Tag Archives: North Carolina

NC Mayor Pushes for Uranium Mine Ban

Posted on October 15, 2012 | Leave a comment
BY MARY BETH JACKSON
The mayor of Williamston, N.C., Tommy Roberson, has sent a letter to the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors in deep concern about how his area would be impacted if a uranium mine is allowed to be placed in Chatham.  His county commissioners have already sent a letter to the Pittsylvania supervisors in support of the ban.
“It’s a big deal, and most people in eastern North Carolina haven’t awakened to what could happen to us,” Roberson told the Danville Register & Bee on Friday.
Roberson wrote that phosphate mining in eastern North Carolina has already damaged his town’s water availability, despite promises to the contrary.
“Today, our water table has been drawn down severely by that activity and the water level is so low that the state has mandated we reduce our intake from that aquifer by 75 percent,” he wrote. “That has left us no recourse but to build a new regional Surface Water Treatment Plant on the Roanoke River to supply current and future water needs for our community and surrounding area.”
The price tag on that project is $27 million, with another $1 million going to modify its delivery system.
“These costs are being paid for by the citizens in an area that has the dubious distinction of being the fourth poorest area in the United States,” Roberson wrote, noting the area must completely rely on the Roanoke River for drinking water and has no other options.
He told the Register & Bee that he is also concerned about the ecotourism efforts in his region, which produces oysters and shrimp.
“I can’t even imagine what part of the state tourism comes from that estuary area,” he said.
Roberson fears that any catastrophe resulting from uranium mining and milling will not only leave them with no drinking water, but kill off a growing ecotourism industry giving hope to their area, which has been labeled “economically stressed.” Furthermore, he said, the coastal ecosystem needs to be protected.
“It (the Roanoke River) provides 70 percent of the water in our sound,” he said. “That’s the complete estuary program in the eastern part of our state.”
He also fears the General Assembly will punt the issue back to Pittsylvania County and that local authorities will ultimately decide whether the mine happens or not.
“If the state of Virginia is going to shift the burden to them, then we need to be in communication with them,” he said.
Writing letters and talking to people, he said, is all he can do: “We have no way of applying any pressure, because we are not constituents of the state of Virginia.”
Jackson reports for the Danville Register & Bee.

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New eminent domain laws allow states to give private land to oil and gas corporations

Posted on August 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

By Alison K. Grass / AlterNet

Eminent domain, the government’s right to condemn (or take) private land for “public use,” has at times been a highly contentious topic because it can displace people from their homes to make way for construction of different projects, like highways or roads, civic buildings and other types of public infrastructure. However, what some may not realize is that several states have granted eminent domain authority to certain private entities, including oil and gas companies. These companies are using it as a tool to seize private land, which increases profits and benefits their wallets.

According to the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment, in order to pursue eminent domain, the land must be taken for “public use” and the private property owners must receive “just compensation.”

No person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Traditionally, the “public use” provision referred to projects like roads, schools, parks and other public facilities that could be directly used by all. However, the meaning of “public use” has been loosely interpreted in recent years.

The controversial Kelo v. City of New London (2005) is credited with broadening the interpretation of “public use.” In this case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of New London, deciding that the city could take private property and give it to another private entity for “economic development.” The Court decided that this met the “public use” provision of the Fifth Amendment. But despite taking the land and spending millions of taxpayer dollars on the proposed project, the plan never came to fruition and nothing was constructed.

Now it seems that the oil and gas industry is capitalizing on this this precedent-setting case.

A University of Minnesota Law professor describes this trend: “in many natural resource–rich areas of the country, however, the knock on the door is less likely to come from a government official and much more likely to come from a mining, oil, or gas company representative.”

The state legislature of North Carolina recently legalized fracking. Yet, what some residents may not know is that North Carolina’s eminent domain law allows some private entities to take private property for certain uses. This includes oil and gas companies who have been given the right to condemn land and construct pipelines for natural gas transportation. As a supervising attorney at the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic points out, there could be even bigger implications. “If private companies engaged in these activities are designated as ‘public enterprises,’ then they may be able to take private property for purposes far beyond that of laying pipelines.”

