Asphalt Plant Proposed For East Flat Rock!

STAND UP, SPEAK OUT!

PLANNING BOARD MEETING THURSDAY, JUNE 18 at 5:30 PM

By Gray Jernigan, Green Riverkeeper and Southern Regional Director for MountainTrue

We are very concerned about a proposal that quietly appeared on the Henderson County Planning agenda: A developer has applied for conditional rezoning requesting that the County conditionally rezone 6.5 acres located at the intersection of Spartanburg Highway (US-176) and US-25 to a conditional district to construct a new asphalt plant. The property is currently zoned Community Commercial (CC) and is surrounded by residential zoning.

A virtual Neighborhood Compatibility Meeting was held via Zoom on Monday, June 8. You can watch the entire four hour meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvf2wGfhtBA

The big takeaway from the Neighborhood Compatibility Meeting was that there is absolutely no way that this project is appropriate for the location and that the rezoning request should be denied. Thank you to the 115 community members that tuned in, to the over 160 community members that submitted questions in advance, and to more than 50 people that asked questions live during the meeting, none of which we believe were sufficiently answered by the developer.

While we appreciate everything that the County Planning staff did to make this meeting accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were still unable to join. This is because not everyone has access to a computer, internet access, an internet connection strong enough to support streaming services, or access to the Zoom streaming service. Others were able to attend but not able to comment because they used an older version of Zoom, had technical difficulties or did not have a computer microphone to speak, or tuned in via YouTube and were not able to ask questions. For all of these reasons, we believe meetings of this nature are inappropriate during this time, and the decision making timeline should be postponed or extended to accommodate public participation.

We have a number of environmental and community concerns about the proposed plant, and we will be asking Henderson County officials to deny the rezoning request. Here are some of our concerns:

Air Pollution – Asphalt fumes are known toxins and contain pollutants such as formaldehyde, hexane, phenol, polycyclic organic matter, and toluene. Exposure to these air toxics may cause cancer, central nervous system problems, liver damage, respiratory problems, and skin irritation.
Water Pollution – Runoff of pollutants from the site would impact Laurel Creek, which flows to the Green River.
Public Lands – The site is dangerously close to the Green River Game Lands, which would be on the receiving end of air and water pollution.
Community Health – A study by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) showed 45% of residents living within a half mile of a new asphalt plant reported a deterioration of their health, which began after the plant opened.
Environmental Justice – The site is near a low-income community that would bear the brunt of air and water pollution, dust, noise, truck traffic, and exposure to harmful toxins. Low income communities are disproportionately impacted by industrial facilities across the nation, and that’s not right.

Here’s what we need you to do:

- Educate yourself about the project by reading resources on the Henderson County website here: https://www.hendersoncountync.gov/planning/page/neighborhood-compatibility-meeting-se-asphalt-plant
- Stay informed by following the local community organizing group Friends of East Flat Rock:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/251151092979467/about/
- Website: https://friendsofeastflatrock.org/
- Attend these upcoming meetings, and submit public comments:

- - Technical Review Committee on Tuesday, June 16 at 2:00 PM
    Access here: https://www.hendersoncountync.gov/planning/page/technical-review-committee-meeting-229
  - Planning Board on Thursday, June 18 at 5:30 PM.
    Access here: https://www.hendersoncountync.gov/planning/page/planning-board-16
    Submit comments here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCPB_SEAsphalt

Now is the time to stand up, speak out, and put a stop to this pollution factory before it even gets started! Join us in the fight!

It’s time for Congress to invest in clean water!

Congress is deliberating economic stimulus and funding plans to assist people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those budget discussions include proposals for large-scale infrastructure funding programs. One aspect of our nation’s infrastructure that is in desperate need of modernization is our stormwater and sewer systems — which are woefully inadequate in the face of heavier rain events due to climate change.

Join MountainTrue in calling for Congress to triple its annual appropriations for the Clean Water State Revolving Funds from $2 billion to $6 billion and explore additional investments in our nation’s drinking water and sewer infrastructure systems.

Submit a letter by filling out the form below. We encourage you to personalize it by telling your members of Congress about your own connection to the river.

With the Water Quality Act of 1987, the US Congress established the Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF) to provide sustainable, long-term financial assistance to support communities’ stormwater and drinking water needs. Since its inception, the CWSRFs have provided a total of $151.2 billion (as of 2018) in financial assistance — but this has only met a small fraction of what our nation needs in order to have modern water infrastructure.

The EPA has estimated a current price tag of $745 billion dollars in needed infrastructure repairs — $271 billion of which is needed to fix sewage and stormwater systems. And that doesn’t include what it will cost to adapt our water infrastructure to the challenge of climate change — an additional $448-944 billion.

North Carolina has enormous need for stormwater infrastructure repairs to keep our waterways clean, but very few of them are funded. North Carolina receives only around $25 million per year from the fund, but last year alone, there were $638.8 million in requests.

To fix the source of our region’s water pollution problem, more federal funding is a key piece of the puzzle. By directing billions in new funding to fix water infrastructure, Congress can create new green jobs, protect our rivers, and help preserve recreation-based economies all at once. Our Representatives can do this by tripling annual appropriations for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, as well as including new funding for drinking water and sewer infrastructure in future stimulus bills, infrastructure bills and budgets.
Will you call on your Congressional Representatives to support new stormwater investments for North Carolina?

