Laurie
07-30-2005, 12:03 AM
http://www.nbc17.com/news/4788313/detail.html
New Hill Residents Hire Lawyer To Fight Sewage Plant
POSTED: 5:43 pm EDT July 29, 2005
UPDATED: 7:18 pm EDT July 29, 2005
NEW HILL, N.C. -- Residents of rural southwestern Wake County used a barbecue dinner Friday to help fill their war chest as they girded for battle against a regional sewage plant proposed for a local historic district.
The towns of Cary, Apex, Holly Springs and Morrisville plan to build a $145 million wastewater treatment plant on about 200 acres in New Hill. The plant would be across the street from New Hill Baptist Church and in the heart of what area residents see as the heart of their crossroads community.
"It's definitely a battle worth fighting," said Tonya Forbes, a member of the New Hill Association, a recently formed neighborhood group that has hired an environmental attorney to help challenge the treatment plant plan.
"It's a simple matter of right and wrong that another municipality can come in here -- we have no votes in any of these towns -- and decide to place this facility here and take land away from private citizens," Forbes said.
But Cary spokeswoman Susan Moran said the towns are under a state order to have a plant up and running by January 2011 to return treated wastewater to the Cape Fear River basin. She said the New Hill site is a good location to serve all four towns and wouldn't be as intrusive as local residents contend.
"It has to be located in the southern part of Wake County so that we can actually get the cleaned wastewater into the Cape Fear River as the state wants," Moran said. "It will have plenty of trees, plenty of buffer to minimize odor, noise and any visual effects."
State environmental officials are conducting studies on the proposed site and are expected to conduct public hearings on the issue, beginning this fall.
New Hill residents said they realize the fast-growing towns need more sewage treatment capacity and don't have a problem with it being located nearby. But they said using excess land at Progress Energy's Shearon Harris nuclear power plant would be a better option than putting the treatment plant in the local historic district.
"We want to preserve the rural nature of our community, and we want to have some input into what kind of development will occur here when it eventually will occur," Forbes said.
James Clanton, pastor of New Hill Baptist Church, led a rally Friday night after the benefit dinner to rally the community for the effort.
"We want to get the African-American community on board and excited about getting in and fighting with the rest of the New Hill community," Clanton said.
New Hill Residents Hire Lawyer To Fight Sewage Plant
POSTED: 5:43 pm EDT July 29, 2005
UPDATED: 7:18 pm EDT July 29, 2005
NEW HILL, N.C. -- Residents of rural southwestern Wake County used a barbecue dinner Friday to help fill their war chest as they girded for battle against a regional sewage plant proposed for a local historic district.
The towns of Cary, Apex, Holly Springs and Morrisville plan to build a $145 million wastewater treatment plant on about 200 acres in New Hill. The plant would be across the street from New Hill Baptist Church and in the heart of what area residents see as the heart of their crossroads community.
"It's definitely a battle worth fighting," said Tonya Forbes, a member of the New Hill Association, a recently formed neighborhood group that has hired an environmental attorney to help challenge the treatment plant plan.
"It's a simple matter of right and wrong that another municipality can come in here -- we have no votes in any of these towns -- and decide to place this facility here and take land away from private citizens," Forbes said.
But Cary spokeswoman Susan Moran said the towns are under a state order to have a plant up and running by January 2011 to return treated wastewater to the Cape Fear River basin. She said the New Hill site is a good location to serve all four towns and wouldn't be as intrusive as local residents contend.
"It has to be located in the southern part of Wake County so that we can actually get the cleaned wastewater into the Cape Fear River as the state wants," Moran said. "It will have plenty of trees, plenty of buffer to minimize odor, noise and any visual effects."
State environmental officials are conducting studies on the proposed site and are expected to conduct public hearings on the issue, beginning this fall.
New Hill residents said they realize the fast-growing towns need more sewage treatment capacity and don't have a problem with it being located nearby. But they said using excess land at Progress Energy's Shearon Harris nuclear power plant would be a better option than putting the treatment plant in the local historic district.
"We want to preserve the rural nature of our community, and we want to have some input into what kind of development will occur here when it eventually will occur," Forbes said.
James Clanton, pastor of New Hill Baptist Church, led a rally Friday night after the benefit dinner to rally the community for the effort.
"We want to get the African-American community on board and excited about getting in and fighting with the rest of the New Hill community," Clanton said.