Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Stop Titan group now turns its attention to 4,000 acres of land poised for 4,000 units

A campaign opposing the proposal of a 4,030-unit development in Castle Hayne is gaining traction, as the county begins to assess a by-right project poised to sprawl across 4,039 acres of land. Meanwhile, state officials designated an adjacent property as a top priority inactive hazardous waste site, which some fear could pose health and safety risks to residents. (Courtesy North Carolina Land and Water Fund)

NEW HANOVER COUNTY — A campaign opposing the proposal of a 4,030-unit development in Castle Hayne is gaining traction, as the county begins to assess a by-right project poised to sprawl across a portion of its 4,039 acres of land. Meanwhile, state officials designated an adjacent property as a top priority inactive hazardous waste site, which some fear could pose health and safety risks to residents.

READ MORE: 4,030-unit Castle Hayne proposal moves forward, no community meeting required

Known as Sledge Forest — including over 3,000 acres of wetlands, 500-year old trees, and rare and threatened species  — the land could become the home of Hilton Bluffs. The county confirmed last month board approval or community input would not be required of the project because the property’s zoning, residential agriculture, allows one unit per acre for residential subdivisions.

Castle Hayne resident Kayne Darrell — who led the successful Stop Titan Cement campaign a decade ago — began the “Save Sledge Forest” petition on Oct. 30. With  807 signatures as of press, concerns listed in the petition include:

  • Disturbance and potential destruction of wetlands and wildlife
  • Potential strain on schools, medical facilities, and emergency services
  • Large amounts of anticipated traffic on Castle Hayne Road
  • Area is located in a floodplain
  • Absence of public involvement in the by-right development

Darrell told Port City Daily one of her foremost concerns is the property’s adjacent location to the GE Hitachi nuclear fuel facility on 3901 Castle Hayne Road. The property is an EPA superfund site and Department of Environmental Quality-designated hazardous waste site; the facility contaminated groundwater with toxic compounds — including uranium — for decades.

“Could the major disturbance to the land of a development this size cause toxins and carcinogens to leach even further into the water and soil?” she asked. “Who is making sure the health and safety of the citizens is protected?”

GE has operated a nuclear fuel facility in the area since 1968. The firm recently expanded its $200 million GE Vernova advanced nuclear fuel facility at 3901 Castle Hayne Road in 2022. The project is a joint venture between General Electric, Japanese multinational Hitachi, and TerraPower, a nuclear design and development firm founded by billionaire Bill Gates. 

GE anticipated minimal negative environmental impacts to surrounding areas in its 2022 application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to authorize advanced uranium enrichment. The firm noted Sledge Forest is immediately north of its New Hanover County facility:

“Although further development may result in potential habitat fragmentation or loss of biodiversity, local officials would consider this effect in their future development decisions.”

The North Carolina Land and Water Fund ranked Sledge Forest the highest possible score in its natural heritage category — 50 out of 50 — used to score conservation projects. Last year, the NCLWF Acquisition Committee approved $5 million in conservation grant funding to purchase 3,900 acres of the Castle Hayne site for protection under a conservation easement. 

NCLWF noted the property is on the market as reason for urgency. The total appraised value of the two parcels is $12,740,400, according to county property records. 

“It is my understanding that before The Conservation Fund could arrange to close the property, the landowner accepted another offer from a developer and The Conservation Fund had no choice but to return the grant funds,” NCLWF executive director Will Summer told Port City Daily. “As far as I know, there is not a current conservation strategy in place for the property.”

New Hanover County spokesperson Alex Riley said the county was not involved in the grant funding request.

“However, the county is actively exploring potential land conservation opportunities within New Hanover County for preservation, additional greenspace and public recreation opportunities, as it is a priority of the Board of Commissioners; and that includes research of the Sledge Forest/Hilton Bluffs property.”

The contract included a special condition to remove all structures before closing; NCLWF stated it would not contribute to their purchase.

“This project would protect the last, large, undeveloped privately owned land in New Hanover County through the creation of a new nature park,” NCLWF wrote in a 2024 summary of the initiative. 

The county’s technical review committee comments published last month noted the developer would need to conserve approximately 3,072 acres of wetlands within the 4,039-acre site to count its acreage towards total project density. 

Hilton Bluffs’ preliminary plans indicate initial phases of development would take place in a portion of the southeastern section of the property. Future development abutting the wetland-designated section of the property includes a nature trail, mini horse ranch rentals, potential single family homes, a golf course, and access roads.

