NCD980602163_19940728_Warren County PCB Landfill_SERB C_Governor Hunt letter to Citizens of Warren County-OCR

JAMES B. HUNT, JR.
GOVERNOR
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
RALEIGH 27603-8001
~uly 28, 1994
To the Joint Warren County and State PCB Landfill Working Group:
In 1983, after the PCB landfill in Warren County was closed,
I made a commitment that the State would monitor the condition of
the landfill and the health of the citizens living near the
landfill. North Carolina has maintained that commitment ever
since.
In addition, I made several other commitments to the citizens
of Warren County. Since my return to the Governor's Office in
1993, I have taken a number of steps to reinforce those
commitments, including the establishment of the Joint PCB Landfill
Working Group at the request of Warren County.
I am writing to you now to reaffirm those commitments and to
thank you for your assistance in helping me fulfill them. I am
pleased that you have been working for several months under the
direction of the co-chairs from DEHNR and Warren County and that
with the assistance of DEHNR, you have hired a technical advisor to
assist you in addressing concerns about the landfill.
You have identified three primary agenda items: (1) to perform
a detailed environmental assessment of the landfill; (2) to
evaluate technologies for detoxification of the PCB-contaminated
contents of the landfill; and (3) to assess maintenance needs for
the landfill's security, such as internal landfill water levels.
While all three of these agenda items are important to ensure
safety of the landfill, I am aware that detoxification of the
contaminated soils is a priority concern. In 1984, a similar joint
working group which I appointed to look at this issue recommended
that detoxification was not feasible at that time. With ten
additional years of information, research work, and practical
experience with the clean-up of PCB-contaminated soils behind us,
it is possible that a feasible means of detoxifying the landfill,
which does not pose a threat to the community, may be found.
J.A.loCU B. HUNT, JP\. QOVt"NO" lo . -'i ~~ STATE OF NORTH CAROLI NA OFFICE OF THE GOVE:RNOR RAL~IGH 27611 \ October 20, 1982 An Open Letter to the Citizens of Warren County: I appreciated the opportunity to meet with community leaders and members of the executive committee of the Concerned Citizens of Warren County on Friday, Octob~r 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 And, I hope, for all of you. I told your representatives that I understand and respect your concerns about the PCB l~ndfill. Nobody w~nls a landfill of any kind in their community. Your representatives expressed your concerns in stron9, clear terms. They did not hold anything back, and l appreciated their frankness. In turn, 1 was frank with them. I told them that, 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 not approve handling the material in place along the roadside, I told your representatives that Warren County w~s chosen for the site solely on the basis of technical reason6. No other conpideration whatsoever was involved. I also said during tha meeting th~t the State of North Carolina does not inten~ to simply walk ~W4Y from any responsibility once the l~ndfill is completed. I rnAde 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 a.ncl scientists will_, review the safety features at the landfill and respond to your specific concerns and question». The meetin9 will be held At 6;30 p.m., Wednesday, October 27, in the National Guard Armory in Warrenton. (more)
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Warren County Citizens
Page Two
October 20, 1982
2. The state will push as hard as it can for
detoxificat.ion of the landfill when and if the appropriate
and feasible technology is developad. We will seek to
establish a joint local-state-federal working qroup to
pursue this end. The State· Board of Science and Technology,
which l chair, will have the specific responsibility for
pressing the Environmental Protection Agancy to develop this
process and for monitoring research to determine when
detoxification is pos~ible,
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 af
the residential wells within~ three-mile radius of the
landfill and checking ~treama And creek5 in the area.
4. The state will cooperate with your county health
department in providing environmental and health monitoring
for those persons who live, work or go to school near the
landfill. Warren County Health Director Joe Lennon and
or. Ronald Levine, the state's health director, will be
responsible for developing a monitoring program 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 ~tate from ever
placing another landfill in your county for any purpose. I
understand that Frank Ballance will be preparing legislation
along these lines, and we will work with him on thi. issue,
6, The State Department of Commerce will make
special efforts to help Warren County attract ind~try and
jobs. We will encourage businesses and industries to vi~it
the county and consider sites there for expAnsion.
The.e are the commitments I made on behalf of the
State of North Carolina. It i~ my responsibility to see
that they are carried out, and I t~ke that responsibility
seriously.
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Warren county Citizens
Page 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 o. responsibility to you b.nd 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 affecte~ had that materi~l spread and
entered the food chain.· The state is convinced, on the
basis of the best scientific evidence that is available 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 Ui, . That is ~hy 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
ano to guarantee its safety for generAtions to come.
That is the pledge I made to your representatives. in
my office last Friday, an6 it is the pledge I make to you • now.
My very best personal regards.
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