MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Durham, NC- The New Hill Community Association, which is waging a battle against placement of a sewage plant in the center of their historic district by the affluent towns of Cary, Apex and Morrisville, has been awarded the prestigious Indy Citizen Award by the Independent Weekly, a Durham-based Triangle newspaper. The Indy Citizen Award honors “people and groups whose activism has positively impacted their communities, whether it's one neighborhood, a city or several counties."

In accepting the award, NHCA President Paul Barth said, “We are humbled by this recognition and support for our efforts. This has truly been a community effort to protect our predominantly African-American community from becoming a dumping ground for our wealthy neighbors.”

The struggle of the New Hill Community is winning wide recognition for the justness of its cause and for the valor of the residents waging the struggle. Recently Rev. Clanton won the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network’s Florenza Moore Grant Community Award for 2010 for his "faithful work to protect the citizens, community and environment of New Hill."

The New Hill Community Association recently scored a victory when the town of Holly Springs recently withdrew from the Western Wake Partners the conglomerate of towns attempting to cite their sewage plant in New Hill.

On behalf of the New Hill Community Association (NHCA), the Southern Coalition for Social Justice recently filed a Petition for Contested Case Hearing in the state Office of Administrative Hearings to challenge the Western Wake Partners' proposed placement of a sewage treatment plant in the center of the New Hill community. Dozens of New Hill residents also recently participated in a public hearing in Apex, questioning the Western Wake Partner's plan to discharge from the proposed sewage treatment plant into a distressed portion of the Cape Fear River.

Contact:

Chris Brook, attorney
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
(919) 323-3380 Chris@SouthernCoalition.org

Paul Barth
President, New Hill Community Association
(919) 539-8736

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Posted by Rebekah L. Cowell

The town of Holly Springs has withdrawn from the Western Wake Partners, a multi-town alliance that is building a controversial sewage treatment plant in New Hill.

The town officially announced its decision Sept. 23, leaving Cary, Apex and Morrisville as the remaining partners.

But Holly Springs was never a major player in the partnership, and had planned to use only the pipes outside the treatment facility.

“This is pretty much a business decision,” said Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears, who indicated to the Indy in August that he hoped to withdraw from the contract. “Five years ago, the plant seemed to be the only viable alternative for our town, but we are seeking other options, and those will certainly save more than the $30 to $40 million needed for the New Hill plant hook-up.”

For example, Holly Springs is researching the possibility of releasing more of their effluent—treated wastewater—into Harris Lake.

Sears said the town's decision has nothing to do with the New Hill Community Association's recent filing for a contested case hearing to stop the partners from building the $327 million plant. However, it does appear that now is the best time to get out of the partnership before litigation begins.

Holly Springs will be responsible for a portion of their financial responsibility as detailed in the contract, Sears does not have a figure of what the town will owe the partners at this time.

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By Sommer Brokaw

DURHAM - Residents of New Hill, a small, majority black community, have concerns about noise, smell and possible contamination if a spill occurs from a sewage treatment plant being located in their community. The residents have fought to delay the developers, Western Wake Partners, from building the site in their community for the past five years. And, even though they had alternatives, the developers decided to locate there anyway.
In response, the New Hill Community Association raised money to pay the litigation costs for the Durham-based Southern Coalition for Social Justice to file suit against the company.

Opponents claim the community has already hosted its share of environmental burdens by being located near the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, and they fear a spill would put their wells at risk for contamination. On behalf of the NHCA, the SCSJ has filed a petition for a contested case hearing in the state Office of Administrative Hearings to challenge Western Wake Partners' proposed placement of a sewage treatment plant in the center of New Hill.

"There are better places to put this plant," said Elaine Joyner, a congregant of First Baptist Church New Hill, in a Sept. 9 media release. "We understand the Partners' need for additional sewage capacity. We simply ask that they do not put the burdens of their growth in the middle of our community next to our churches."

The petition contests the issuance of a 401 Water Quality Certification by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality. It also highlights deficiencies in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which the certification relied heavily upon. Furthermore, the petition requests a hearing on thee issues as well as seeks an injunction to prevent site construction until a hearing can be held.