In a March email exchange, Paramounte Engineering landscape architect Allison Engrebetson expressed interest in rezoning a portion of the property to community mixed use to create a small commercial village. She asked planning supervisor Robert Farrell if some development in uplands designated as conservation areas would be allowed; he said the county conservation place type would not prohibit by-right development.

Five LLCs affiliated with Hilton Properties each own a fifth of the 4,039-acre site. Charlotte-based Copper Builders is the developer; Port City Daily reached out to the applicant to ask about the petition but did not receive a response by press.

Save Sledge Forest will hold a town hall Saturday at 3 p.m. at Northern Regional Park in Castle Hayne to raise awareness of the issue. Speakers include Darrell, Parr, local conservationist Andy Wood, and geologist Roger Shew, and retired emergency room physician Robert Parr.

Parr told Port City Daily flooding and traffic were his chief issues. Preliminary reviews anticipate the project could generate 30,261 daily trips, 3,209 peak hour evening trips, and 2,153 peak hour morning trips on Castle Hayne Road.

“Even at the present sea level the majority of the 4,000 acres is subject to high tide flooding,” Parr said. “And then there’s also storm flooding.”

Parr — who has also worked as a marine biologist — emphasized the importance of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s sea level rise projections on future residences.

“When you look at the projected flooding for a 2-foot rise,” he said, “the flooding in those areas is just as significant — if not more significant — than flooding in the West Bank.”

A 2003 natural area inventory study funded by New Hanover County and the Natural Heritage Trust Fund noted Sledge Forest supports a broad array of wildlife and contains one of the largest habitats of Peatland Atlantic White Cedar Forest in Southeastern North Carolina. The area contains loblolly pine dated more than 300 years old and rare cypress trees estimated to be 500 years of age. 

The National Wildlife Council recognized a neighboring site — General Electric’s 1,600-acre 3901 Castle Hayne Road facility — as a National Wildlife Habitat in 2012. 

Inactive hazardous waste site

The 4,000-acre Sledge Forest is located near GE’s property.

The Department of Environmental Quality sent General Electric a May 2024 letter informing the firm its Castle Hayne site was included in the state’s 2022-2023 Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites Priority List. It’s ranked as DEQ’s ninth highest priority out of 528 sites; rankings are based on potential for groundwater migration, surface water migration, air migration, and direct contact.

In the 1990s, GE identified a plume of groundwater contamination that seeped across property lines, including the proposed Hilton Bluffs site. GE has used groundwater wells to hydraulically control the impacted groundwater and limit migration into adjacent properties for decades.

“Several meetings were held between GE and [DEQ] in 1997 and 1998,” GE senior project manager Cody Platt wrote in a 2021 email to DEQ. “I believe the outcome of the last meeting was that GE would continue to perform the monitoring, but that it was not necessary to send reports to [DEQ].”

DEQ approved GE’s updated groundwater monitoring program in September; it includes installation and sampling of approximately 16 borings to assess contaminated chlorinated solvent groundwater plume at the northern boundary of the site.

GE’s most recent annual monitoring report was published by WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Inc. in October. Seven contaminants of concern were found above groundwater levels; possible carcinogen Naphthalene was found in one well at 7,290 parts per billion, above the groundwater standards of six ppb.

The site’s property owners were previously engaged in a multi-year effort to develop a high-density sand mine on a portion of the property from 2013-2019. Citizens’ environmental concerns ultimately stymied efforts. 

Castle Hayne residents sued the Department of Environmental Quality to revoke Hilton’s mining permit in 2014. The same year DEQ sent Hilton Properties a letter demanding a permit modification due to omitting information about the toxic groundwater plume in its application.

The property owners made a second attempt to build the sand mine in 2018; the planning board recommended approving a rezoning request for the industry before commissioners rejected it in a 4-1 vote. 

Commissioner Rob Zapple, the lone vote in support of the project, told Port City Daily Monday he hoped commercial activity in the area would incentivize state authorities to prioritize clean-up for well-users in the area. He added he had serious reservations about the impact of the proposed development on wetlands and advocated more investigation of environmental contamination in the area before moving forward with a residential project.

“I don’t know about you,” he joked, “but I wouldn’t feel good about buying a house that has uranium underneath it.”

[Update: This article has been updated to include comments from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund and New Hanover County about Sledge Forest conservation grant funding, and to clarify New Hanover County’s conservation place type does not prohibit by-right development.]


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