Friends of Bolin Creek
September 18, 2024
Good Evening,
I am Julie McClintock, Co-President of Friends of Bolin Creek. This agreement is unacceptable because it does not suIiciently protect public health from onsite pollution. The fundamental problem is that the draft agreement requires no coal ash removal.
The EPA says that coal ash is more dangerous than initially thought. The EPA found an elevated cancer risk even when ash comprises only 1% to 2% of the soil mixture. Due to the high levels of arsenic and cadmium found in coal ash, people can develop health problems unrelated to cancer, such as heart disease and stroke.
Coal ash is no longer used in NC for structural fill. If this proposed plan goes forward “as is,” the Town would rely on structural debris and coal ash as the foundation for the new buildings. Only rarely have buildings been constructed on top of coal ash fill, and when they have, the results have been unsafe. The developing sinkhole pictured in the DEQ report points to the continuing risk of settling, causing more coal ash exposure at the surface.
The coal ash is perched on a ledge overhanging Bolin Creek, an impaired waterway feeding Jordan Lake, a primary drinking water supply. The Town removed 1000 tons of coal ash that had washed down the bank to the creek area, where the public greenway is located, but the steep bank will continue to erode down the bank onto the greenway and into Bolin Creek. We have video footage of flood waters during Hurricane Florence lapping the hill of coal ash and inevitably carrying coal ash into Bolin Creek.
The deed restrictions are inadequate to deal with the flooding and settling expected over time. Including a playground in the plan is nonsensical and dangerous.
Council members have expressed concern about the risks of removing the ash. Yet SELC has forged numerous agreements with Duke Energy requiring the removal of millions of tons of coal ash to lined landfills in NC and SC and has done so safely. The bottom line is that the more ash removed from this site, the safer it will be for neighbors, town workers, and the public.
In conclusion, I am submitting a letter from Pamela Schultz, a chemist and environmental engineer, dated March 23, 2022. Her letter makes a crucial point that when the Town Council decided to proceed, they misunderstood the risk assessment results. Both long-term and short-term exposure to coal ash may have health consequences, and construction workers experiencing health impacts cannot be dismissed.
We call upon the Town of Chapel Hill and the Department of Environmental Quality to reject this plan that fails to protect human health.
Julie McClintock
Co-President Friends of Bolin Creek