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Our Road: Then -- E11: Jan. 4, 1979 EPA Public Hearing: The People Speak
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The Hunt Administration’s “regardless of public sentiment” statement and the threat of becoming a dumping ground for PCBs, and perhaps for an interstate hazardous waste dumping ground as well, have driven an estimated 700-800 Warren County citizens to the January 4, 1979 EPA Public Hearing held at the National Guard Armory in Warrenton, N.C.
In this episode, Part 3 of the January 4, 1979 EPA Public Hearing, citizens each get five minutes to speak. They have listened to state and EPA officials’ argument about how EPA-approved landfill technology can compensate for intrinsic geological inadequacies, and they have heard how the state is asking for three out of five waivers. They have listened to Independent Scientist Dr. Mulchi’s counter-argument.
Ninety-two people sign up speak, and those who can, stay until 2:30 am. Their public comments last for five hours. As citizens address their technical and scientific PCB landfill concerns, the overarching issue is local sovereignty. The hearing is epic and is one for the history books.
Reverend Willie T. Ramey encourages resistance to the PCB landfill and says, “There are times when there is something worth dying for….and if it means that we have to bodily stand in front of the trucks, bulldozers, and the road scrapers — even if we have to give up our lives so that somebody else can live many years in the future — I say it is our duty to sacrifice that.”
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