By Catherine M. Welch
Wilmington, NC – An environmental group working to halt a proposed landfill in Columbus County is holding a rally Friday evening at the county courthouse in Whiteville.
The plan is to build the 100 acre Riegel Ridge landfill south of Bolton.
Environmental group, Friends of the Green Swamp, says it's concerned about damage to the pristine and fragile swamp area that stretches across the Columbus, Brunswick County line. It's also concerned with truck traffic and pollution from seagulls.
Steve Smith heads up Friends of the Green Swamp. He says because the landfill is planned for a rural patch of the Cape Fear region, residents know little about it.
There's only 50,000 people in Columbus County that eastern end of the county where the Green Swamp is located is probably even more sparsely populated, but it's also where our most ecologically fragile area is.
Riegel Ridge officials say the proposed municipal landfill will take in solid waste produced by Columbus County and surrounding counties. Greg Peverall is Riegel Ridge project manager for Waste Management of Carolinas. He says it will be a modern landfill with a liner to protect the environment from leaks.
There have never been any baseline or leaks attributable to the modern landfill. There are many, many examples throughout the state and the nation where they peacefully coexist with schools, day cares, residential development right up to their borders.
The rally is scheduled to start at 4:30 Friday evening in front of the Columbus County courthouse.
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