We arrived early, expecting to jostle for position with large numbers of Stop Titan activists anxious to speak against the Carolinas Cement Company’s plan to rebuild at a former cement plant site north of Wilmington. My friend Jack Palmieri wanted to speak about what he saw on a trip to the Roanoke Cement operation at Troutville, Virginia near Roanoke.

In August Jack and I drove to the plant in Virginia, at the invitation of Bob Odom, manager for Carolinas Cement. We were amazed to find the site nestled in a lovely valley near the Blue Ridge Mountains. We joined a small group from Wilmington and spent parts of two days touring the limestone mine and cement plant with company staff. Also, we were provided the opportunity to talk freely with company managers, local officials and residents.

Jack had signed up for a three-minute talk according to the N. C. Division of Air Quality rules for their public hearing held at the Cape Fear Community College North Campus on Tuesday, October 20. When we were seated in the auditorium filled with hundreds of people, a DAQ official announced he would allow each speaker only two minutes.

While many speakers “ranged far and wide” on the air quality topic, Jack stuck to the subject: no smoke, no dust, and no pollution at Roanoke. Unfortunately, he was cut off before making his final point. We had observed that the company carefully and continually monitors all aspects of its operations—including air pollution.

Many opponents at the hearing wore red clothing (we wore large buttons provided by the company with: “Welcome—Carolinas Cement Company”). Some carried signs of protest. Several opponents made wild accusations and bizarre predictions about pollution and environmental destruction. A few used children as props to promote unfounded scares about imagined health problems. Rude, disruptive shouts followed the most emotionally charged attacks on the company.

These tactics got press attention, but they likely did no good for the cause of those who hope to abort the permitting process and, ultimately, stop plant operations. Some of the professional environmental activists, sponsored by the N. C. Coastal Federation, took the risky step to accuse state regulators of dereliction of their responsibilities. On the other side, Carolinas Cement people cooperate fully with every agency request, patiently wait for decisions and try to counter their attackers.

It’s difficult to believe that irrational-, hysterical-based arguments could prevail over those backed by evidence and facts. But, who knows? There’s a lot of the former infecting some people in our society these days.

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