A Request Denied
The following letter was sent to the New Hanover County Commissioners. The request was denied out of hand with not a single commissioner willing to put the matter on the agenda.
Not one.
Make of that what you will.
Sirs,
On behalf of Cape Fear River Watch, North Carolina Coastal Federation, Cape Fear Group of the North Carolina Sierra Club, Friends of the Lower Cape Fear, Pender Watch and Audubon North Carolina, I am requesting that the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners formally ask the Secretary of the State Department of Natural Resources (DENR) to review and regulate the proposed Carolinas Cement plant along the Northeast Cape Fear River under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA.) I am further requesting a minimum of 45 minutes at the April 6th, 2009 Commissioners‘ Meeting for myself and representatives of other groups to present their rationale as to why they believe the Commissioners should make this request.
When the Commissioners approved the incentive package to invite Titan America to our county it did so with the understanding that any new mining or manufacturing operation along this beautiful stretch of the river would be subject to complete, thorough and rigorous scrutiny from the state and federal regulating agencies. The most relevant standards are those of SEPA. Holding a company to a less rigorous standard, or allowing a company to bypass the most relevant standard, is contrary to the promises made by the Commissioners at the time Titan was formally invited into the community and is frankly an insult to the voters of New Hanover County.
It is appropriate for DENR to regulate Carolinas Cement under SEPA and it is certainly appropriate for the Board to request that the Secretary invoke his authority.
“An environmental document is required when the Secretary determines that”:
(1) Proposed activity may have a potential for significant adverse effects on wetlands; surface waters such as rivers, streams and estuaries; parklands; game lands; prime agricultural or forest lands; or areas of local, state or federally recognized scenic, recreational, archaeological, ecological, scientific research or historical value, including secondary impacts; or would threaten a species identified on the Department of Interior’s or the state’s threatened and endangered species lists; or
(2) the proposed activity could cause changes in industrial, commercial, residential, agricultural, or silvicultural land use concentrations or distributions which would be expected to create adverse water quality, in stream flow, air quality, or ground water impacts; or affect long -term recreational benefits, fish, wildlife, or their natural habitats; or
(3) the proposed activity has secondary impacts, or is part of cumulative impacts, not generally covered in the approval process for state action, and that may result in a potential risk to human health or the environment;
I look forward to speaking before you on the 6th as you consider this matter. If you require any additional information, background or action from me, feel free to contact me at 910-602-3862 or by e-mail at dspringer@cfrw.us.
Sincerely,
Doug Springer,
Riverkeeper
