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County leaders acted wisely to protect citizens
Jackson County’s Industrial Development Ordinance, enacted in 2002 in the wake of a proposal to site an asphalt plant in Qualla, appears on the verge of saving another community from an unwanted rock quarry.
Commissioners’ intent four years ago in writing the ordinance was – in the absence of zoning – to develop a tool to protect residential areas from the types of industry that would change the character of a neighborhood and destroy the very fabric of the community.
There are always health and environmental issues associated with mining operations, quarries and asphalt plants, and Qualla residents then, like Tuckasegee citizens now, brought up those concerns.
In the end, however, county officials’ decision to enact the law was based more on subjective kinds of things like the value of peace and quiet.
An asphalt plant in Qualla likely could have met state air quality standards for such a facility; the planned mining operation in Tuckasegee may very well receive state approval – the application filed with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources includes detailed plans for protecting the air and water. Should that be the case, however, a Raleigh decision will not be enough to allow the operation to proceed, thanks to county leaders’ willingness to take a stand four years ago.
Fortunately for Qualla then and Tuckasegee now, Jackson County’s commissioners have taken steps to preserve domestic tranquility at the local level.
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