AT WHAT COST: A Community Information Session on the Hazards of Chapel Hill’s Coal Ash

Concerned community members in partnership with ACT Against Coal Ash, Chapel Hill Organization for Clean Energy (CHOCE), Friends of Bolin Creek, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) and Climate Action NC have called a public information meeting to address the coal ash hazards in Chapel Hill. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22, 2022, from 6pm to 8pm at the Seymour Center at 2551 Homestead Road in Chapel Hill.

The hybrid in-person/virtual meeting has been called to ensure that all residents are aware of the existence of coal ash in our community, to understand the hazards associated with its presence, and to be aware of the Town Of Chapel Hill’s current concept plan to address the coal ash site and its implications for the health and safety of the community.

The public information session will be led by informed residents, scientists, and legal experts. They will describe the dangers coal ash poses and the ways in which the Town’s current plan insufficiently addresses the potentially dire consequences for residents. Specifically, the Town’s plan calls for the construction of housing on the existing coal ash site without its complete removal.

The coal ash site under discussion is located at 828 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. where the Chapel Hill Police Department headquarters currently stands. The site sits adjacent to Bolin Creek and a section of the Bolin Creek Greenway which is lined with signs reminding users that coal ash is hazardous to people’s health. According to the NC Department of Environmental Quality, there are currently no known residences built on top of coal ash structural fill sites in North Carolina. With this in mind, concerned residents are weighing the costs and benefits of the Town’s proposal, and reaching out to inform more community members.

Following a series of brief and informative presentations, the public will be invited to ask questions, gather additional information, and take action to ensure that thorough, safe, effective measures are taken by the Town of Chapel Hill to preserve the health and safety of residents for the immediate and the long term future of all members of the community.

Registration for the event is available at: bit.ly/at_what_cost
bit.ly/at_what_cost

In-person attendees are asked to wear masks in consideration of the health of our neighbors.