Description and Details
In the early 1990s, the area of Holly Springs, North Carolina, was predominantly African American in population. In 1992, South Wake County in South Carolina chose Holly Springs as the area in which to build a new landfill, as those already existing were filling up. The project was delayed for a number of years, however, and as economic growth occurred in the town, its population shifted, becoming more and more White. Although the local government filed to approve the site of Holly Springs to build in 1992, no permit was issued until 1999.
This was met with a loud outcry of controversy. In 2000, the Wake Superior Court nullified the permit to build the landfill, and although a separate permit was re-issued in 2001, the facility was not actually built until 2008. No tax dollars were used to construct the landfill and it is expected to last the community 25 years. Some view the fact that the facility was orginally chosen to be built in a predominantly African American area as an unfortunate coincidence while others consider how the legal issues were not recognized until the demographics shifted as possible discrimination. Additionally, African American residents in the area voiced their concerns that this was an ongoing pattern, and that they were unfairly discriminated against in a number of areas.
CEE subjects: Construction Engineering and Management, Environmental Engineering, Water Quality and Health, Environmental Policy and Sustainable Infrastructure
Discussion Questions
- Why could it have taken so long for the original permit to be issued?
- Why did the court submit an order to deny the permit after it had been issued? Why was this order not overturned, and instead another permit was issued?
References
- Peer reviewed articles
- Popular media/news references
Leave A Comment