The mistreatment of sanitation sites has put the county in a tough spot.
In the latest wrinkle of the saga, The Graham Star was informed May 23 that a formal complaint has been made to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in Raleigh, regarding the abuse of Graham County’s unmanned convenience centers.
Illegal dumping from residents of other counties and businesses – as well as dumpster diving – were all listed as the reasons for the complaint being lodged.
In turn, the Bear Creek, Gladdens Creek and N.C. Highway 143 Snowbird Road centers will close June 14.
The Star was told that the county’s failure to address the violations could result in fines of $15,000 a day.
“Graham County is currently working diligently on a permanent plan that will be in the best interest of the affected communities,” read a portion of the county’s release.
An investigation will now be launched by the state department of environmental quality, as well as visits to the unmanned sites.
Timeline
The upcoming closures reset the plans back to what both the board of commissioners and sanitation department envisioned when the idea of curbing non-stop vandalism, carelessness and expenses at eight total sites was first developed in September.
Plans were then finalized in December to close all but three of the centers – East Buffalo, the main site at 400 Snowbird Road and Johnson Gap/Stecoah – Jan. 1, with announcements about the pending closures spread on both social media and in the Star.
Those same locations are all that will be open for those who want to haul off their refuse after June 14.
Local residents who attended Jan. 23’s commissioner meeting seemed caught off-guard by the proceedings and after some lengthy discussion, the board voted 4-1 to re-open the unmanned sites.
Things took another turn March 7, when Lee Hill – the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Environmental Senior Specialist, Division of Waste Management – visited Graham County and expressed concerns over the unmanned locations, which had already fell susceptible to the same problems that had led to the closures before.
The Jan. 23 shift had not made it across Hill’s desk.
“It was my understanding that the unstaffed sites were closed, and that the county was moving to a staffed site model for residential disposal; however, when I came through the county yesterday, I learned that the unstaffed sites had been opened back up,” Hill told Graham County Clerk/Interim Manager Kim Crisp in a March 8 email.
“The state does not have specific regulations regarding whether the convenience sites should be staffed or unstaffed.
“However, there are rules regarding the types of waste and how it is to be managed at convenience sites.”
Hill all but concluded his email with a sentence bolded to catch the reader’s eye: “Garbage piled out front of the dumpsters is unacceptable.”