Titan Cement now threatening local government

New Hanover County gets a taste of Titan's tactics:

Lawyers for Titan say proposed amendments to the light- and heavy-industrial zoning districts are an economic burden on their plans for a proposed cement plant and the special-use permit process would put New Hanover County in a constant legal battle.

At least five times, Titan America and its local subsidiary Carolinas Cement Company, mention the threat of litigation. Commissioner Rick Catlin said the references to future court battles are premature.

It's not just the permits they're worried about, it's the exposure to an increasingly irate public:

The draft language would require several new provisions to light- and heavy-industrial facilities, but the biggest change is that to use land for heavy industrial purposes, companies would first have to file for a special-use permit, which would then have to go through two public hearings – one before the planning board and another before the board of commissioners.

New Hanover County residents not only have a potential pollution problem on their hands, it appears they now have a bully problem as well. And there won't be any help coming from the Legislature to protect them from an aggressive multi-national corporation. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if just the opposite occurred, in the form of a bill to tie the County's hands behind its back.