Reprinted from the Feb. 12 edition of the StarNews

The headline of your Feb. 7 editorial reads “Piecemeal reports … inadequate.” When our state-of-the-art operation opens on the site of the former Ideal Cement plant, it will have been through five or more years of scrutiny and will have satisfied rigorous requirements for a number of permits and licenses, each having to certify that the plant and its operations fall within the existing laws of the United States, North Carolina and New Hanover County.

This is an exhaustive, expensive, grueling process, the purpose of which is to ensure that nothing we do will subject the community to any identifiable risk. It is hardly inadequate.

Is it piecemeal? Every state in the nation follows this exact “piecemeal process,” as you call it, because it is the law – established in early 1970’s and tightened multiple times since then. In fact, the environmental community, including the Coastal Federation, sat at the table and agreed to every aspect of the current Federal and State legal and regulatory regime.

As we’ve stated many times, Carolinas Cement will meet the standards that are set down under the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. The duties as outlined in Federal Statute created by Congress and the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) are crystal clear. This is especially true as it relates to the responsibilities of the N.C. Division of Air Quality, which must dutifully carry out investigations and maintenance of those standards.

The claim that the project should be subject to SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) is specious and clearly a means of delaying job creation. Citizens of New Hanover County should resent that someone else’s agenda is being imposed on the rest of us. If it were the law in North Carolina, why did Sen. Boseman propose it as a law? And why did the Senate not vote for her measure? Because they believed it was against the interest of the state.

Speaking of “piecemeal reports” and SEPA, we’ve yet to see an accurate explanation from any media source regarding SEPA regulations. Please take note – if a project is in the considerably more comprehensive process of the Federal Government (NEPA) National Environmental Policy Act, as in Carolinas Cement’s case, then it is exempt from SEPA altogether.

I doubt that the Corp of Engineers would have stated that Federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Army Corps of Engineers “likely would have little impact on the final permits.” Armies of lawyers, scientists and agencies set and enforce the standards of both the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act in the sole interest of the public.

And again – these laws and regulations were supported by the very organizations now opposing this plant.

Your editorial states there’s confusion about the correct regulatory process and “ordinary residents … don’t trust regulatory agencies to establish and enforce adequate rules to protect the people.” This is a different, much larger question, requiring cool, non-inflammatory discussion with the U.S. Congress and what must be done to restore faith in our governments.

For our part, Titan America can deal only with the here and now, regulatory laws and facts that we must address in the permitting process.

We will invest nearly $500 million in a new, clean, safe plant – the only one in North Carolina. Our tax base will lower the property tax rate of every taxpayer in New Hanover County. We will provide good, well-paying jobs and all the spin-off benefits that come from a robust manufacturer. The construction alone will put more than a thousand local people to work.

Trustworthy and responsible? Titan America was the 2009 recipient of multiple awards for environmental excellence, energy efficiency and safety. Fortune Magazine voted Titan Group among the top ten companies in the world for Best Leaders; Titan Cement also achieved top ranking for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Last week we were honored again when the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia passed a resolution commending Titan America for, among many other things, exemplary leadership in clean manufacturing processes and energy efficiencies, socially responsible employees, and for contributing millions throughout the Commonwealth.

Efforts to discourage this plant or any manufacturing industry from building or expanding will negatively impact investment from coming to this region for a long time. It’s difficult to believe the state would deliberately do this to itself – and certainly not now. Jobs will go elsewhere. Unfortunately, the not-in-my-backyard protestors seem to be here to stay. We can assure you that Carolinas Cement will not pose an environmental hazard. We’re following the process – the only one that is law.

 

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