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By Megan Anderson
HOMETOWN NEWS
Though Waste Management officials won’t make a formal presentation to the Cherokee County Council until Dec. 2, members of Cherokee Advocates for a Strong Environment and Economy (C.A.S.E.) shared their thoughts on the project at Monday’s council meeting.
The group’s co-chairman, Sissy Brock, who is a former biology teacher and not an employee of Waste Management, used her 15 minutes in front of council members to dispel some of the rumors surrounding the proposed recycling center and landfill.
“It is very important that these three things are explained because they are myths and are not true,” Brock said.
In response to fears that nuclear waste would be stored at the McKown’s Mountain property, Brock said, “there is nothing that is further from the truth. They [Waste Management] couldn’t do it even if they wanted to because it is so regimented and controlled.”
Brock also denied claims that the Texas-based company would truck-in waste from as far away as New York.
“I don’t think they would be in business if they decided to try to truck it [waste] down from New York when they would go by about 30 actual facilities they have on the way down – that would just not be economically feasible for this company.”
Waste Management has said that they would be collecting and processing trash from a 75-mile radius around the facility.
Finally Brock addressed concerns about possible leaks in the landfill’s lining, stating that they haven’t been a concern since the Environmental Protect Agency began requiring linings.
“There has not been a leak in a liner since 1990 or 1991,” she said. “But you can go back in the eighties and find landfills without liners that have leaks.”
In closing, Brock asked County Council members to look out for its constituents by approving the Waste Management project.
“You’ve got approximately 52,000 people that you are in charge of, basically, and you have to do what’s best for the people of the county.”
Cherokee County Council will hear the Waste Management presentation on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. The meeting will be held in the Cherokee County Courthouse at 6 p.m.
megan@hometown-news.com
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