Where our elected officials stand on the Titan issue
Local healthcare professional, Lee Porter, shares his January 11, 2009 letter to local and state officials regarding his concerns about the proposed Titan cement plant.
From: Lee Porter, APRN-NP, CS,
Clinical Director, Allied Psychophysiology PLLC
To:
Governor Beverly Perdue, governor@ncmail.net
New Hanover County Board of Commissioners
Ted Davis, Jr., Chairman tdavis@nhcgov.com
Jason R. Thompson, Vice-Chairman jthompson@nhcgov.com
Robert G. Greer bgreer@nhcgov.com
William A. Caster bcaster@nhcgov.com
Jonathan Barfield, Jr. jbarfield@nhcgov.com
Sen. Julia Boseman Julia.Boseman@ncleg.net
Rep Carolyn Justice Carolynju@ncleg.net
Rep Daniel McComas Dannym@ncleg.net
Rep Sandra Spaulding Hughes Sandrah@ncleg.net
I am writing to you as a concerned citizen of the Cape Fear area to voice my opposition to the proposed Titan America Cement Plant. As a healthcare professional I oppose Titan because it poses significant public health and environmental risks. As a small business owner and tax payer I oppose public money being used to facilitate a potentially damaging enterprise by a foreign owned company that does not benefit the citizens of southeastern North Carolina.
My healthcare practice specializes in the care of individuals with neuropsychiatric illnesses, including attention and learning disabilities, nervous system dysregulation, autistic spectrum disorder, and brain injury. As a healthcare professional, I am particularly aware of the potential human health risk of the planned Titan Cement plant. Mercury released into the environment and the particulate air pollution from operation of this plant would result in serious health risks for our area’s population and the critical environment of the region. These risks are too significant to accept and I am not convinced that these risks can or will be adequately mitigated.
Additionally, as a business owner in the region, I am not convinced of any real economic benefits to the community from this plant. The number and type of proposed jobs and the projected tax revenues envisioned from this operation would not equalize the burden on local resources and infrastructure, the potential public health risks, the degradation of the environment and the erosion of the quality of life in the region. The desirability of the area needs to be preserved so that we can attract companies to the area that will fully contribute to the local economy and the health of the community in the long run.
Please do whatever you can to help stop Titan Cement from spoiling the Cape Fear area.
Replies from elected officials:
Bev Perdue, Governor
NO RESPONSE
Ted Davis, Jr., New Hanover County Commissioner
Thank you for your email. I will certainly keep your comments and concerns in mind. Ted Davis Jr.
Bill Caster, New Hanover County Commissioner
I appreciate your comments and interest. The property is zoned heavy industrial; therefore, the Titan facility could be built by right, like it or not. The facility has to meet all current environmental regulations. If they can’t meet them then I don’t want them here and the plant cannot be built. I am not sure how the State incentive package works, but the County’s requires that the plant be built and they hire 160 employees. Once that is done, they will get a $700,000 property tax rebate for six years. Their total tax bill will be approximately $2,200,000. Even with the rebate we will receive approximately $1,500,000 for the six years and after that we receive the total amount. They will have to meet whatever air quality requirements that are in place and if they can’t meet the requirements then I don’t want them here.
Robert Greer, New Hanover County Commissioner
NO RESPONSE
Jason Thompson, New Hanover County Commissioner
Thanks for your email and your opinions...I will take them into account as I decide what is best for NHC...my wife is a BSN,RN,FNP so I am familiar with her concerns regarding public health also. JT
I cannot undo the previous commission decision...I will work to ensure a better land classification system to avoid this in the future and I have already requested that the county address "green" initiatives. JT
Here is NHCO councilman Jason Thompson’s reply received today in reference to why the Titan Cement situation cannot be easily reversed: “They have signed contracts…they could be reversed but legal has advised that would leave us open to lawsuit and damages and we would lose” – JT
Apparently the former NHCO Council authorized contracts with Titan before fully investigating the ramifications of a project like this. Even more unbelievable … apparently without adequate back-out options.