Our Scavenger Hunts Will Help You Learn About Your Neighborhood’s Native and Invasive Species

These days, many of us are spending more time at home. Now that the weather is warming up, we hope you get the chance to get outside and explore your neighborhood! The next time you’re out for a stroll, we hope you’ll consider taking along one of our scavenger hunts to learn a thing or two about your neighborhood!

To start, we’d like to challenge you to keep an eye out for something that doesn’t belong — non-native invasive plants. At MountainTrue, much of our work on public lands is dominated by concerns about invasive plants, and we’ve spent thousands of hours removing them from our most important forest areas. However, it is far easier to stop these species before they take root, and our yards are often the source. If you’d like to get involved, the first step is to learn what to look out for by downloading our Neighborhood Invasives Scavenger Hunt!

We’d also like to better acquaint you with 10 native species that often grace our urban and suburban areas, with our Introduction to Neighborhood Natives Scavenger Hunt. We hope to help you identify these species if you aren’t familiar with them, or simply share some fun facts for you more experienced botanists! If you’re not so interested in plants, we’ve also created a Native Birds Scavenger Hunt to learn about some of our most common neighborhood visitors.

We hope you’ll take this opportunity to explore your local environment with us. Tag us on social media (@mtntrue) with your finds, and happy hunting!

Download by clicking on the image below.

Invasives Scavenger Hunt

Natives Scavenger Hunt

Bird Scavenger Hunt

Take a Virtual Hike on the AT with Us

While AT hikers have been asked to leave the trail due to social distancing concerns, there is another (virtual) way to explore that iconic trail. Enter, Walk the Distance. Walk the Distance is a free app that uses the pedometer built into most phones to help you turn your neighborhood strolls into a backpacking adventure. It takes your steps and translates them into distance hiked along the AT, tracking your progress for each little lunchtime walk. When you reach a shelter, overlook, or other checkpoint, you’ll get a congratulatory notification.

This app is quite simple to set up, user-friendly, and without many extraneous features. Simply pick which walk you’d like to do, and get walking! One fun perk is that you can add friends, and see one another’s progress along the trail. If desired, you can get notified anytime a friend passes you, perhaps encouraging you to make time for a longer walk! (You can alter what notifications you receive under settings). We will be renewing our walking habit by launching an account that you can friend and follow- just search for MT Forest Keeper on the Friends tab- and let’s walk together.

Find the app on Google Play or the iTunes App Store. Registration in the app requires an email address.

Celebrate 50 Years of Earth Day with MountainTrue

Action Expired

As social creatures, we need to maintain our connections and find new ways to lean on each other during hard times. As creatures of nature, we need to connect with our forests, our rivers and the plants and animals we share this planet with. Today more than ever, we appreciate how important clean water and healthy forests are to our mountain communities.

Hikers like to say, ‘the trail gives you what you need’. I’ve experienced that personally and watched it play out in the lives of others. So regardless of whether you are looking for community, solitude, a challenge, stillness, simplicity, therapy, inspiration, resilience, or reassurance… there’s a good chance you’ll find it in the woods.

Jennifer Pharr Davis

Owner, Blue Ridge Hiking Company and 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year

But our forests and rivers would not have been the wonderful sanctuaries Jennifer describes had they not been protected by people like you. Together, we have built a legacy of action to be proud of. You stopped timber companies from clearcutting in Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests. You kept the pressure on Duke Energy until they were ordered to clean up their coal ash pits and move their toxic ash to lined landfills where they will no longer pollute our rivers.

When you stand with MountainTrue, you fight for our environment. Will you stand alongside MountainTrue this Earth Day?

Protect the Places We Share

The fight to protect the health of our forests, rivers, and mountain communities is more important than ever. We ask that you donate today so we can continue to protect the places we share.

Happy 50th Earth Day, and thank you for being part of MountainTrue and making this work possible!

Have Your Say In How Our Forests Are Managed

Action Expired

The Forest Service is accepting public comment on the draft forest management plan for all 1.045 million acres of Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests — a plan that will set priorities and protections for the next 15-20 years of these public lands. This current comment period is our last meaningful chance to provide input on how these public lands are managed.

These forests belong to all of us. Let’s make sure they are managed for the benefit of all forest users, our environment and future generations.

ICYMI: Watch Our Forest Plan Info Session

Nearly one hundred people joined us on the evening of April 7 for our live online info session on the draft forest management plan for the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests. During the session, our Public Lands Field Biologist Josh Kelly presented MountainTrue’s analysis of the draft plan and took questions from the audience. If you missed the webinar, you can watch it on YouTube.

The info session was emceed by MountainTrue Public Engagement Manager Susan Bean, and the Q&A segment was moderated by Western Regional Director Callie Moore. We were fortunate to be joined by Alice Cohen of the U.S. Forest Service, who kicked off the webinar with a brief overview of the forest management planning process.

Stay tuned for future forest plan info sessions where we’ll dive into specific regions and topics such as water quality and recreation infrastructure.