19970893 Ver 4_Public Comments_20071026

aw['F q~-pgg3
"° ~_ " t Betty BWilliamson/PharmRD
•, ~. ~a ..
'~ ~ ~ 25-Oct-2007 16:11
Dear Ms. Karoly:
GCSP 5.4354 919-483-9418
To [e-mail]
cc
bcc
Subject Addendum to my comments received in your office re US
Army Corps of Engineers (Action IDSAW-2007-03170)
I spoke with a gentleman in your office today and he suggested that I send this addendum to
my earlier letter to you via email and also via hard copy.
I neglected to include these two paragraphs in my letter.
The Marks Creek Rural Lands in Wake and Johnston Counties was designated by Scenic
America as a Last Chance Landscapes in February 2003. This designation was given to ten of
the most endangered landscapes in the United States. Scenic America is an organization
dedicated to preserving the natural beauty and unique/distinctive character of America's
communities and countryside.
Also, in my letter I mentioned to you that I had a copy of the Wake County Commissioner's
meeting. In my letter I referenced what I felt were misstatements by Shotwell Landfill Inc. As I
only have one DVD of the meeting, and to obtain extra copies would be an expense of $15.00
and Raleigh TV network would not be able to provide me with a copy before the end of the
comment period (which is tomorrow, October 26), I will be happy to come by your office and
let you hear the DVD. As it is my only copy, I did not want to submit it along with my
comments as I need it for my files and documentation.
Attached is my initial letter to you that I dropped off with Marian Davis on Tuesday October 23,
2007.
r~cc :~.~ o.~ac
The gentleman indicated that I did not have to resubmit the two attachments which were the fire
report and the staff packet for the Wake County Commissioners.
Sincerely,
Betty Brandt Williamson
Qr~c~~orr~p
OCT 2 6 2007
DENR • WATER QUALITY
WEiWrps AND S1t~~MATr;lt RANCH

3113 Georgian Terrace
Raleigh, NC 27607
October 23, 2007
North Carolina Division of Water Quality
Attn: Cyndi Karoly
1650 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1650
Dear Ms. Karoly:
I am writing in opposition to Shotwell Landfill Inc. (SLI) request to the US Army
Corps of Engineers (Action ID SAW-2007-03170) to impact wetlands and perennial
stream channels.
I am opposed to this request for the following reasons:
At the Wake County Commissioner's meeting on OS September 2006, in his appeal for
granting the franchise amendment for expansion of the landfill, Henry Campen, attorney
for SLI stated that the stream buffers would be preserved, representing 12 acres of open
space today and forever. Yet less than 10 months later, a map dated July 2007 shows
where wetlands and streams will be impacted, some permanently. At the same Wake
County Commissioner's meeting, Mr. Campen stated that granting the franchise
amendment would advance the county's goal of protecting water quality. He also stated
that granting the franchise amendment would preserve natural resources as streams would
be preserved with 12 acres of stream buffer. (note that this is a reiteration by Mr.
Campen, as he stated this fact twice for emphasis.) Mr. Campen stated that granting of
the franchise amendment would not materially impact the open space plan for the Marks
Creek Area. He stated that the expansion of the landfill would do more to preserve the
area than a subdivision alternative. (This information was captured by my personal
attendance at the meeting and by an official DVD (video and audio) recording of the
meeting.
The open space program of Wake County has identified the Mark's Creek area as the
Hope Diamond of open space. The open space initiative seeks to ensure the protection of
good water quality, preservation of natural resources, managed production of resources
(forest and farmland), preservation of historic and cultural property, protection of scenic
landscapes and outdoor recreation opportunities, and protection of public health, safety,
and welfare.
This open space program is tied to the Mark's Creek Rural Lands Initiative where Wake
County, in collaboration with Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC), and Trust for Public

