Minutes 01-21-2025-Business Meeting

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4 WHEREAS, in 2023 Orange County adopted its Climate Action Plan, setting ambitious goals to transition to clean, renewable energy, mitigate the impacts of climate change and ensure long- term environmental protection and quality of life; and WHEREAS, while the Orange County Board of Commissioners appreciates UNC's efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and transition away from burning coal, we strongly encourage a transition to clean, efficient technologies that do not have the potential to impact human and environmental health; and WHEREAS, UNC's cogeneration facility is surrounded by historically Black neighborhoods where issues of environmental justice are of major and long-standing concern; and WHEREAS, these neighborhoods are also home to hundreds of UNC students; and WHEREAS, the UNC Hospitals, which treats a constant stream of vulnerable patients, stands only 3,000 feet away from this facility; and WHEREAS, all of these communities would be disproportionately burdened by the release of toxic substances through the burning of the proposed waste pellets; and WHEREAS, UNC's application estimates reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 12 percent but burning pellets also increases emissions of other harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, lead, and volatile organic compounds (300 percent increase) such as benzene and formaldehyde; and WHEREAS, the engineered pellets with varying and undeterminable amounts of plastic have been shown to contain per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFAS), also called forever chemicals, a contaminant of emergent and immediate concern, with limited research available relating to air emission negative health impacts and safe exposure limits; and WHEREAS, air emissions are a significant pathway for PFAS to enter the environment, including local water systems; and WHEREAS, the community is already burdened by the presence of PFAS in its major drinking water supply, as a result of which the water authority, Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), is required to fund a costly additional treatment process to remove the compounds leading to increased consumer rates; and WHEREAS, given that PFAS air emissions are not currently regulated by the EPA, it is imperative for the health and safety of the entire community to wait for research to develop standards and regulations; and WHEREAS, at the public hearing held on January 16, 2025, a great number of people working and living in Orange County and the surrounding communities expressed their strong concerns about the negative health and environmental effects of using the pellets and the modest reduction in greenhouse gases; and WHEREAS, protecting the health, safety and welfare of its residents is the Orange County Board of Commissioners' paramount responsibility;