Politics and Issues

Statement to the Orange County Assembly of Governments on management rules for Jordan Lake (3/26/09)

The Executive Committee of the Orange/Chatham Sierra Club has followed the stakeholder deliberations attempting to create new rules to remedy the nutrient pollution in Jordan Lake, testifying in support of new rules during public hearings before the Division of Water Quality and Environmental Management Commission.

Now that the rules are being considered in the General Assembly, several bills to weaken them have been introduced. The Orange/Chatham Sierra Club supports the rules as proposed and without compromise.
 
The purposes of the lake include flood control, recreation, providing fish and wildlife habitat to protect biodiversity, and water supply. Most of those purposes are foiled by eutrophication, the result of nutrient pollution. Therefore, the Orange/Chatham Sierra Club Group supports the full and timely implementation the rules that have come out of the lengthy stakeholder process. We urge the elected officials and managers of local governments in Orange County to do the same.

Statement on the boundary of Jordan Lake (12/8/08)

OCG's Executive Committee has asked the North Carolina Division of Water Quality to reject Durham County's proposal for a change in the Jordan Lake normal pool boundary in Durham County. The change would allow major development in the floodplain. Given the lake's current nutrient pollution, the federal mandate to clean it up, and the imminent change of rules to protect the lake, allowing development of the kind offered by Neal Hunter should be out of the question. Jordan Lake needs more protection, not less.

Chatham County public hearing (Oct. 2008)

OCG spoke before the Chatham County Board of Commissioners to support changes in ordinances about subdivision regulations to protect Natural Heritage Areas; prevent erosion and sedimentation in streams, rivers, and lakes; and institute new storm water management practices.  OCG has supported changes like these before and their passage results from the work the Board of Commissioners has been doing during its current moratorium on development. It is one of the important results of the changes in the composition of the Board, which OCG has been part of through several electoral cycles.  If you'd like to be part of these highly satisfying successful efforts to protect the environment, contact the Conservation or Political chair.

Statement on the siting of the future Orange County waste transfer station (8/11/08)

OCG's Executive Committee was pleased when the Orange County Commissioners decided to reconsider the siting of a solid waste transfer station near the Rogers Rd. neighborhood outside Chapel Hill. 

In spite of a strong recycling program, the current landfill is nearing capacity. The county has decided to ship Orange County solid waste elsewhere for final disposal and has hired a consultant to develop criteria for the siting of the transfer station.The site can be on a relatively small acreage but needs to be well buffered and relatively close to the main sources of solid waste generation. The proposed designs show minimal water consumption and zero runoff!

Loren Hintz attended the public hearings on behalf of OCG, where a key issue was environmental justice. The Rogers Rd. neighborhood is a historically Black community that has been adversely affected by the Orange County Landfill. Participants at the hearings spoke in favor of criteria that would eliminate neighborhoods like Rogers Rd. from consideration for the transfer station. The transfer station does not have the same severe impacts as a landfill but there are potential issues of smell, noise, litter and traffic.Due to social circumstances and previous environmental impacts on this community, OCG opposes the siting of the transfer station near the Rogers Rd. neighborhood and supports criteria that would remove Rogers Rd. from the list of potential sites.

Statement on a proposed Neighborhood Conservation District in the Glen Lennox neighborhood (8/11/08)

One goal of the Sierra Club is to promote livable communities that reduce urban sprawl. Recently a proposal was submitted to redevelop the Glen Lennox apartment complex in Chapel Hill. We are pleased that the developer withdrew his proposal.

OCG believes it is important to preserve the Glen Lennox community for a number of reasons. The neighborhood is home to many old deciduous trees, and is pedestrian and bike-friendly. Its proximity to UNC and moderate cost allow people to live, work, and study in Chapel Hill. OCG supports the creation of a Neighborhood Conservation District, which will work to preserve this community. Careful consideration should be given to any future development.