Group wants county eye on animal waste issue

Mar 10, 2010 — The News and Observer

Mark Schultz

Mar. 10, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- BINGHAM TOWNSHIP -- Neighbors of a UNC-Chapel Hill animal holding and research facility in rural Orange County are feeling nervous about treated wastewater spills from the complex and the university's plans to expand it.

In recent months, there have been four leaks or spills of treated wastewater at the Bingham Facility, located roughly a dozen miles west of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

In the worst, an unknown amount leaked from a partially full 1.6 million-gallon storage pond into Collins Creek, a tributary of the Haw River and eventually Jordan Lake. The university has shut down the facility's system and is trucking wastewater to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority's treatment plant, as the university waits to hear about a possible state fine.

Last week, Bingham Township residents asked for help. They have met with university officials and toured the site. But with the university planning a $27 million expansion, they told the Orange County Board of commissioners they need the county staff to help monitor what's going on.

"They put us in a room, and they try to overwhelm us with the value of their research," said resident Jack Pless, a documentary filmmaker and member of the citizens environmental group Preserve Rural Orange. "We're not saying, 'Don't do the research.' We're there to say, 'Don't dump into the creek. Don't pollute the air.'"

The Bingham Facility houses about 85 dogs now, but plans call for 400 to 450 dogs, as well as up to 150 hogs and 2,000 mice. The dogs and hogs are used in research on heart disease, blood clotting and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which affects one in 5,000 male births.

Chancellor Holden Thorp has apologized for the problems. He has put Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Bob Lowman in charge, and the university has begun sharing information in a timely way with neighbors throughe-mail.

County's caution

The county commissioners agreed to review the residents' request. But Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs said this is a bad time to assign county staff members extra duties.

"We're looking at reducing or consolidating staff functions because of the recession," he said. "It's not the easiest time to turn around and make resource commitments."

Still, Jacobs added, "It sounds to me like there are some serious problems."

The master plan for the 57-acre site did undergo county staff review, Planning Director Craig Benedict said. It looked at building setbacks, parking and other design details. But the nature of the facility itself was already allowed under the site's agricultural zoning and did not require a permit, Benedict said.

That was also the case with one of the facility's two wastewater treatment systems. The one receiving waste from the dog kennels was considered agricultural and did not require a permit. Since then, UNC officials have clarified that the second system originally described as treating waste from kitchens and bathrooms also handled animal waste.

Resident Laura Streitfeld said the neighbors will continue pushing for a written development agreement to protect the environment from the Bingham Facility expansion.

The university spent months negotiating with the town of Chapel Hill on Carolina North, UNC-Chapel Hill's future satellite campus, she said. It has held several meetings to get input on the redevelopment of the University Square shopping center downtown.

"This is a research campus," she said of the Bingham Facility, "yet there's been no public process."

mark.schultz@newsobserver.com or 919-932-2003

Newstex ID: KRTB-0170-42752226