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"Last March, I would have said that this Board of County Commissioners has no <br /> backbone for justice. I would have said that you are content to follow the well established path <br /> of political expediency rather than the principles of equality and justice you claim to believe. I <br /> would have said that your decision to locate a solid waste facility in the poor, black, rural, and <br /> politically disenfranchised community of Rogers and Eubanks Roads is a grotesque <br /> perpetuation of environmental racism. <br /> Today, I am withholding final judgment. You have reversed your March decision and <br /> have reopened the search for a waste transfer site. Now the question remains, is this just a <br /> ploy to appease public opinion, or will you take the Rogers and Eubanks neighborhoods off the <br /> table? <br /> If you refuse to take these neighborhoods off the table, after they have endured the <br /> burden of county waste disposal for thirty-five years, after the promises of local governments to <br /> the landfill neighbors have been repeatedly broken, and after a moral consensus against <br /> environmental racism and injustice has been reached by much of this community as well as the <br /> nation, you will go down in history as the Commissioners that made Orange County a national <br /> symbol of environmental racism. On the other hand, you have the opportunity to make Orange <br /> County a leader in environmental justice, if you have the wisdom and courage. The NAACP <br /> and other organization are circulating a letter to community leaders and organizations. No <br /> matter what, our organizing for justice will continue. <br /> Since the 1960's, the segregationists are no longer the most dangerous enemy of racial <br /> justice. The main enemy today is institutional racism. It is good people like yourselves, who <br /> acquiesce and accommodate to the racial hierarchies inherited from Jim Crow, who perpetuate <br /> the old injustices. The dumping of waste in poor, black, disenfranchised communities is a <br /> classic example of environmental racism. <br /> The siting of the waste transfer station and compensation to the Rogers Eubanks landfill <br /> neighbors for 35 years of environmental racism are pivotal moral issues for our community. <br /> They are also decisive political issues, as all of you running for election this year no doubt <br /> realize. This Board of County Commissioners has a chance to redeem itself and set Orange <br /> County on a new and honorable path. All of us appeal to your better selves. Take the <br /> Rogers/Eubanks neighborhoods off the table. Thirty-five years is enough!" <br /> Neloa Jones said that the Rogers/Eubanks community had hoped that the Board of <br /> County Commissioners would establish an advisory committee. She brought some suggested <br /> names and gave them to the Clerk. She made reference to a map given to the County <br /> Commissioners and said that the Coalition to End Environmental Racism has a goal to educate <br /> the public about environmental injustice. These maps go far in showing some of the injustices <br /> and impacts of the solid waste facility, as well as some of the neglect that the community suffers <br /> in regard to government services. She made reference to Map #1 and the large orange area, <br /> which shows how the landfill has expanded so close to the community. She said that the sewer <br /> and water mains are in the Habitat neighborhoods, but they do not extend to the older, historic <br /> area. The OWASA water mains also exclude a number of people. She said that of the 120 <br /> people that were offered water a few years ago, only 33 people were able to qualify for aid to <br /> connect. <br /> Rev. Robert Campbell lives in the Rogers Road neighborhood. He asked the Board to <br /> take the Eubanks site off the table. He said that this administrative complaint against Orange <br /> County and the other municipalities is not a lawsuit. He said that the groundwater is <br /> contaminated, the air quality is poor, and the roadways are unsafe. He said that this complaint <br /> seeks remedies under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He believes that there is some <br /> injustice in this community. <br /> Sharon Cook read a prepared statement, as shown below: <br /> "Thank you to each one of you for reopening the site search for the County waste <br /> transfer station. <br />