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Some say transfer site proposal unjust
By: Sarah Frier, Assistant City Editor
The Daily Tar Heel
Gertrude Nunn is tired of fighting with her next-door neighbor.
When the county landfill moved into her Rogers-Eubanks Road neighborhood in 1972, a dead odor started to soak up the peace of nighttime walks. Buzzards began to feast on the trash and then crowd the tops of houses and power lines.
Nunn and other residents in the historically black, low-income neighborhood feel their quality of life has been so altered by the landfill’s presence that it constitutes environmental racism.
“We had meetings here. We had everything, but nobody listened,” Nunn said.
As the landfill reaches capacity, county officials are deciding on criteria for siting a waste-transfer station to replace it. Residents are attending the meetings, pushing for their neighborhood to be left off the list of possible sites.
By: Evan Rose, Staff Writer
Daily Tar Heel
Carl Purefoy, a resident of the Rogers-Eubanks community, uncovers the well in his front yard. He does not drink the well water because it is a rusty color. Many residents said they do not feel safe drinking their well water, even when contaminant tests turn out negative.
Rogers Road – A community in question
Residents of the Rogers-Eubanks community, who have lived next to the Orange County Landfill for 35 years, are concerned about their health.
And as the search for a waste-transfer station site continues, many
are trying to clarify the impact the county’s trash has had on the
quality of their air and water.
Residents say they suffer from an array of health complications, from
common colds to renal failure.
Now they’re asking if fault lies with contaminants from the landfill
that could be seeping into the groundwater and drifting into the air.
