|
|
EDC to tour Enka asphalt plantBy Lisa Majors-Duff |
|
In a continuing effort to educate themselves on the issue of asphalt plants, members of the Economic Development Commission of Jackson County will travel to Enka next week to view just such a facility.
According to an announcement released Tuesday, the EDC will leave for the Enka APAC asphalt plant at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 23. "A meeting will be conducted on the van before or after the tour," the announcement says. Next week's tour will mark the fourth EDC meeting aimed at carrying out a mission assigned them by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. County leaders imposed a yearlong moratorium on new asphalt plants in May, after which they asked the EDC to determine the impact a second asphalt plant might have on Jackson County. APAC, which has operated a plant in Dillsboro for nearly 30 years, was the EDC's first stop on what Chairman Tom McClure classified as a "fact-finding mission." Next, the EDC hosted a presentation and question-and-answer session with members of the state's Division of Air Quality, followed by a tour of Mark Fortner's proposed site earlier this month. Owner of HMC Paving in Bryson City, Fortner told commissioners of his plans to build an asphalt plant on the old Worley farm in Qualla community in April. That announcement angered area residents, who asked commissioners to find a way to stop the construction project. The moratorium was approved unanimously May 10.
|
Back to Archive: 08/16/01. |