Plaintiffs include residents of the area near the landfill, Citizens for Economic and Environmental Justice and the League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad.
Details and analysis to follow.
The injunction argues that the city of Greensboro must hold a public hearing and meet other requirements of a state law (link here) before selecting a company to operate the landfill on June 21. The plaintiffs are asking the court to find that the law applies to the city, and that the city must hold a public hearing, consider alternative sites and consider socioeconomic data before contracting with a company to operate the landfill.
The injunction quotes Deputy City Manager Bob Morgan and consultant Joe Readling as saying that the current permitted section of the landfill has about four years of useful life. A Request for Proposals issued by the city in January specifies that the minimum term of a contract with a private company to operate the landfill should be 15 years.
The injunction also quotes Waste Industries Vice President Jerry Johnson as saying that his company "would immediately meet with the North Carolina Division of Natural Resources and commence the permitting process for future MSW cells.... Acquiring the new permit to expand the landfill is a priority since the current cell [Phase III] would reach capacity in less than two years."
Motion for temporary restraining order here.
Chris Brook, a lawyer with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice who is representing landfill opponents, said Judge Patrice Hinnant will hold a hearing at 11 a.m. tomorrow to consider the motion for a temporary restraining order.
• Affidavit of plaintiff Jacqueline Neal Ferguson (link here):
Since living next to the landfill I have experienced problems with stench from the landfill. The landfill currently gives off a sour, sick smell. It actually smells better than it did when it accepted large amounts of residential solid waste, when it gave off a powerful rotten smell.
• Affidavit of plaintiff Roosevelt Ferguson (link here):
Since living next to the landfill I have experienced problems with animals on our property, including raccoons, wild dogs and rats.
• Affidavit of plaintiff Betty Crite (link here):
I currently live at 9 Alonzo Court in Greensboro, North Carolina. This residences is in close proximity to the main entrance to the White Street Landfill.
The land this residence is located on has been in my family since grandfather purchased it in the early 1900s.
I own the residence at 9 Alonzo Court. It is one of my primary sources of wealth, and is something I plan to pass down to my son.
I am concerned that the landfill diminishes the value of this residence. Since the landfill opened the property values in this neighborhood have always been depressed....
Over the years I have become very concerned about health impacts associated with living near the landfill. During my high school years living near the landfill I had rheumatic fever to the point that I could not attend my graduation ceremony. I also suffered from bronchitis until I moved away from the neighborhood., Since moving back to the neighborhood in September 2010, I have developed bronchial issues. I did not have these bronchial problems when I lived across Greensboro at 1101 Quail Drive, a fair distance from the landfill. If the landfill re-opened to large amounts of residential solid waste and expanded then I would consider moving away because I be3live my current health problems would grow worse.
I have also seen other people who live in the neighborhood for long periods of time struggle with cancer. Specifically, my father and one of my brothers died from lung cancer. Two of my other brothers and one of my sisters had colon cancer. My mother and another sister had breast cancer. MY recollection is that my grandfather died of colon cancer. Two of my mother's brothers had colon cancer. In addition, I have known many neighbors in the neighborhood who have had cancer. Greensboro has never been able to tell us whether these illnesses relate to the landfill.
• Affidavit of plaintiff Marlina Scales (link here):
Since living next to the landfill I have had exacerbated health problems. Most notably, I have had a great deal of problems with migraines and nausea....
Living next to the landfill has negatively impacted my enjoyment of our neighborhood in so many ways. I never keep the windows of our house open due to the smell. My children went to school in Reidsville, where their grandparents lived, staying there each evening until my husband got off of work and picked them up. I sent them to school there and had them spend so much time with my parents because I didn't want them exposed to the sickening smells from the landfill because the garbage trucks heading down our street made me so nervous. We have never held a cookout in our backyard, preferring instead to have them at my parents because of the smell, noise and animals. The first party we had over at our house was when my eldest daughter graduated from high school in 2009. By then, at least the smell, noise and animals were not so bad.
• Affidavit of plaintiff Lottie Neal (link here):
Since living next to the landfill I have experienced problems with stench from the landfill. The landfill gives off a putrid smell. However, it now smells much better than it did when the landfill was open to large amounts of residential solid waste. I can still smell it late at night but stench is much less intense now and occurs much less frequently. Even now the smell from the landfill decreases my enjoyment of my property as it makes it less fun to have family cookouts, tend to my backyard garden, sit on the back porch, and take neighborhood walks [with my] husband and my favorite pastimes.
• Affidavit of Goldie Wells, former Greensboro city councilwoman and founder of Citizens for Economic and Environmental Justice (link here):
I share many of these concerns given my proximity to the landfill. I often see buzzards circling overhead in my neighborhood. I can smell the landfill from my residence. It has a most unpleasant smell. I also have experienced a great deal of traffic from the landfill, including in particular on Huffine Mill Road and Phillips Avenue. However, each of these problems has improved since the landfill closed to large amounts of residential solid waste. These problems would grow worse if the landfill reopened to residential solid waste and expanded.
• Affidavit of Yvonne Johnson, former Greensboro mayor (link here):
Since living near the landfill I have experienced nauseating odors from the landfill. The odors were so intense and frequent that it made me want to avoid going outside. I remember well going to the old Carolina Circle Mall to watch a movie and suffering through nauseating odors. The experience makes me very concerned about the impact the re-opening of the landfill to large amounts of residential solid waste, as well as it expansion, will have on economic development in my neighborhood. We have recently made progress in this area with the opening of a Wal-Mart and Lowe's nearby, but I believe the re-opening and expansion of the landfill would stymie these positive steps.
• Affidavit of Rebecca Klase, first vice president of the League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad (link here):
... Germane to the Greensboro City Council's alleged failure to comply with North Carolina General Statute 160A-325 as well as its plans to re-open the White Street Landfill to large-scale residential solid waste and expand the landfill, the [League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad] has a policy position supporting a "two-year extension of the city of Greensboro contract with Republic Services and recommends that the city use these two years to investigate acceptable and sustainable alternatives."
For these reason, the LWVPT is a complainant in litigation seeking to ensure city of Greensboro's thorough and meaningful compliance with North Carolina General Statute 160A-325.
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