In July, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that provisions in Act 13, (which revised the Oil and Gas Act of 1984), aiming to prevent local zoning rules for gas drilling and fracking were unconstitutional. However the Court didn’t rule on the topic of eminent domain. This leaves open the possibility that oil and gas companies could pursue this as a method to take people’s land.

Meanwhile in Texas, TransCanada, the company that wants to build the Keystone XL Pipeline, is trying to grab private property from a small town, claiming they have eminent domain rights—and some residents are outraged.

The Kelo case broadened the interpretation of the “public use.” The city of New London took land from a private property owner so that they could give it to a private entity in the name of “economic development.” Unfortunately, oil and gas companies will now have this card to play when justifying land grabs.

From AlterNet: http://www.alternet.org/environment/how-some-states-are-giving-oil-and-gas-companies-right-take-your-land?paging=off

New eminent domain laws allow states to give private land to oil and gas corporations.

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Piedmont Direct Action Camp Oct 19-21 Register Now!

Posted on August 10, 2012 | 9 Comments

For all you late registrants or if you just want to drop by for the day, here the location info and some guidelines. Camping is limited so if you didn’t register please expect to find alternative sleeping arrangements. Look foreword to seeing you there!

About our location…

Our camp will be happening at Piedmont Biofuels at 220 Lorax Ln. Pittsboro, NC 27312.  They are a small cooperative, biofuel energy company that is an established part of the Pittsboro and Chatham county community (where fracking is scheduled to occur in the coming years.)  The center creates biofuels from recycled vegetable oils and also hosts space for a year-round vegetable farm called South East Eco Diversity (SEED) and the Abundance Foundation, which promotes sustainability and local economies.

Directions from downtown Pittsboro…

1. At the traffic circle, head east toward US-64 BUS             161 ft

2. Exit the traffic circle onto US-64 BUS   1.1 mi

3. Turn right onto Industrial Park Dr         0.6 mi

4. Continue onto Lorax Ln

Restricted usage road

Destination will be on the right

Attendance Guidelines…

There is no smoking or personal fires at all within the gates due to the prevalence of ignitable fuels, but you can smoke outside the gates where cars are parked.  Please be respectful of the space by walking around garden beds and not through them.  There may be people working at the location during our camp, and there may be a crop mob on Sunday where people are harvesting vegetables.  Do not enter any buildings that are not clearly part of our action camp (signs will be posted).  We will have a map marking areas where people can set up tents.  The space is surrounded by a few yards of hardwood trees which make a good spot for setting up your tents.  Do not start your own fires.  We will have a fire pit for the group to spend time at in the evenings.  You cannot bring dogs to this location, and you cannot bring illegal drugs.  If anyone is seen not abiding by these simple rules they will be asked to leave.

Donations still need for this camp: food grade buckets, bulk rice, beans/lentils, food donations from restaurants and farmers especially produce, pop up tents/instant canopies, tarps, rope, u-locks.

Croatan Earth First! is hosting a direct action training camp this fall Oct 19-21st near downtown Pittsboro, NC.  There will be tent camping available for the weekend, and people are free to come and go.  Plan to arrive Friday between 4-6 p.m. and stay until Monday morning!  This camp will provide us with the opportunity to teach others skills that, we hope, will enhance their ability stop fracking from operating in our bioregion and to bring new energy into any environmental campaign you’d like to work on.

Everyone is welcome to attend. The exact address of the farm will be promoted in a few weeks. We may have a suggested donation of $10-50 cover food, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.  Food donations welcome (produce and staples like beans and rice).  Don’t forget to bring snacks and musical instruments for night time fun. And, as always, we hope to end this camp with an effective action that people can take part in with us! Feel free to e-mail us with more questions at croatanearthfirst (at) gmail.com! There is much to be lost if fracking occurs in our area, but we are inspired to fight this fight with you and to win. Hope to see you this fall!

You Must Register Below To Attend!  Space is Limited.

Tentative Schedule

FRIDAY Oct 19th

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm          Registration & Tent Set Up
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Biocentrism
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. DINNER
8:30 p.m. -  9:30 p.m. The Mysterious Rabbit Puppet Army Presents, “Donny Don’t!”

