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4 <br /> West End Revitalization Association weralusa@gmail.com <br /> (WERA) (336) 675-1608 <br /> PO Box 661 www.weranc.org <br /> Mebane, NC 27302 <br /> (Non-Profit 5010-31995) <br /> "Cherish every drop of water you drink, Cherish every leaf that's green, Cherish every hand keeping it clean." <br /> December 23, 2021 <br /> Jamezetta Bedford,Vice Chair jbedford@orangecountync.gov <br /> Orange County Commissioner <br /> P.O. Box 8181 <br /> Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br /> The West End Revitalization Association (WERA) recently established a Clean Energy and Climate <br /> Justice (CECJ) initiative with collaborative funding from the Environmental Defense Fund, Windward Fund, <br /> and Z Smith Reynolds Foundation.This CECJ initiative supports numerous federal government agency and <br /> local, state, and national grassroots efforts. <br /> WERA is requesting your government agency or organization to formally endorse and support our <br /> collaborative Clean Energy and Climate Justice initiative in writing. <br /> The Mebane, NC area's mega industrial and distribution centers and 119-bypass interstate highway <br /> corridor construction present specific challenges that can be addressed to implement Clean Energy and <br /> Climate Justice mitigations for local, state, and national environmental safeguards. Construction on the <br /> 119-bypass interstate project began a few years ago after a 16-year moratorium resulting from a 1999 Title <br /> VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 administrative complaint that referenced Environmental Justice Executive <br /> Order 12898 filed by WERA at the U.S. Department of Justice.That administrative complaint brought <br /> attention to the NCDOT plan targeting destruction of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities in Mebane, <br /> NC that were denied access to basic public health amenities infrastructure (safe drinking water, sewer <br /> connection, paved streets, and stormwater management). <br /> Thousands of acres of farmland and forests are being cleared for the construction of the 27-mile <br /> four-lane highway corridor from 1-85-40 in Mebane, NC to Danville,VA. Walmart, Lidl, UPS, Chick-Fil-A, and <br /> many more mega industrial and distribution centers being constructed overburden the environment and <br /> existing public health infrastructure of the area without substantial implementation of measures to engage <br /> in green and equitable energy practices to reduce their carbon footprint. These major construction sites are <br /> recognized as among the largest on the east coast and in the nation. <br /> US Congressional Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr voted for the$1.2-trillion Infrastructure Bill. <br /> Sen.Tillis praises infrastructure bill as"big win for North Carolina" (wect.com): "As a member of <br /> the bipartisan infrastructure group in the Senate, 1 worked hard to ensure this package improves North <br /> Carolina's roads, highways, and bridges, as well as major funding for clean water. 1 am proud we could get <br /> this important legislation signed into law, ....,"Tillis said (Nov. 15, 2021,WASHINGTON, D.C. (WITN)) <br /> WERA and collaborative partners are requesting that local, regional, and state government planning <br /> and zoning authorities formally include the following in their policies for permitting and zoning of major <br /> construction projects for accessing and using funding for the H.R.3684- 117th Congress (2021-2022): <br /> Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act I Congress.gov I Library of Congress <br /> A. Bundling Infrastructure for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and low wealth communities: <br /> 1. First-time safe drinking water and sewer services. <br /> 2. Residential street paving and repair. <br /> 1 <br />