Jonathan Barfield, Jr., New Hanover County Commissioner
I appreciate your concerns about the Titan Cement plant and I share your feelings. One of the issues I campaigned on was my opposition to the Titan Cement plant. The potential damage to the environment and the health and safety of those who live in the area surrounding this plant far out weigh the number of jobs the plant is looking to bring. At this time the only thing the county can do is make sure the permitting process by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers is as strict as possible. This is something I plan to monitor.
Danny McComas, NC Representative
NO RESPONSE
Sandra Spaulding Hughes, NC Representative
NO RESPONSE
NC Representative Caroline Justice and NC Senator Julia Boseman
I sent this letter to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on behalf of Senator Julia Boseman and myself as a part of our efforts to slow down the issuance of the draft air permit. I will keep you informed as things progress.
Representative Carolyn Justice
January 21, 2009
Mr. Dee Freeman, Secretary
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
1641 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1641
Re: Carolinas Cement Company PSD Permit Application
Dear Secretary Freeman:
Carolinas Cement Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Titan America, has submitted an application for a prevention of significant deterioration (“PSD”) air quality permit for its proposed Portland cement manufacturing facility outside Castle Hayne. It is our understanding that the Division of Air Quality (“DAQ”) anticipates issuing a draft air permit early this year. We write this letter to express our concern that proceeding with action on this draft air permit violates the North Carolina Environmental Policy Act and to encourage DENR to postpone issuing any draft air permit for this project until all of the environmental impacts of the project are fully evaluated and disclosed to the public.
This issue is of vital importance to our constituents. They are rightfully concerned about the long-term impacts of the hazardous air pollutants that would be emitted by this facility and about the apparent intent of DAQ to issue a draft air permit before the full range of interrelated environmental and public health impacts have been evaluated. The proposed Titan facility would be the 4th largest cement plant in the United States and a significant emitter of carbon dioxide, mercury, hydrochloric acid, particulate matter, and other pollutants, and increase levels of smog and acid rain, all of which increase health risks to humans (including neurological damage, heart attacks, strokes, and asthma attacks).
The risks associated with this facility are heightened by its location. More than 8,500 school children attend schools located within 5 miles of the proposed facility. Further, the proposed site is just outside of Castle Hayne and less than 7 miles from the heart of historic downtown Wilmington and within 6 miles of several beachfront tourist destinations. The site is adjacent to the Northeast Cape Fear River, a blackwater river already listed on the State’s 303(d) list as impaired by mercury contamination.
Under the letter and spirit of the North Carolina Environmental Policy Act, DAQ must complete a detailed statement of impacts to the environment and public health before issuing any draft or final air quality permit. The Environmental Policy Act requires state agencies, including DAQ, to provide a “detailed statement” evaluating projects that involve “public moneys” and significantly affect the environment. Carolinas Cement’s proposed Portland cement kiln and quarry project involves the expenditure of more than $4 million of “public moneys” by New Hanover County and would have a significant adverse effect the environment.
It would be illogical, and illegal, to issue an air quality permit prior to a complete analysis of the air quality impacts – direct, indirect, and cumulative – that would result from the operation of the facility pursuant to that permit. DAQ can meet this requirement by incorporating the DAQ air permit review into the comprehensive U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Review Team process that is being conducted pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. That process is slated to begin in February and will include a review of air quality impacts.
Not only is evaluating all of the environmental impacts required by law, it is prudent because of changes to the quarry design that will inevitably result from the wetland permitting process. Carolinas Cement’s proposed facility has two interdependent components that should be evaluated together: the Portland cement kiln and the limestone quarry. Although the cement kiln is the primary source of air emissions, including mercury, the quarry operation plays a critical role in those emissions. The chemical makeup of the limestone from the quarry, which is dependent on the quarry’s specific location, has a substantial impact on the level of air pollution from the kiln and therefore can significantly affect the PSD analysis. Carolinas Cement cannot state with accuracy the boundaries of the quarry until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes an environmental impact statement analyzing the company’s requested federal Clean Water Act permit for the quarry and issues or denies a permit for a specific quarry plan.