Three main concerns are documented in the petition: Site 14 has larger human and environmental justice impacts than other more suitable alternatives, including land previously condemned by Progress Energy in the same general vicinity. The noise, odor, traffic and light from the sewage treatment plant will impact the community, and, third, Partners prematurely committed nearly $10 million to the site before considering its environmental impact.

"It is David versus Goliath all over again, but we know how that turned out don't we?", the Rev. James Clanton of First Baptist Church New Hill wrote in a media release. "We have been willing to host the Partners' sewage treatment plant so long as it was not in the middle of our community, but the Partners won't meet us halfway. It is unfortunate we have to resort to litigation to have our voices heard.

"We know that we're in a fight that most folks have counted us out of. I think the municipalities to a large degree have counted us out, but we are going to continue to fight just as David fought in the battle and gained victory over Goliath."

To pay litigation costs, the community association recently held a barbecue fundraiser at First Baptist and raised $4,648. Additional litigation support came from a $10,000 grant from the Impact Fund, an organization supporting efforts to achieve economic and social justice.

But not everyone agrees with the decision.

Shelia Morrison, an African-American resident who lives within a half-mile of the site, said she supports site 14. Her family has lived in the area for generations and ran a business called Morrison's Family Care Home for over 35 years.

She said she supports Partners because it will provide water and sewer connections, which is needed to revitalize the African-American business community. "Historically, there were many mom and pop little businesses in this community," she said. "But, now, there is only one little store in operation in New Hill, and there have been times when I could name about four."

Morrison has been criticized as getting paid by the Partners to advocate for them. "I have no financial motive," she said. "We [supporters] have not sought anything for anybody. I want to dispel that."

James Harris, whose family has lived in New Hill for generations and lives close to the site, also supports it. "I'm always for progress," he said. "We didn't stop the nuclear plant, so there's no need in us worrying about the waste plant."

"I know that one of the arguments for site 14 by some of the African-American residents is that it can help revitalize the community. I still haven't been able to accept that as a good trade-off over Western Wake Partners selecting one of the other sites. The residents who attend our church are pretty happy with their part of the community the way it is," Joyner stated in an e-mailed response.

For more information, visit www.scsj.org or www.newhillca.org.

By Rebekah L. Cowell

The New Hill Community Association (NHCA) and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed a Petition for Contested Case Hearing today in an attempt to stop the Western Wake Partners from building a $327 million wastewater treatment plant in the historic and primarily African-American town.

The petition asks that a neutral third-party review the partner's actions, and make a final ruling.

The petition contests the issuance of a clean water permit for the facility by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality.

It also contends the site “has larger human and environmental justice impacts than other, more suitable alternatives, including land previously condemned by Progress Energy in the same general vicinity. Noise, odor, traffic, and light spill from the sewage treatment plant will impact the New Hill Historic District, including the predominantly African-American First Baptist Church and cemetery. Western Wake Partners reverse-engineered Site 14 by prematurely committing nearly $10 million to the site before considering its human and environmental impacts. This commitment of resources prevented an unbiased consideration of better, alternative sites in the same general vicinity.”

The plant, which was scheduled to begin construction this year, will not be built in Apex or Cary or any of the partners' towns. It will loom across the street from the New Hill First Baptist Church and playground, and a half-mile from the First Baptist Church of New Hill. The plant will sit within 1,000 feet of 23 homes. But who lives in those homes is as important: 87 percent of those approximately 230 residents immediately affected by the sewage treatment plant are African-American, on fixed incomes, elderly or retired.

Rev. James E. Clanton of the First Baptist Church New Hill says it is unfortunate that the community has had to resort to litigation to have its voice heard. “We have been willing to host the partners’ sewage treatment plant so long as it was not in the middle of our community, but the partners won’t meet us halfway.”

Litigation will be expensive, and thus far the community has been able to pay those costs from a $10,000 grant from the Impact Fund, a Berkeley, Calif.-based nonprofit organization that financially assists community groups in the areas of civil rights, environmental justice, and poverty law.

A barbeque fundraiser held by the First Baptist Church of New Hill also raised $4,648.