Saturday, October 20

8:00 am – 9:00 a.m.         Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.          Opening Circle
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Tree Climbing All Day Climbing Intro (knots & basic up/down) Security Culture
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 pm Direct Action 101 Fracking 101 & Infrastructure
1:00p.m. – 2:30 p.m. LUNCH
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm Climbing Intro continued      Campaign Strategy Plant Walk
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Direct Action 201 Climate Change Teach In Movie About Anti-Nuke Movement
6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. DINNER
8:30p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Mysterious Rabbit Puppet Army Presents, “Donny Quixote!”

SUNDAY, October 21st

8:00 am – 9:00 a.m.       BREAKFAST
9:00 am – 10:00 am      Morning Circle
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Tree climbing all day Working With The Media Creating Resilient Communities
11:00 a.m.  - 1:00 pm        Blockades I Resistance Art / Banner Making
1:30p.m.-2:30 p.m. LUNCH
2:30p.m.- 3:30 p.m. Know Your Rights Workshop
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Blockades II Survival Skills: Making A Debris Shelter Debunking Myths  About Social Movements
6:30  – 8: 30 DINNER
8:30 p.m. 9:30.m. Action Planning : Affinity Groups
Monday Oct 22nd 7:00 wake up call, break down tents, 8:00 Breakfast, 9:00 Leave for Protest     

Reminders:

Please bring your own cup, spoon or fork if you can.  Don’t forget rain gear.  The temperatures will probably be warm in the daytime and possible in the 40′s or 50′s at night, so bring layers.  Synthetic or wool are best (cotton does not dry quickly).  If you have your own harness and climbing gear feel free to bring that for your own personal use, but we will have gear others can use.  E-mail us if you have any allergies we should know about.

Nearby grocery stores if you need snacks:

Piggly Wiggly 317 East St.  Pittsboro, NC

Chatham Marketplace (organic foods)  480 Hillsboro St. Pittsboro, NC
Food Lion East St.  Pittsboro, NC

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Fracking possible in Montgomery county, NC

Posted on August 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

ImageIf the words “Triassic Basin” conjure up images of the cloned dinosaurs rampaging through the film “Jurassic Park,” it’s not surprising. Both main terms in those phrases are references to eras of the earth’s history and their related geological formations.

North Carolinians will be hearing a lot more about the Triassic Basin in coming months with the July 2 passage of SB 820, which legalizes hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as a method of extracting natural gas in our state. The legislation calls for the creation of a 15-member appointed Mining and Energy Commission to develop regulations for fracking and sets a deadline of October 2014 to have those regulations in place.

The largest geological formation expected to be the main focus of fracking in North Carolina includes the Deep River Basin areas in Anson, Richmond, Montgomery, Lee, Chatham, Durham and Granville counties. A second area is in the Dan River Basin in Stokes and Rockingham counties.

To read the full story, subscribe to Montgomery Herald. Subscribe online or by calling 910-576-6051

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Black Bear “Management” Hearing Aug 29

Posted on August 7, 2012 | 3 Comments

Black bears were historically prevalent in the Piedmont prior to agricultural expansion by colonists. As bear populations became more threatened throughout the state, North Carolina created bear sanctuaries which have protected their populations from being completely decimated by humans. Their report states, “By the middle part of the 20th century, bears had been extirpated from the piedmont, and populations had receded into remote areas of the mountains and coastal plain.”  Now, these animals are beginning to move back into their original range. In anticipation of this, the Wildlife Resources Commission plans to prevent their return to the Piedmont by opening up hunting seasons in the “Piedmont Bear Management Unit” or PMBU which is comprised of various counties in the North Carolina Piedmont and Triangle area. There are no bear sanctuaries in the Piedmont.

Click On Image to Zoom In

Their Plan:
“1) Establish a bear hunting season in all PBMU counties.
2) Every three years (e.g. 2012, 2015, 2018, 2021) evaluate trends in the and consider
recommending changes in the following as appropriate:
a. Number of days in the bear hunting season.
b. Timing of the bear hunting season.
c. Bag limit
d. New and/or proven harvest techniques.
Objective #2. Use lethal and non-lethal techniques to address human-bear interactions.”
The full Commission will meet at 9 a.m. August 30 in the Wildlife Resources
Commission Headquarters Conference Room, 1751 Varsity Drive, Raleigh.

