Opposition to location of dump gathers support among homeowners' group. NC could become 4th largest dumping ground in the U.S.
WILMINGTON, N.C., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Brunswick Citizens for A Safe Environment (BCFSE) and the Alliance of Brunswick County Property Owners Associations (ABCPOA) announced a joint effort to stop Sims Hugo Neu from developing a dump site in Brunswick County.
The ABCPOA is comprised of thirteen communities with a property owner population of more than 10,000. BCFSE is a non-profit, volunteer group of concerned citizens opposed to North Carolina becoming the dumping ground for international waste, potential groundwater contamination, major traffic issues, and the threat the project may pose to the Cape Fear River.
"This alliance illustrates the massive opposition to the Sims Hugo Neu project and we are proud to have its support," said Penny Patterson, speaking on behalf of BCFSE. "More than 6,534 of the Cape Fear region's citizens have signed petitions expressing their opposition to the landfill. Nineteen towns and organizations in the region, representing the sentiments of many thousands more residents, have issued formal resolutions opposing it." Gary Halberstadt, President of the ABCPOA, reiterated the Alliance's concern about creating a 350-foot high, potentially toxic dump on land exposed to hurricanes. The site is in the midst of developing residential area and near the Cape Fear River, which is the source of about 70% of the drinking water for Brunswick County.
Sims Hugo Neu, headquartered in Australia, formed two limited liability companies in North Carolina to develop 750 acres for the dumping of waste from shredded automobiles. ASR (auto shredded residue -- the material that remains after all the recyclable elements of a 'retired car are removed) contains a variety of toxic materials such as benzene, vinyl chloride, mercury, and PCB's.
Sims Hugo Neu intends to ship auto waste from Europe and other states to North Carolina by rail, truck and barge. In Europe, several countries have already classified ASR "hazardous" and indicated their intention to ban the land filling of ASR over the next five years.
If approved, the Brunswick site in Navassa, combined with the proposed dump sites in Columbus, Camden, Hyde and Richmond counties would make North Carolina the fourth largest importer of trash in the United States.
Local politicians seem to be unanimous in their opposition to the dump but face an uphill battle with three powerful Sims Hugo Neu lobbyists working in Raleigh to influence legislators from outside Brunswick County. [Two bills that would have halted the project were stalled in legislative committees in Raleigh last session.] Senator R.C. Soles just filed a new bill, S1185, in the Senate on May 9th and Representative Bonner Stiller and Representative Dewey Hill plan to submit a similar bill in the House of Representatives. "We want to see the will of the people who are affected by this project prevail with the passage of this new legislation." Patterson said.
Online petitions as well as more information is available at http://www.stopthedump.com/ DATASOURCE: Brunswick Citizens for A Safe Environment CONTACT: Beth Souther for Brunswick Citizens for a Safe Environment (BCFSE), +1-910-383-2007, or Web site: http://www.stopthedump.com/
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