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Reprinted with permission from
The Courier=Times Online
Assuming it obtains the necessary state permits, BPB NC Inc. likely will start construction this year on a manufacturing plant at Hyco Lake that by 2007 could be churning out 700 million square feet of wallboard annually, all of it made from a waste byproduct produced by pollution control equipment on Progress Energy’s coal-fired power plant perched just across the canal.
Just slightly more than a year after the company’s Britain-based parent, British Plaster Board, signaled plans to build the 800,000 square foot facility here, the Person Board of County Commissioners on Monday night flashed the green light by approving a special use permit for the plant, subject to the company’s compliance with certain specified conditions, which a BPB spokesman told commissioners would pose no problem.
Commissioners approved the issuance of the permit on a unanimous, 5-0, vote, following a public hearing that drew no speakers in opposition to the BPB project.
During the hearing, Howard Eastwood, a resident of Shiloh Church Road, complained that his road was on the route that heavy truck bearing materials and product to and from the plant would be using, yet he said he has heard no mention of his road being among those for which the state Department of Transportation has scheduled for improvements in conjunction with development of the BPB facility.
Shiloh Church Road, between Country Club Road and Woodsdale Road, is the eastern extension of Edwin Robertson Road, which has been specifically targeted for improvements, along with segments of McGehee’s Mill Road, Concord-Ceffo Road, and City Lake Road. The DOT has committed $3.9 million for the improvements in order to accommodate the 240 daily truck trips that BPB officials expect to and from the plant five days weekly.
Eastwood said that Shiloh Church Road is narrow, has sharp curves and is probably more dangerous than any of the other roads. He said that while he was not opposed to the BPB project, he and his neighbors are hopeful attention will be given that road as well, since it is on the prescribed truck route.
Otherwise, Monday’s hearing brought positive reaction, aside from Russell Killen, a Raleigh attorney representing BPB, who encouraged commissioners to approve the permit as his client has complied with all the requirements and standards in county regulations.
Glen Newsome, executive director of the Person County Economic Development Commission, urged approval of the permit, noting that the EDC considered the project a priority and fully supported it. He said it represented an investment of about $125 million, plus new jobs for Personians. BPB has said it will employ about 100 people at the plant and another 100 will be needed as truck drivers.
Alluding to BPB’s plan to make wallboard from the synthetic gypsum generated from the new anti-pollution devices being installed on Progress Energy’s power plant at Hyco Lake and also on the utility’s plant at Mayo Lake in northeastern Person County, Newsome said the project recently earned favorable comment in Appalachian Voice, an environmental publication.
Because BPB will use a waste product to manufacture another useful product, the project, Newsome said, will have a “very positive” environmental impact.
BPB spokesman Killen offered a similar observation in his remarks to commissioners, and he also noted that BPB officials had held several public meetings specifically to address concerns that area residents had raised when the project was first outlined to the Person County Planning Board last year.
As a result of those sessions, Killen said, BPB had altered its original plans, specifically to make improvements and strengthen a segment of Shore Road near the McGehee’s Mill Road intersection, and to build a new road on the 104-acre BPB site between Shore Road and the after bay canal. The new road will parallel Shore, he said, and funnel BPB truck traffic onto BPB property sooner than called for in the original plan. That will eliminate truck traffic having to approach the side roads that extend northward off Shore Road to lakeside properties.
BPB’s responsiveness to the concerns of neighborhood residents impressed Janie Clayton, who lives nearby on Roy Carver Road.
“Aside from the obvious economic benefits,” Clayton said, BPB officials “have been very, very good about working with the residents in the area … and if that is any indication of what kind of corporate citizen they will be, we want and need this company here.”
Following the hearing, Commissioner Jimmy B. Clayton moved for approval of the special use permit, subject to conditions recommended by the county planning department, and authorizing the planning department to make the determination of compliance with those conditions.
County Planner Paula Murphy had noted at the outset of the hearing that buildings on the BPB site will range between 27 and 98 feet high. County regulations limit building height to a maximum 50 feet unless higher buildings are specifically approved as part of the special use permit. Clayton structured his motion to include authorization for the BPB buildings higher than 50 feet.
Other permit conditions specify that BPB must submit to planning officials copies of approved state and federal permits relating to wastewater and air emissions. Commissioners also authorized planning officials to sign off on signage, lighting, buffers and solid waste facility features of the project.
Commissioner Larry Yarborough commented, “This is a very good project for Person County and we’re glad to have them here. Taking this gypsum out of here and cleaning up the air is going to be another great benefit.”
Commissioner Larry Bowes observed, “I think it’s good they’re coming due to the fact of the economic impact it’s going to have on the county with good-paying jobs.”
Commissioner Clayton also cited the benefit of BPB’s using the waste gypsum which would have to be otherwise disposed of, probably in landfill.
Pointing to how BPB officials had sought to work to address citizen concerns, Commissioner Roy K. Holler said, “It’s a little unusual, but very refreshing … . I thank you for that.”
Gaining approval of the special use permit was the final major hurdle at the county level for the BPB facility. County government had earlier changed the zoning on the 122-acre tract BPB acquired from Progress Energy. The zoning was changed from Residential to General Industrial in order to accommodate the wallboard plant, but the special use permit was a separate requirement. BPB plans to use about 104 acres of the tract for the wallboard operations. Both the zoning change and the special use permit had a favorable recommendation from the county planning board.
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| Reprinted with permission from The Courier=Times Online.
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