From the NC Wildlife Resources Commission:

“Black Bear Management To Be Discussed

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Big Game Committee will discuss black bear management at its August 29 meeting. Watch here for specific meeting information as the date approaches.

The full Commission will meet at 9 a.m. August 30 in the Wildlife Resources
Commission Headquarters Conference Room, 1751 Varsity Drive, Raleigh.”

Consider coming out to that event to speak in defense of the bears, or to join us for a demonstration outside.  Either way, make sure you contact them at wrnccomments@ncwildlife.org and the executive director, Gordon S. Myers 919-707-0151.  His individual e-mail is gordon.myers@ncwildlife.org

Full Draft Bear Management Plan

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Wednesday July 18th MRPA Presents “Donny Quixote!” A benefit in the fight against fracking

Posted on July 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

 

Thank you to everyone who attended this benefit.  We made 400 dollars to put towards next summer’s earth first! rendezvous in NC!Image

A large portion of the proceeds from this event go to Croatan Earth First! who will be fighting fracking in the Piedmont and hosting the 2013 Round River Rendezvous next summer.  The admission is just a suggestion.  If you can give more, please do!

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Fracking Nearly Legalized in NC

Posted on June 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

Reposted from Southern Pines “The Pilot”

The state Senate picked an odd day to rush headlong into passage of an ill-considered bill legalizing fracking in North Carolina.

The senators, as it happened, voted on the same day that the eminently objective and credible U.S. Geological Survey issued a report vastly lowering the estimate of how much natural gas might lie trapped underground in the state and accessible through the highly questionable extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing.

Whereas earlier estimates had said that the state had a supply large enough to take care of the state’s gas needs for 40 years into the future, the USGS now says it looks more like 5.6 years. Oops. Continue reading →

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Aside

For Immediate Release – 5/15/12    For interview call 919-200-0061 Don’t Frack NC!:  Public Makes Final Plea To Uphold North Carolina’s Ban on Fracking Raleigh, NC – On Saturday May 19th at 12 noon, protesters will gather at Nash Park and … Continue reading →

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Posted on May 18, 2012

Seven Activists Held On $10,000 Bond For Halting King Coal

Posted on May 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

These activists are each facing a count of impeding a railroad operation, and are currently held on a $10,000 bond. This bond pales in comparison to the damage wreaked by Duke Energy, pales in comparison the profits made by Duke Energy at the expense of the people of Appalachia, and pales in comparison to the price handed off to future generations.

These seven folks stepped up to the plate. What will it take for you to cross the line that Duke Energy has drawn in sand? What are you going to do?

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Katuah Earth First! and others Block MTR Coal Shipment

Posted on May 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Image

CHARLOTTE, NC—This morning, activists from Greenpeace, RAMPS (Radical Action for Mountain People’s Survival), Katuah Earth First!, and Keepers of the Mountains Foundation blocked a coal train en route to the Marshall Steam Station, a Duke Energy coal-fired power plant, and branded the cars with the iconic Apple logo.

Four activists, including leaders from the anti-mountaintop removal movement, locked themselves to the rail tracks preventing the train from passing. Other activists branded the train with Apple’s logo to show that Apple’s growing iCloud will be powered by more coal as its Maiden, NC, data center expands.

“Duke is using datacenter expansion in North Carolina, like Apple’s, to justify reinvesting in old coal-fired power plants and even worse, as an excuse to build new coal and nuclear plants. But if Apple demands renewable energy from Duke Energy to power its iCloud it could help transform both the IT sector’s and North Carolina’s energy economy,” said Gabe Wisnieweski, Greenpeace USA Coal Campaign Director.   “Unfortunately, today Apple’s iCloud uses whatever power Duke offers, and this dirty mix currently includes electricity from burning mountaintop removal coal.  The climate and communities throughout Appalachia and North Carolina are paying the price for Apple and Duke’s short-sighted decisions.” Continue reading →

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