Sunday, April 20, 2008
Poor choices made in Giles County
From the RoundTable blog
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Paul Hale
Hale lives in Pearisburg and is a retired high school principal and writers.
I am retired and do not need contention in my life, but I love to fish and enjoy breathing quite a bit. For these reasons, I agreed to write on behalf of the Concerned Citizens for Giles County. This group opposes the fly ash dump under development in Giles County that was contracted by Apco on land owned by the Giles County Partnership for Excellence, a local school/business partnership. To better inform myself on the issue I decided to attend the court hearing between the citizens and the partnership held on Feb. 27.
I've heard it said that the quality of life is determined by the choices we make. Several seem obvious. There was the choice to raise money to better educate our county's students -- good choice.
There was the choice to place an industrial fly ash landfill at the town limits of Narrows, near an earthquake fault, on the flood plain of the New River, less than a mile away from the local high school, without public input or the approval of governing bodies -- bad choice.
Then there was the choice by the Environmental Protection Agency to say that fly ash isn't toxic. The same EPA that says a dump is nonhazardous unless the chemicals found are 100 times more concentrated than the levels found in drinking water. There are numerous scientific reports from reliable sources other than the coal-generated electricity sector that point to the dangers of fly ash, especially when wet or airborne.
To humans, few things in life present any hazard more terrifying than the loss of money -- bad choice.
Then there's the choice to use only a clay liner to prevent chemical leaching. Independent studies say clay liners only slow the rate of leaching; all the pollutants eventually find their way into the ecosystem. Of course, it doesn't matter what type of liner you have if what's on top washes or blows away -- bad choice compounded.
Some local school board members, whose positions, I've been told, are listed in the partnership bylaws as part of its board of directors, maintain they have no part in the decision. To her credit, one board member, Ms. McMahon, has made motions to halt the project until further study can be done, but has yet to obtain a second. It seems the membership of the partnership is nebulous at best -- sad choice.
Even the spin of the local newspaper has been supportive of the project. In what could be considered Machiavellian statesmanship, the partnership hired the brother of the owner of the Virginian Leader to represent them in court. The paper runs three-column editorials in support of the project, but generally uses one- or two-paragraph submissions that oppose it. If you only read the local coverage, you'd think this dump was the Giles County equivalent of the Eiffel Tower -- skewed choice.
To take things to the extreme, principals at local schools are admonishing teachers not to mention the dump to their students. While not promoting student insurrection, I can think of worthwhile instructional uses for such a discussion. Frankly, if the school board and Apco are doing something they wouldn't want discussed with students, maybe they shouldn't do it.
Justice for me, as a citizen group member, would be to obtain a grand jury hearing that would stop the Cumberland Project, preferably before the pollutants are dumped on the site. The judge said a grand jury hearing would be granted when the fly ash dumping actually started.
Schools in this part of Virginia never have enough money. That's not a cynical remark; it's a simple statement of fact. The school system is involved with businesses, hoping to get funds it needs. Not a bad idea, but what happens when a business asks for something questionable in return? Does the school system want to appear ungrateful? After all, they don't want to fall out of favor with any of their golden geese. This is where diplomacy is required.
The project's supporters all know one another. Many have ties to school board members or to Apco. They do business with one another, and for the most part, they're friends. Many have done good things for the county in the past, but where's the voice to oppose them when they're wrong?
The citizens group is taking on a corporate giant. We are out-moneyed and really don't need the aggravation, but we'll fight the good fight. You can help by donating to the project. Please send donations to: Concerned Citizens of Giles County, Box 11, Pearisburg, VA 24134 -- excellent choice.
