Helen’s wreckage near public housing project in Asheville worries residents

ASHEVILLE — On the overgrown, gently sloping bank behind the Westmore Apartments sits a 21-acre field dotted with trees where residents say neighborhood children often come to play and where some people walk their dogs or sneak glances at scenic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The property at 65 Ford St. was sold earlier this month. permitted as a temporary waste processing site. It is located in close proximity to Westmore’s 72 affordable apartments and the nearby Deaverview Apartments, a 160-unit public housing complex.

The pastoral landscape is home to large piles of debris such as downed branches and vegetation, construction and demolition materials, and other debris from the devastating Tropical Storm Helen.

Citywide, this volume is estimated to be more than 2.5 million cubic yards, or 70,000 truckloads.

After protests from residents As a result of public concern, the city announced on October 21 that it would deactivate the site. No additional waste will be delivered to the Ford Street site and, with the exception of vegetation debris, all material currently on site will be processed and removed within two weeks.

But the door remained open for further use. Going forward, the site will be “used only when necessary,” according to a brochure distributed Oct. 22 to a mass of disgruntled people outside the steps of City Hall.

“Facility security and preparation measures, such as fencing, will continue to ensure the facility is ready to reactivate if necessary,” the statement said.

Residents’ problems

J.C. Cobb, a six-year Westmore resident, said news of the deactivation did not immediately allay his concerns. The waste management site’s ownership directly supports its building. According to him, if the need arises, it can be put back into operation.

“They keep using the word ‘temporarily.’ And I’m not very sure that this will be a temporary phenomenon. Perhaps after some time the garbage, the garbage will be there again. So, this means that we, the residents who are directly connected to this facility, are at risk, our health and safety,” he told the Citizen Times on October 23. He has four children and their welfare was his main concern.

Both Cobb and another resident, Ken Erwin, said the city failed to notify them about the site. A stack of leaflets was left in the complex’s main office.

Erwin’s concerns were partly due to how the debris would be handled. He was glad to hear that he was being deactivated, but was still worried about the safety of both his family and the area as a whole.

“They could have found a better place other than a residential area,” he said.

What is a temporary waste disposal site?

At existing temporary debris sites, a third-party contractor, Southern Disaster Recovery, will collect, process and separate debris. The sites are not publicly accessible. Processing may look like shredding or compacting, preparing the material for transport to a permanent location outside the city.

The city approved and opened three facilities. Of these, only one, at Enka Commerce Park, is currently active and receiving hurricane debris. The Ford Street and Ninth Asheville Municipal Golf Course sites have been deactivated but remain ready for use if needed.

The city said the fourth permitted site at Roger Farmer Park will not be used.

The idea is to provide a “constant flow of materials,” city sanitation manager Jes Foster said at a Buncombe County briefing Oct. 23.

The temporary sites will receive construction and demolition materials, appliances, electronics, plant material and household hazardous waste such as cleaning products, paint and batteries. Household hazardous waste is collected separately and placed in a containment system to prevent it from leaching into the soil, Foster said.

No toxic or hazardous materials will be delivered to the temporary sites, she said. The difference between hazardous waste and “household” hazardous waste is items such as propane tanks, heating oil drums and large materials, a city spokesperson said.

State regulations limit where temporary sites can be established, including required distances from waterways, residences, wells and roads. The facilities will be monitored by Asheville Fire Department and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality inspectors to ensure compliance with permits, the county said in an Oct. 23 press release.

Random soil and water samples will be collected from the sites for analysis.

“These decisions are not easy, and every decision will be made with public safety in mind,” Foster said.

The city’s unified development ordinance allows for the placement of any temporary uses that the city manager deems “necessary or desirable in conjunction with emergency management,” Foster said of issues related to required zoning.

City Manager Debra Campbell said Oct. 25 that the Enka and Ford Street sites now have 24-hour security monitoring.

Additional permit applications have been submitted to NCDEQ, including for sites in the River Arts District corridor to allow contractors to clean up debris in that area.

What is the risk?

The land on Ford Street was acquired by the city in 2021 with the intention of using it along with other adjacent city properties to create a “purpose-built community” including Deaverview Apartments, a public housing complex adjacent to Westmore.

Westmore Apartments is an affordable housing community owned by nonprofit developer Mountain Housing Opportunities. Of the 171 residents, 57 are under 18, according to general manager Geoffrey Barton. He and MHO representative Lucas Ray met with the Citizen Times at the apartments on Oct. 23.

Barton called the deactivation of the Ford Street site “a step in the right direction” but advocated for its permanent closure.

“I think it’s a recognition that this is not a good place to recycle,” he said of his decision. “And I take the city at face value that it’s really a matter of finding more suitable locations.”

Despite assurances that toxic or hazardous materials, with the exception of household hazardous materials, will not be delivered to sites, Barton said this does not address all concerns, such as construction debris that may contain lead paint or asbestos.

“The truth at this point is that we just don’t know what the risk might be because we haven’t seen what DEQ’s application is or what the process is for evaluating sites,” Barton said. “And that’s when your mind starts to wander and think about catastrophic consequences. So, the city, once they share this information, I think it will help all of us.”

Child safety and environmental impact were his main concerns. Since the site was activated, he has heard from neighborhood children who played on or near it. This pushed the situation into “high gear” to take immediate action.

Local nonprofits call for more transparency

Barton, in his capacity as MHO, along with representatives from MountainTrue and the Southern Environmental Law Center, signed a letter sent to the mayor and council members on Oct. 22. He called for more transparency in the selection of sites and asked what safeguards were put in place to protect nearby communities and the environment.

He noted particular concerns in the area of 65 Ford Street and said, according to city officials, Climate Justice Data Map, The surrounding area faces some of the worst climate threats in the city.

“While we recognize the need to quickly address the storm, we are concerned that the Ford Street location perpetuates a history of environmental injustice,” the letter states, as the community disproportionately locates unwanted, polluting industries and facilities in low-income communities. colors. “We cannot afford to continue making these mistakes – even in times of crisis.”

He asked the city several questions and said it was difficult to assess the risk because “so little information” about the city’s plans had been disclosed.

“It is clear that the city is busy,” the message said. “But we cannot sit idly by while these potentially dangerous facilities are brought into operation.”

More: West Asheville Public Housing Residents Condemn Waste Recycling Sites Open Nearby

More: No additional debris has been brought to the West Asheville site near Deaverview at this time, city officials said.

More: Asheville Council provides Helen’s Recovery Funds to cover home repairs and rental assistance

Sarah Honoski is a city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News tips? Email [email protected] or message X (formerly Twitter) at @slhonosky. Please support local daily journalism by subscribing to the Citizen Times..