NCD980602163_19820814_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_Warren County Citizens Concerned About PCB letter to President Reagan-OCR

President Ronald w. Reagan
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D. C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
August 14, 1982
RECEIVED
SEP 1 1982
D_l~ECTORs OFFICE
Df1fls1on ot Health s· . erv,ces
We, the Warren County Citizens.Concerned about R;B, are
to you for help. We have tried due process of law, but
has failed us.
appealing
so far it
Four years ago there was a deliberate ~B spill along the shoul-
ders of 210 miles of highways, in 1.5 counties, in the state· of
North Carolina. Four months later the state announced on tele-
vision that it planned to buy 142 acres of land in Warren County
for use as a PCB landfill. 'rhis with out any prior knowledge of
Warren County Citizens. The following day, a group of angry
residents united and formed the Warren County Citizens Concerned
about PCB. For four years this group has been fighting against
the establishment of this toxic waste landfill in Warren County.
Please see article in New York Times, on August 11, 1982,
entitled "Carolina's Angry over R;B Landfill."
Over and over we have . b~en told that the landfill is politically
motivated, and our obje·ctions would be . to no avail. A high level
state employee, who must remain anonymous, quoted North Carolina
Governor James Hunt as saying that he wants the PCB dump in
Warren County because he needs it for his political career. When·
our latest suit was filed in the United States District Court,
Governor Hunt stated on television that the new legal action
would cause a temporary delay, but the landfill will be put in
Warren County. Is this not a prejudgement before trial?
During the injunction hearing on August 4, 1982, in the United
States District Court, Judge Earl Britt complained that he had
been hearing about this ever since he had been on the bench. The
attorneys representing the state admitted that the landfill would
adversely effect the property values in the county.
The court discouraged the use of Soil Scientist Professor Mulchi's
testimony. This testimony would have publicized the fact that
the landfill could not be considered safe due to the context of
the soil. Eight out of ten of Mulchi' s soil ,samples taken on the
dump site failed to meet EPA minimum standards.
The court also discouraged the use of Warren County Health Officer
Joe ~ennon's tes~i'!1ony, wh;ch ,~ould have shown that ~B was being
chemically detoxified on sit~ in South Carolina with a good deal of suc9ess. The South Carolina Health Department monitering the
operation was very pleased with results to date.
. . • - 2 -
• When it was announced that Tudge Britt had dismissed the injunction
plea, the Chairman of the Warren County Commissioners stated on
television that the landfill would be put in Warren County, and
that any further protest was useless.
EPA is going to spend $2,543,700 from the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response Compensation and Liability Act, Commonly known as
Superfund. This at a time when EPA announces that it must cut
spending. Is this the greatest emergency they have?
The state plan for moving the infected soil is to remove a stri p
of soil J" deep and 18" wide and then pull enough dirt from the
roadside ditch to fill in the 18" trench. Three inches deep and
ei~hteen inches wide after four years? Do we really know where
this PCB has gone after four years of rain, snow, wind, et al.
We in this county feel threatened. There are 270 homes, 700 people,
within a J mile radius of the site. We are one of the poorest
counties in the state with a minority population of 6J%. We know
we are close to Research Triangle which has industries that need
toxic waste dumps, but we are one of only 37 out of the 100 coW'lties
in North Carolina that do not produce toxic waste. Why then should
we have toxic waste thrust on us?
It is obvious to all that we are victims of a political game. But
how can we win? Is there some way -someone out there who can
help.us? Time ~s running out. The state plans to begin moving
the infected soil on August 2.3, 1982. We say we will do what i s
necessary to protect our health and our home. Pray God that we
wont have too.
Very truly yours,
Warren County Citizens Concerned
9-FOUt PCB £) . (}
~~-<. o<.:eJ;-6-<-l7 ~a-~J.µ~
Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Lubbers, Jr.
Press Secretaries
Rt #2, Box 50
Warrenton, N. C. 27589
CC: The Vice President of the United States
Department of State
Department of Agriculture
Department of Justice
Department of Interior
Department of Commerce
Department of the •rreasury
Department of Energy
Housing and Urban Development
Environmental Protection Agency
United Nations
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