|
Hugo Neu Update THE PATH NOT TAKEN
Editor’s Note: Carol B. Johnson is a member of the Brunswick Citizens For A Safe Environment and Vice Chair of the Cape Fear Group Sierra Club whose Executive Committee opposes the Hugo Neu landfill in a resolution supported by the North Carolina Chapter Sierra Club leadership.
The North Carolina political landscape is facing a watershed decision that will say “yea” or “nay” to the Hugo Neu Corp. This New York-based international corporate giant is attempting to site a towering landfill of shredded auto residue in the Cape Fear Region. The decision may well have been settled by the time you read this by acceptance or rejection of new legislation by Senator R.C. Soles. The implications of the decision are far reaching. The economic context in which this decision is made explains the apparent desperation of our current situation. Our world has undergone a virtual sea change in its economic pattern, as discussed in a new book called The World Is Flat by New York Times reporter Thomas L. Friedman. We are facing the same dynamics that the Midwest Rust Belt has been dealing with over the past twenty years. Is North Carolina going to continue down the traditional passive economic path of settling for whatever floats down the pike even though it brings pollution risks with it? Or, is North Carolina going to ratchet up its economic game plan by aggressively reshaping our state’s economy so that every business contributes to the health and well being of each town affected by its presence? ROUTE A: Is the state is going to lay down and play dead before the public relations campaign by Hugo Neu Corp, which plans to place contaminating substances on our wetlands—restricted only by a liner that the EPA admits cannot be guaranteed not to leak? The wetlands in question belong to the Indian Creek feeder which flows into the Cape Fear River. Several miles north of that point water is drawn into the Wilmington water supply. Though it may seem that the threat to our drinking water is slight, it should be recognized that any risk to a regional watershed cannot be acceptable to North Carolina, no matter how good the business. The risks of pollution cannot be addressed by assessing whether Hugo Neu is a good corporate citizen. The R. J Reynolds factory was a good corporate citizen. The issue here is whether there are significant short and long-term risks to affected communities of side effects from this project. The non-profit Brunswick Citizens For A Safe Environment features a discussion of the risks of the Hugo Neu landfill matter on their website at www.stopthedump.com. The North Carolina Coastal Federation Coastkeeper’s Ted Wilgus report, dated March 7, 2005, to the N.C. Corps of Engineers and the N.C. Division of Water Quality, Wetlands Unit, is another source of independent assessment of the safety of Hugo Neu. A major new complicating factor is the identity of the Hugo Neu Corporation itself. The facility to be built here is advertised under the name “North Carolina Recycling”. Even though some of the barged-down shredded material will eventually be re-marketable, the permits are for a 350-foot pile that won’t be selling. The touchy-feely name does not help clarify what or who the Hugo Neu Corporation is. In this spring’s recent corporate shell game, Hugo Neu engaged in a new business partnership with a Schnitzer Corporation. Then, more recent news has it that Hugo Neu has merged into yet another world-wide corporation called the Sims group. Just which company will be paying, and for how long, for any clean-up of toxic leachate into the Cape Fear River is not clear at this point in time. Whether any such leachate could be cleaned up at all remains a matter of question. Permit hearings will be announced soon for the consideration of these matters. It is important to note that the 750-acre land in question that Navassa satellite-annexed is not contiguous with their town. All of the surrounding towns which actually border the dumpsite, have each made public resolutions opposing the landfill; they are Belville, Sandy Creek, Northwest, and Leland. The Sunset Park Neighborhood Association of Wilmington, which is on the Cape Fear River next to the state port, and the thirty-two year old historical organization, the Residents of Old Wilmington, Inc. have also passed resolutions opposing the establishment of the Hugo Neu landfill. The Mayor of Wilmington and the entire Wilmington City Council, save for one brave council member—Laura Padgett, have taken a hand’s off response to the whole issue, saying it is none of their business. On the other hand, the chair of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce welcomed Hugo Neu’s local representative into their membership (n.b., not the Brunswick Chamber of Commerce). She justified the embrace by stating to News Channel 3 in a publicly reported story on June 21, 2005, “I think most people won’t even know its here. Actually, with the curvature of the earth, and sadly the smog that we have, I don’t think many people will even see the mound. I don’t think it’s going to have an effect on downtown at all.” ROUTE B: Senator R.C. Soles, a senior senator of thirty years representing Brunswick, Pender, and Columbus counties, has taken the initiative to draft Bill S-734 Navassa Zoning. The bill would give re-zoning powers to the Commissioners of Brunswick County over the status of 750 acres of land annexed by the Brunswick town of Navassa where Hugo Neu’s future ownership is dependant upon permit approval from the N.C. Corps of Engineers. The Brunswick County Commissioners have said, given that rezoning authority, they will change its zoning to prevent its use as a landfill. A legislative attempt for de-annexation by Republican Representative Bonner Stiller, of Brunswick and New Hanover Counties, did not make it out of the Finance Committee. That dead end prompted Democratic Senator R.C. Soles to write his critical enabling legislation, which Representative Stiller strongly supports. At this writing Senate Bill 734 is awaiting release by the Commerce Committee for a vote by the full Senate, before going on to the House, and then to Governor Easley. FUTURE A: Should the Hugo Neu landfill be established, the floodgates will be opened for North Carolina to become a Dump State for the rest of the world. We have the best ports, but economically depressed small towns, and barging is the cheapest way to move trash. Already four counties are fighting imported mega-landfills: Camden, Onslow, Columbus and Hyde. FUTURE B: Should Senator R.C. Soles’ legislation be enacted successfully into law state leadership could use the rejection of the Hugo Neu landfill as its first step towards building an energized statewide public/private partnership to actively bring positive businesses here. Such a program, created by Governor Hunt in 1983, was called CAROLINA 2000. Moving a step beyond that to assertively plan for the economic and environmental viability of our communities is the next level that is needed. The road we choose will make all the difference.
For more information go to:
|
|
Carolina Civic Voice Summer 2005 Vol 5, No 3 |