NC Coastal Federation

A closer look is a good thing:

A judge on Wednesday afternoon put off a decision on whether Titan America should be able to get an air permit and begin building its Castle Hayne plant before a more comprehensive review that will consider the plant's overall environmental footprint is completed.

Judge Donald Stephens asked attorneys on both sides at a hearing in Raleigh to prepare orders that he will consider in making his decision. Those orders need to be submitted by April 23.

You don't often see the State of North Carolina and advocacy groups on the same side in legal disputes:

The N.C. Coastal Federation said in a press release Wednesday that it has asked to join the state and the N.C. State Conference of the NAACP in defending the state’s right to deny construction of the landfill by Waste Industries USA, Inc., and their subsidiary, Black Bear Disposal, LLC.

The press release says that forested wetlands, state parks, national wildlife refuges and state game lands should not be subjected to the threats that accompany mega-landfills because potentially dangerous contaminants can leach from landfills and migrate to groundwater or to streams.

As some of you are probably aware, the battle over Titan Cement's new facility in Hanover County is still raging. Dozens of (medical) doctors have joined to voice their concern, as well as hundreds of citizens and a few of my favorite environmental orgs. Most recently, these groups pleaded with the NC Department of Administration to generate a formal review of Titan's application/permit, and the answer was, in a word, stupefying.

From posts written over the course of the summer, it's clear that many BlueNC community members are big fans of the North Carolina coast. I count myself among the beach boosters, as well. Which is why it was so distressing to see our out-of-touch legislators allocate $300,000 of taxpayer money to fund a study designed to open the floodgates for jetties and groins that would harden our coastline for generations to come. Todd Miller, executive director of the NC Coastal Federation, addresses the scam on the editorial page of the N&O today.