The Wrightsville Beach newspaper, Lumina News, has a new package on the Titan Cement controversy that is well worth your time. In one piece, county commissioner incumbents and challengers respond to the recent protest:

One, Deborah Butler—a Democratic candidate for New Hanover County commissioner—mingled with the crowd, before delivering an impassioned speech highlighting the public’s concern over Titan’s facility. She vowed to change the tide if elected.

“The current county commissioners ignored this project…The majority of that commission does not have the vision that you and I have,” Butler said into a microphone, her voice carried by a nearby speaker. Her speech drew applause.

Echoing one side of this contentious debate, Butler asserted Titan’s vetting was shrouded in secrecy with “Titan lobbyists fast-tracking the permit process all the way through Raleigh . . . I find it shameful,” she added.

And then:

Commissioners waited until after their Monday night meeting to comment, and when they did, asserted that Titan’s proposed facility was out of their jurisdiction and into the state’s, reiterating that the actions called for don’t fall under their jurisdiction.

“We have no authority,” said chairman, Jason Thompson. “If we did take any action it’s only ceremonial. It’s only symbolic. We have no legislative authority.”

In another piece, Bob Odom, manager of the local Titan Cement project, speaks out:

As he sat at the end of a long conference table in his office building near Laney High School, Odom expressed certainty that it was the project’s complexity which had sparked controversy, and if the public were more informed, that controversy would wane.

Indeed, the proposal is convoluted. It involves a number of state and federal agencies, intricate scientific study, terms that sound almost foreign and copious other factors that could easily fill volumes.

“People have concerns and we try to address that,” he said. “Maybe we haven’t done a well enough job of doing that. I’ll admit that.”

The extent to which the plant will impact the environment, public health and wildlife vary depending on who’s asked.

For Odom, state and federal environmental regulations will minimalize risks in all three arenas, even impacts to local schools and water supplies.

“Nobody is going to be hurt by our cement plant,” Odom said. “All the proper equipment will be in place. We’ll meet all the EPA regulations and we don’t foresee any effects to those schools or any of our neighbors for that matter.”

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