|
Hugo Neu Landfill Dump Opponents Call for Legislative Action
Wilmington, N.C. - Sims Hugo Neu, Inc., the scrap metal mega-corp originally from New York that has long planned to develop a landfill and recycling complex near the town of Navassa in rural southeastern North Carolina, along the Cape Fear River, has recently been in the news again. The action this time has come both from the company as well as from opponents who have taken the issue to the North Carolina General Assembly. The effect has been to thrust the project into clouds of uncertainty, which has left some opponents skeptical of the company’s intentions. In July of 2006 the N.C. legislature enacted a one-year moratorium on all new landfills in the state, a measure that temporarily put the Hugo Neu plans for the lower Cape Fear on hold. Hugo Neu has been a leader in the development of scrap metal recycling technology and as a result of its acquisition by Sims Group, Inc., became one of the world’s leading concerns in this area. Supporters of the project have viewed it as a green industry that would provide a major boost to the local economy, offer jobs to African Americans at Navassa, while making an irreplaceable contribution to the world environmental crisis through the recycling of defunct automobiles. But opponents of the project in Brunswick County and elsewhere across the region have viewed it as an infringement upon the rights of local property owners. They also insist that it would bring the destruction of local communities while diminishing the quality of life for the area as a whole through increased volumes of truck traffic, noise and pollution. A massive landfill operation for the deposit of shredded auto fluff on the site could rise as high as 350 feet and pose a significant risk to coastal waters through leeching into aquifers, runoff, and potential flooding. The most recent action in the legislature unfolded when opponents once again took on the scrap metal giant before the N.C. General Assembly. Two bills, co-sponsored in the House by Representatives Bonner Stiller of Brunswick County and Dewey Hill of Brunswick and Columbus, made their way through the first round of committee hearings in late March. HB 427, a bill that will divest the planning jurisdiction for the proposed landfill site from the Town of Navassa, would place the property under the Brunswick County Commissioners who have expressed opposition to the landfill. The town of Navassa, led by Mayor Eulis Willis, has long acted as a partner in support of the Hugo Neu project. An additional bill, HB 428, would repeal the annexation of the property passed as a town ordinance by Navassa, with the result that the town would no longer have zoning authority over the project site. Also in late March, Sims Hugo Neu announced that it had sold to Mitsui, Inc., a Japanese trading company, a total of 19.9% of its interest in Sims Ltd., a non-ferrous metals global trading concern with which it had merged in October of 2005. The precise meaning of this move is uncertain, though according to Recycling Today [RT 4/2/07] the sale would conclude with the resignation of John Neu as director of Sims Group, which will relocate its trading team to Hong Kong while continuing to operate as Sims International—a firm with a marketing focus toward South China. The 2005 merger agreement between Sims and Hugo Neu established a holding company with Sims Ltd. retaining 74% ownership of the total operation. With the sale of Hugo Neu’s share of the conglomerate, the Sims Group would appear to retain the controlling interest in the company. But on April 5, opponents of the facility received some news they had long been hoping for. In a statement made public in the Wilmington Star News, the company announced “Sims Hugo Neu will not build a landfill and recycling center in northern Brunswick County.” According to Robert Kelman, the company president, Hugo Neu “has decided to leave Navassa to pursue other opportunities for the development of our state-of-the-art material recycling facility.” Kelman also commented on the intense local opposition to the project, observing that legislation filed in the N.C. General Assembly to kill the project had for the first time that month started to move toward approval. The Sims Hugo Neu withdrawal statement, while offering criticism for the legislation that would “strip an elected mayor of his ability to determine his town’s destiny,” also contained two important caveats. First was the announcement, “we were committed to the people of Navassa, but we also left our options open to pursue other opportunities to make this recycling project a success. We continue to believe in this project...” Expressing warm support for Mayor Willis, the Kelman statement also included the assertion, “We look forward to returning to N.C. in the future to help carry forward the kind of thriving recycling industry that will benefit both local communities and the state as a whole.” In the wake of this announcement, local opponents of Sims Hugo Neu have renewed their campaign to stop the proposed landfill for Brunswick County. Calls for continued public support for the House legislation have been issued by advocacy groups, including the Cape Fear Citizens for a Safe Environment, in addition to the Cape Fear Group Sierra Club. They cite the efforts of environmentalists to win passage of the ambitious Land and Water Conservation Bond Act of 2007, a measure widely sponsored in both the House and the Senate. This legislation is an attempt to provide public funding through diverse existing programs to improve water quality through more than 3,300 miles of North Carolina rivers and streams currently affected by industrial, urban and farm run off and pollution. The development of conservation easements, along with additions to state parks, fish and wildlife management areas and historic sites under the measure would limit development on more than 100,000 acres of irreplaceable forests, game-lands, wetlands and other natural areas. Versions of this bill in the House and the Senate have also been referred to committee for further study, but have already won the endorsement of the North Carolina Sierra Club. The two House bills focusing on the Hugo Neu project sponsored by Stiller and Hill that would remove Navassa from the picture may have a longer road to travel, but also require broad public support to be enacted into law. Does the April 5 announcement sound the “all clear,” or, would Hugo Neu, as a globalizing international corporation based in Hong Kong and facing regulation from the state of North Carolina find itself in a better position to return to the Brunswick County site? Local opponents are not taking any chances. Echoing support for the public campaign to win passage of the legislation, Cape Fear Sierra Club ExCom member Carol Johnson stated, “Hugo Neu can waltz back into the dance, resubmit permits, and build the offensive dump. A common tactic in war is to make the enemy think you have withdrawn, then hit ‘em when they are busy high-fiving each other on the so-called victory. Representative Stiller’s bills, re-assigning the zoning power for that Hugo Neu dump land are a must-pass to insure safety of the Cape Fear River for future generations, including Navassa’s future generations.”
To express support for HB 427 and HB 428, and the Land and Water Conservation Bond Act of 2007 (SB 1522=HB 990), write to mailto:bonners@ncleg.net. |
|
Carolina Civic Voice Spring 2007 Vol. 7, No 1 |