for testing for chemical contamination in <br />groundwater wells near site seventeen. <br />Council Member Evans noted that the present 202-acre landfill site had lasted for twenty-four <br />years and that sites two, nine and eleven were over five hundred acres each. She asked why the four <br />alternative sites were so much larger than the existing landfill. She also inquired whether or not a two <br />hundred-acre site would be sufficient for a new landfill site if an aggressive recycling program were <br />undertaken. Chapel Hill Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that the Town's population and related <br />growth rate had accelerated appreciably since the 1970's when the current landfill was sited. He stated <br />that the Landfill Search Committee had focused its energies on sites comprising 500 to 600 acres each. <br />Commissioner Willhoit said that the original charge was to identify alternative tracts of land comprised of <br />300 to 500 acres. <br />Council Member Andresen inquired about the staffs response on the meeting notice <br />requirements. Mr. Wilson said that notices of the hearing had been mailed to all residents living within one <br />thousand feet of any of the four sites. Also, newspaper notices were published last week. Socioeconomic