ORANGE COUNTY TO USE
DURHAM TRANSFER STATION
Bingham Township and Millhouse Road communities are spared
December 7, 2009--Orange County Manager Frank Clifton recommended, and
county commissioners voted tonight to formalize an arrangement to send
solid waste to the City of Durham's Transfer Station for 3 to 5 years,
and to consider waste-disposal options including regional solutions and
other possible collaborations.
The meeting was packed with county
residents, and after the county manager's recommendation there were
many impassioned public comments mostly in opposition to the other two
options, the Paydarfar site off Millhouse Road and the Howell property
on Highway 54 in Bingham Township. Before commissioners made their
decision, BOCC Chair Valerie Foushee expressed gratitude to citizens
for input throughout the site selection process.
Commissioner Barry Jacobs made the following motion:
- Proceed with an agreement with assurances about reducing waste and promoting recycling
- Amend the current inter-local agreement and get the best possible rate for the county and towns
- Re-engage towns
- Direct county staff and solid waste advisory board to engage in a public process to seek cost-effective alternatives, with a framework beginning no sooner than September 2010
- No additional funds will be spent on consultants unless county commissioners direct staff to do so
Mike Nelson added a friendly amendment to exclude sites in the
Rogers/Eubanks/Millhouse community from future consideration. The
motion passed 6-1 with Steve Yuhasz voting against it. He commented
that he didn't want to take anything off the table.
For more than a year our community has done an excellent job
staying informed and engaged in this issue, which came directly on the
heels of the proposed UNC airport last year. Thank you to community
members and supporters, and to local churches and businesses who
continue to help spread the word about meetings and news affecting
rural residents. Thanks
to all of your efforts our watershed land, farms and woodlands will be
spared for now from becoming an industrial corridor. More to come on protecting Bingham Township from damaging development in the future.
I'd also like to acknowledge Orange County staff and officials
who throughout the past year shared their expertise, responded
thoughtfully to our questions and comments, and fulfilled requests for
public documents promptly. While the issue of how Orange County will
dispose of its waste long-term is not resolved, tonight's decision sets
us on a more sustainable and positive course for Bingham Township and
for the county at large.
-Laura Streitfeld
______________________________________________
_____________________________
COUNTY WASTE TRANSFER STATION
Please join community members opposing an Orange County waste transfer station in Bingham Township
Questions remain about the Highway 54 site:
• Costs to county and towns
• Environmental impacts
• Driving routes & disposal location
• Future plans for proposed site
• Consultant’s conflict of interest
In our May 14, 2009 letter to Orange County Commissioners there is a detailed list of significant information that has not yet been disclosed regarding the Highway 54 site.
Please continue to contact county commissioners, Orange County
Planning Director Craig Benedict and Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson
with questions and concerns regarding the potential siting of a waste
transfer station in Bingham Township.
Preserve Rural Orange opposes a waste transfer station in Bingham Township
that would irrevocably transform a rural and agricultural community
into an industrial zone. Given environmental impacts and costs to
taxpayers, county and towns, Bingham Township sites should be removed
from consideration for a transfer station. The following should be
considered in siting a transfer station: costs; interstate & rail
access; proximity to the source of waste generation; location in
industrial or commercial zone; and water and sewer services. We will continue to urge the county to identify sustainable waste disposal solutions.