The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutNCD980602163_19821020_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_Governor Hunt - An Open Letter to the Citizens of Warren County-OCR.. ·' .. .. -: STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR RALEIGH 2.761 I J.t..,_C:S B. HUNT. JI\. QOVE1'N01'1 October 20, 1982 An Open Letter to the Citizens of Warren County: I appreciated the opportunity to meet with community leader5 and members of the executive committee of the Concerned Citizens of Warren County on Friday, October 8. We had a full and frank discussion, lasting about two hours. We did not agree on everything, obviously. But it was a valuable meeting for me dnd, I hope, for ~ll of you. I told your representatives that I uri"derstand and respect your concerns about the PCB l~ndfill. Nobody wanls a landfill of any kind in their community. ~our representatives expressed your concerns in strong, clear terms. They did not hold anything back, and l appreciated their frankness. In turn, I was frank with them. I told them th~t, in my judgment, the State of North Carolina had no option but to place the PCB-tainted material in a safe and secure landfill. The Environmental Protection Agency would net approve handling the material in place along the ~oadside, I told your representatives that Warren County w~s chosen for the site solely on the basis of technical reasons. No other consideration whatsoever was involved. I also said during the meeting that the Stat~ of North Carolina does not inten~ to simply walk ~w~y from any responsibility once the landfill is completed. I rna~e several commitments to that end, and I want to spell those out for you: 1. At the request of your representatives, the state will sponsor a public meeting in Warren County at which our agency officials, engineers and scientists will.- review the safety features at the landfill and respond to your specific concerns An~ question~. The meeting will b$ held At 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 27, in the National Guard Armory in Warrenton. (more) . . "i• . .. .. · . . . Warren county Citizens Page Two October 20, 1982 2. The state will push as hard as it c~n for detoxifica~ion of the landfill when and if the appropriate and feasible technology is developed. We will seek to establish a joint local-state-federal working group to pursue this end. The State Board of Science and Technology, which l chair, will have the specific responsibility for pressing the Environmental Protection Agency to develop this process and for monitoring research to determine when detoxification is possible, 3. The state will maintain continual monitoring of the landfill. Thi~ will include the monitorin9 systems included in the design of the landfill itself, monitoring of the resident~al wells within~ three-mile radius of the landfill and checking ~treams and creek5 in the area. 4. The state will cooperate with yoqr county health department in providing environmental and he~lth monitoring for those persons who live, work or go to school near the landfill. W~rren County Health Director Joe Lennon and Dr. Ronald Levine, the state's health director, will be responsible for developing a monitoring pro9ram that will guarantee that the health of the citizens in the area is being protected. s. My administration will support legislation prohibiting any additional contaminated soil from ever being placed in this landfill and prohibiting the 5tate from ever placing another landfill in your county for any purpose, I understand that Frank Ballance will be prep~ring legielation alons these lines, and we will work with him on thi~ iiiue . 6, The State Department of Commerce will rn~ke special efforts to help Warren County attract ind~try and jobs. We will ·encourage businesses and industries to visit the county and consider sites there for expAnsion. These are the commitments I made on behalf of the State of North Carolina. It i~ my responsibility to see that they are carried out, ana I take that responsibility seriously. (more) ,.. . ' .. . . .. - warren county Citizens P~ge Three October 20, 1982 I know how controversial this matter has been. Again, I respect your concerns. And r take them seriously. Your state government has A responsibility to you and to all the people who live along the roads where the PCB material was dumped, as well AS all the residents of North Carolina who might have been affected had that materi~l spread and entered the food chain. The state is convinced, on the basis of the best scientific evidence that is cv~ilable to us, that the landfill is safe and will remain safe in the future. But you and I have seen that scientists can disagree, and their disagreements concern us. That is why I intend to see that the State of North Carolina keeps its commitment t'o you, your children and your grandchildren to continue to press for detoxificaton of the site, to closely monitor it And to guarantee its safety for generAtions to come. That is the pledge I made to your reptesentatives. in my office last Friday, an~ it i5 the pledge I make to you ' now. My very best personal regards. -14 - 2. The program for the routine maintenance of the landfill should continue with the responsibility being clearly set forth both in the record and in public. 3. Regular monitoring of the site should continue. Monitoring of private wells in the area should be initiated. No fewer than 25% of the private operating wells within a l½-mile radius of the landfill should be monitored at least once every four years. The monitoring of the landfill should include structural monitoring to detect subsidence. 4. A contingency plan should be prepared in the event of damage to the landfill or evidence of PCB leakage. This con- tingency plan should establish responsibility for corrective action, sources of funding for such corrective action, and who would be responsible for compensation to injured parties in the vicinity. This contingency plan should be updated periodically. 5. The necessary funding and supporting statutory authority should be provided, .if not already in place, to implement Recommendations 2, 3 and 4. 6. This ad hoc Working Group should be dissolved, but a mechanism should be established within state government to continue surveillance of developments in PCB detoxification, with repre- sentation from the appropriate state agencies as well as liaison with EPA, Warren County and the research community. Finally the Working Group appreciates the le•,el of concern extended to this problem by the Governor and State agencies and of the support given to the Group in exercising its responsi- bilities. Particular thanks go to Robert Jansen, Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor, for his concern and assistance. Also, William L. Meyer is recognized for his service as rapporteur.