Orange County NC Website
<br /> Comprehensive Review of <br /> S olid W aste Collection and Disposal Options <br /> <br />v2.1 96 10/22/12 <br />narrowed down to two candidate sites. Specific parcels that were identified and considered as <br />part of the evaluation, and parcel-specific siting activities that deserve mentioning include: <br /> The County conducted a site evaluation for Site 056 (also termed the West 54 LLC or <br />Howell Property) and Site 759, owned by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority <br />(OWASA) and referred to as the OWASA property as documented in the report titled <br />“Site Investigation & Evaluation of West 54 LLC and OWASA Sites,” prepared by <br />Olver, Inc., and dated April 16, 2009. <br /> The County performed an environmental assessment for Site 056 as documented in <br />the report titled “Environmental Assessment: Site 056,” prepared by Olver, Inc., and <br />dated February 2009. A draft environmental assessment was also prepared for Site <br />759. <br /> The County conducted an environmental assessment on Site 669 (also termed the <br />Paydarfar site) as documented in the report titled “Environmental Assessment: <br />Paydarfar Site,” prepared by Olver, Inc., and dated September 2009. <br /> The County considered Site 744 which is a portion of a 57-acre parcel located <br />between Millhouse Road and I-40, north of the Town Operations Center, as <br />documented in the report titled “Site Evaluation: Site 744 (Millhouse Road),” <br />prepared by Olver, Inc. and dated June 8, 2009. The portion of the parcel considered <br />for the transfer station was outside of the Chapel Hill Joint Planning Area (JPA) <br />Transition Area and within the Rural Buffer, which restricts public utility services. <br />Other regional municipal partners have advocated for consideration of a 20-acre parcel at the <br />intersection of Interstate I-40 and Route 86 as a potential candidate site. <br />Upon conducting initial discussions with the Town, SCS became aware that another potential <br />candidate site is an 11-acre Town-owned parcel located southeast of the intersection of <br />Millhouse Road and the service road to the Transit parking lot, and positioned south of the Town <br />Operations Center complex parking lot and west of the Town’s Transportation Department <br />facility. This parcel is within the Chapel Hill JPA Transition Area and not located within the <br />Rural Buffer. The parcel is bisected by a stream and appears to be of adequate size to <br />accommodate a transfer station. As part of this analysis, SCS did not evaluate this site using <br />exclusionary, technical, or community-specific criteria similar to the County’s efforts. <br />7.1.1.2 Social Justice and Regulatory Concerns <br />As demonstrated, both The Town and Orange County have extensive experience regarding the <br />process of attempting to site a transfer station. We understand the decision to close the Orange <br />County Landfill was in part due to local community concerns with ongoing landfill operations <br />and social justice issues (Rogers-Eubank Community). Based on the public response to the <br />County’s previous transfer station siting efforts, renewed efforts by the Town to site a new <br />transfer station, within the Town’s planning jurisdictional limits, is likely to be contentious and <br />difficult, and would require strong political leadership, community relations, and resolve to be <br />successful.