Land (TPL) is working "to acquire land and conservation easements for water quality
protection, conservation of privately held working lands and scenic vistas and access for
low-impact recreation in the Mark's Creek watershed. The goal is to protect properties
for water quality, wildlife habitat, rural character, and recreation and trail access."
The above three paragraphs indicate that, in my opinion, misstatements were made by
SLI in order to obtain approval for the landfill expansion.
I, along with family members, have an undivided interest in property that is adjacent to
this landfill. Our property has been identified as a priority tract for acquisition for open
space. Currently, we are in discussion with Wake County and TLC to place a
conservation easement on our property and create a passive recreation park as part of the
Mountains to the Sea Trail project.
In SLI's application to US Army Corps of Engineers, it is stated that there are no
properties registered by the National Register of Historic Places that will be affected by
the proposed work. That is an incorrect statement. Part of our property was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on 06 October 2000. The landfill expansion, with
heights of 440 feet above mean sea level, will reach in the air equivalent to a height of a
20 story building. These mounds will be visible from the National Register District.
This is not protecting the scenic vistas.
The application to the US Army Corps of Engineers states that evaluation will take into
account water supply and conservation, water quality, and needs and welfare of the
people. At the September 5, 2006 Wake County Commissioner's meeting, it was
explicitly stated that Wake County does not have a shortage of C&D disposal capacity.
On 13 October 2007, there was a fire at SLI. I have enclosed a copy of the official fire
report. The majority of North Carolina is in drought conditions. Wake and Johnston
Counties are in exceptional drought status. To remove wetlands and streams will permit
a fire to spread more easily as there is not wetland or stream buffers to stop the fire.
The streams that SLI wants to affect feed into Marks Creek which flows into the Neuse
River. The Neuse River has been named one of the most endangered rivers. The
following statements are obtained from the Neuse River Education website
http://www.neuse.ncsu.edu/geninfo.htm
"The primary pollutants in the Neuse River are sediment, organics, and nutrients,
particularly nitrogen."
"The Neuse drainage basin encompasses all or part of 23 counties (Beaufort, Carteret,
Craven, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Harnett, Johnston,
Jones, Lenoir, Nash, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Person, Pitt, Sampson, Wake, Wayne,
Wilson). The basin supports 1.01 million people (14.9% of the state residents), the

majority of whom live in Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Smithfield, Goldsboro, Kinston, and
New Bern."
"Researchers at N.C. State University are currently conducting seven research or
extension projects in the Neuse River Basin. The majority of these projects focus on
preventing agricultural runoff and promoting sustainable farming systems for farmers.
The intent of one project is to protect urban water quality by increasing the ability of
stormwater detention basins."
Wake County is one of the fastest growing counties in North Carolina with
approximately 100 people relocating into the county daily. The protection of our natural
resources is extremely important for quality of life issues. In my opinion it would be
short sighted to allow permanent impacts to the 1.09 acres of wetlands, 0.55 acre of an
open water pond, and 4671inear feet of perennial stream channel.
The basic premise of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act is that when you apply for a
permit, you must show that you have taken steps to avoid impacts on wetlands, to
minimize impact on wetlands and provide compensation for any unavoidable impacts.
In the packet of information that was provided to the Wake County Commissioners, the
following statements were made about the landfill.
*******************************************************************
WETLANDS, STREAM IMPACTS AND BUFFERS:
Development cannot occur within 50 feet of surface water bodies. The expanded landfill
would be surrounded by a 200-foot wide buffer between the property line and the
disposal boundary as required by Solid Waste Division rules. Within this 200-foot
boundary and along the perimeter of the property, a 100-foot wide undisturbed buffer and
transitional buffer yard with Type A opacity along Smithfield road and along the northern
border of the site will be maintained.
There are no wetlands within the proposed developed area. A site map shows perennial
streams on the east and west sides of the two properties and another stream segment
roughly dissecting the two parcels. A site review was made by the landfill's
environmental consultant and staff from the North Carolina Division of Water Quality
(NC-DWQ) to determine potential impacts to streams, wetlands, and buffers.
Based in input for NC-DWQ, the design of the landfill cells was completed to minimize
ecological impacts by centrally locating the landfill, thereby reducing overall impacts to
the streams and buffers. I have enclosed a copy of this staff packet so you can see the
landfill design that was presented to Wake County Commissioners in order to gain
approval for franchise amendment.
**********************************************************************

For these reasons, I urge you to deny Shotwell Landfill Ines application as it is not
consistent with the Clean Water Act, or with the promises made to county officials.
Sincerely,
Betty Brandt Williamson