A citizens’ group in the unincorporated Wake County community of New Hill now has an ally in its effort to change the proposed site of a sewage treatment plant.
DavisAndHighHouse.org, a nonpartisan citizens’ group in Cary, today announced that on the behalf of New Hill it will ask the Town of Cary to reconsider where it will build the wastewater management plant for western Wake County.
The plant, which would serve Cary, Apex, Holly Springs and Morrisville and pump treated wastewater into the Cape Fear River, is still in the planning and permitting stage. Original plans called for the facility to be built by 2011, but it’s two years behind schedule. The towns are waiting for an Environmental Impact Statement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The New Hill Community Association says the 210-acre site chosen by the Western Wake Partnership, composed of the four town governments, is in the middle of New Hill’s historic district. The association has opposed the site since 2005, taking its case to the state’s Department of Environmental and Natural Resources.
“We’re not NIMBYs,” says association president Paul Barth. “This isn’t in our back yardthis is on our front porch.”
Davis and High House steering committee member Karl Thor says there are a number of alternate sites the Western Wake Partnership, led by Cary, should explore. “[New Hill residents] can’t vote for our town government in Cary, so we’re giving them a voice,” Thor says.
DHH plans to make its case to the town council in April.
