The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will get a glimpse into proposed options to extend the life of the county landfill.
The board meets at 9 a.m. in Room 118 of the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse.
The board is expected to review a Landfill Environmental Justice Draft Public Participation Plan for the Ann Street Landfill.
According to an agenda memo from Amanda Bader, the county’s Environmental Resources general manager, the county is considering its options for solid waste disposal at the Ann Street Landfill.
According to Bader, the Ann Street Landfill has less than eight years of useful life left. She proposes to transfer solid waste to another landfill outside Cumberland County. At the same time, she proposes mining the balefill to increase the capacity of Ann Street for the future. This will require the county to prepare an environmental justice report for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
Bader presented the draft report to the board at the Dec. 8 agenda session. The environmental justice report identifies the area surrounding Ann Street as an underserved community; therefore, according to Bader’s memo to the board, an “enhanced engagement is necessary for its public participation plan."
The county staff is presenting the draft for information purposes and to receive suggestions from the commissioners before submitting the proposal to the state Department of Environmental Quality.
The term “environmental justice” is defined as the "fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies," according to the draft.
The environmental justice program involves extensive outreach into affected areas by county staff, which is the lead agency. The county also will try to identify other organizations that could provide support.
The Ann Street Landfill is 40 years old and serves both the city of Fayetteville and the county, a total population of roughly 319,400 people.
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In other business, county staff is expected to ask to apply for federal and state money to enhance the landfill on Wilkes Road, which holds countywide vegetative waste.
The staff is asking the board to commit matching money for a state Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BRIC) Grant. The goal is to create a "comprehensive vegetative waste and emergency debris management plan." The debris management plan will be used to develop a 20-year comprehensive vegetative waste management plan to evaluate the current operation of the Wilkes Road facility.
The project also will address how to increase production and optimize an already limited capacity during disaster events, which is critical to the recovery process, according to a memo to the board from Gene Booth, the county’s Emergency Services director.
In his memo, Booth recommends that the Board of Commissioners commit to $37,500 (25% of the project cost) through in-kind services, county money, or a combination of both. The money would come from the county’s general fund.
The project is a collaborative effort between the county’s Solid Waste and its Emergency Services departments. The state grant funding would come from the North Carolina Emergency Management, Hazard Mitigation Section for the FY22 BRIC grant. FEMA would fund 75% of the project.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $150,000.
“We are seeking a federal cost share of $112,500, and $7,500 in management cost. Management costs are 5% of the total cost of the project ($7,500) paid at 100% by FEMA. BRIC requires the sub-applicant to provide a match consisting of in-kind services by county staff and/or county funds at 25% ($37,500) of the total cost of the project,” according to Booth's memo to the board.
Also Tuesday, Action Pathways, a nonprofit community action agency, wants the board to vote for approval to submit its application for more than $1 million in Community Services Block Grant funds.
Action Pathways is applying for CSBG funding through the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services for the fiscal year 2023-24 for $1,043,929 in federal funds. There is no county match required. The application for CSBG funding requires the board to review and comment on the application before the Jan. 13 application due date.
Jason Brady covers Cumberland County government for CityView. He can be reached at jbrady@cityviewnc.com.