Postponing the issuance of a draft air permit until the completion of the environmental impact statement for the project would also allow DAQ to apply clear regulatory standards, including new state air toxics rules which are to take effect in less than two months. Recognizing the failure of existing regulations to adequately protect human health, the EPA is expected to release revised final standards regulating hazardous air pollutants from Portland cement facilities this spring. These upcoming regulations on hazardous air pollutants have important implications for Carolinas Cement’s proposed facility and for the health and well-being of our community and the natural resources on which we depend.
Not surprisingly, the proposal to build this facility has drawn considerable public interest from our constituents. To date, we have received more than 1,100 email letters in our offices. While an adequate public comment period on any draft permit is essential, meaningful public comment will not be possible if DAQ issues a draft permit before all of the environmental impacts of the project have been analyzed and disclosed to the public, and before final EPA regulations for hazardous air pollutants are released. Ultimately, the only way the public can meaningfully comment on a draft air permit on this facility is for DAQ to hold any draft permit until the EIS for the facility is completed and EPA finalizes its regulation of hazardous air pollutants from these types of facilities.
If DAQ elects to issue a draft air permit regardless of these uncertainties and legal obstacles, we request that certain parameters be set to allow our constituents to comment. A single public hearing would be inadequate to hear those concerns. We request a comment period of at least 90 days and for multiple public hearings, including sites in Wilmington, Raleigh, and a community upwind of the proposed facility such as New Bern. Given the intense interest this project has generated in New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick counties, we request that the public hearing in Wilmington be held on a Saturday so that everyone who is interested in making comments has the opportunity to do so.
The toxic emissions from this facility would pose substantial risk to our constituents by polluting their communities, schoolyards, and waterways. These impacts would be felt for decades, long beyond the useful life of the plant itself. Such impacts and risks demand full evaluation, disclosure, and public input.
It is worth the wait for the completion of the environmental review process and EPA’s publication of the pending regulations to ensure that appropriate, legally sufficient standards are applied through the PSD and other permitting processes.
Sincerely,
Representative Carolyn H. Justice Senator Julia Boseman
Representative Carolyn H. Justice (Rep); Deputy Minority Whip
Thank you so much for communicating with me your concerns about the issuance of a draft permit. I communicated with Mr. Overcash (Director NC DENR, Division of Air Quality) expressing my concerns, also. Below please see his response to me. I will continue to follow this process closely, and will keep you informed. Rep. Carolyn Justice
To follow up on our phone conversation from yesterday, I'll lay out the plan for the permit application process for Titan Cement. As you are aware, DAQ has the permit application for Titan under review and we are currently waiting for the company to give us some additional information to complete the technical portion of the application. We don't know when that information will be submitted, but when it is, if is sufficient for us to complete our review, we will then move to complete a draft permit. Once we have a draft permit ready, we will issue a notice in the local newspaper, followed by a news release, which advises the public that we have completed our review and that we have prepared a permit for public review and comment. In this case, as I indicated on the phone, we intend to also notify the public of our intent to hold a public hearing to receive verbal comments on the draft permit. The hearing will be held somewhere in the vicinity of the proposed plant and we'll provide details as to location, time, and date in the notice and press release. After the hearing is held and the comment period closes (about a week or so after the hearing), the hearing officer will prepare a report based upon the comments received and make a recommendation to me as to whether the permit should be issued as proposed, with new conditions based upon the comments received, or denied. (As for the denial option, that is a very high hurdle and must be based upon the fact that I don't believe the company will be able to comply with all of the existing rules or standards that are in place at the time of the denial.) I think that our rules require a decision be made about the permit no later than 30 days from the end of the public comment period.
Of course, if a permit is issued, the applicant and third parties can file an appeal with objections to the parts of the permit that they disagree with, which starts an administrative process that could include a hearing before an administrative law judge to resolve the issues which have been raised.
I hope this info is helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if you have additional questions. Keith