Mapping the Haw River

The Haw River Assembly is dedicated to the goal of environmental justice and equality for everyone living in the watershed. Our efforts are guided by our mission statement, our strategic plan and the work of our Environmental Justice, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Over the years we have worked with communities fighting disproportionate burdens of pollution based on demographic factors such as race and income. We support efforts by communities fighting proposals that would bring new degradation to water and air quality including landfills, mining, fracking, coal ash, and rights to clean water, wastewater treatment and access to public natural areas.

This fall, I am working with the Haw River Assembly to further this mission by building a community mapping tool that will display specific environmental justice issues within the watershed. The map can be seen below; it contains data about potential and existing sources of pollution overlaid with demographic data to show the primary communities that are being affected by pollutants in certain areas, so that the Haw River Assembly will be able to better provide support to these communities in tackling these issues. Additionally, we have included spotlights of community leaders and groups within the watershed in order to better understand the work that these groups are doing and how we can help.

Below is a map of the Haw River Watershed. You can type in your address in the top left search bar, and click on the legend icon in the bottom left to identify potential pollutant sources or industrial sites.

North Carolina is currently the No. 2 hog production state in the country, only trailing after Iowa. According to a 2016 analysis by the Environmental Working Group and Waterkeeper Alliance, NC has 3,300 swine lagoons which have generated 10 billion gallons of wet livestock waste. Swine lagoons are prevalent in rural and minority communities, and come with a host of problems and negative side effects for those living in close proximity.

Not only do swine lagoons cause a terrible smell "reminiscent of rotten eggs and ammonia" but they also contribute to health problems of those living nearby. According to a study by Steve Wing, an associate professor at UNC Chapel Hill, people who live close to swine lagoons are more likely to have symptoms of asthma and elevated blood pressure.

Yet another risk of living near swine lagoons is flooding. When Hurricane Florence hit in 2018, the heavy rain caused at least 50 lagoons to overflow into surrounding communities. Swine lagoons are filled with dangerous bacteria that, when released into the surrounding waterways, can severely impact the ecosystem, destroy crops, and cause sickness in humans and animals.

Citations:  https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/hog-farm-lawsuit-south/ ,  https://www.npr.org/2018/09/22/650698240/hurricane-s-aftermath-floods-hog-lagoons-in-north-carolina 

Another industry that causes negative environmental and health effects is mining. Also often located in rural areas, mining operations can result in contaminated water that poses a danger to humans and animals. In 2018, a mineral processing plant released hundreds of gallons of hydrofluoric acid into the North Toe River, which runs through Spruce Pine, with contaminated the water and caused a fish kill. River activities such as paddling, rafting, and fishing are very important for the tourism economy of communities such as the North Toe River, and illegal mining discharges such as these can significantly impact the local economy.

Troubles with mining does not end once the mine is closed. In Ashe County, a mine that closed in 1962 is still wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem and is costing millions of dollars in taxpayer money to clean up. Toxic water that is contaminated with different kinds of metals and acids has been spilling into local creeks and rivers for over 50 years, causing danger to humans and animals alike. When a news station asked an EPA representative about when the water will be safer, they were told, "Not for a very long time."

Citations:  https://wlos.com/news/local/abandoned-mines-pose-risks-but-nc-does-little-to-secure-sites ,  https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2019/04/30/north-toe-river-spruce-pine-wastewater-pollution-year-later-nc-deq-permits-review/3625511002/ 

In 1994, Omega and Brenda Wilson co-founded the West End Revitalization Association (WERA) in Mebane, NC in response to decades of being denied access to basic infrastructure including but not limited to paved roads and sidewalks, sewage treatment, and safe drinking water. You can read more about their work at their website, linked below:

Below is an excerpt from an interview I had with Mr. Wilson. A blog post based on our interview is available at our website:

“What we were addressing, we did not call it Environmental Justice. We took the slogan of ‘seeking the right to basic amenities’... which is much more comprehensive.”

As a member of many organizations, Nicole Gaines is incredibly dedicated to serving her community. Ms. Gaines, who is based in Greensboro, is a board member of the Haw River Assembly, and a Member-at-Large on the Greensboro Sustainability Council. In addition, she is part of the NCCJ Collective Leadership Team and the NC Sierra Club. Ms. Gaines’s current projects include fighting an urban loop highway extension that is proposed to go right by her neighborhood.

Below is an excerpt from an interview I had with Ms. Gaines. A blog post based on our interview is available at our website:

I’ve done research and talked with other researchers when we go into communities and decide to ask questions and ask people about things to do and participate in. Once that research is done we all leave - it is being recognized now that that causes more harm than anything… When we look at community organizing, you are organizing and you are beginning with the people who are most affected. You are beginning with the people who live in those communities and they are living the harm, and you help them or they help you figure out what’s best for us.”

The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a natural gas line that currently ends in Chatham, Virginia, but is attempting to expand 75 more miles from southern Virginia into central North Carolina. If approved, the pipeline will go through both Rockingham and Alamance counties and end southeast of Graham, right below I-85-40.

This expansion would cause the pipeline to cross 207 streams and 3 ponds. Most of the environmental harm would occur during construction, and would significantly endanger crucial sources of water supply. In its path is the Dan River, which houses endangered plant and animal species, and the Stony Creek Reservoir, which is the main drinking water source for the city of Burlington. Additionally, the pipeline's route runs through majority low-income and rural areas, so those communities will be disproportionately effected by the consequences of this pipeline.

Over the past two years, Haw River Assembly has been working to make people aware of the consequences of the project and to give members of communities alongside the route a voice. Alamance county unanimously signed a resolution to oppose the project, as did several towns along the route.

The Pipeline has hit several roadblocks, particularly in the summer of 2020 when the NC DEQ denied the 401 permit, which the necessary permit to cross streams. The permit was denied outright, meaning there were no conditions under which MVP Southgate could make corrections and resubmit. NCDEQ's denial letter focused predominantly on the failures of the MVP mainline.

“Division staff have determined the Southgate project’s sole utility and purpose is tied to and wholly relies on the completion of the entire Mainline project,” DEQ’s letter reads. “The uncertainty of the MVP Mainline Project’s completion presents a critical risk to the achievability of the fundamental purpose of MVP Southgate,” it continued.

However, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC has appealed the denial decision and said that they hope to have all the required permits by the end of 2020 and are shooting for a 2021 completion date. Southern Environmental Law Center has intervened in the case on behalf of Haw River Assembly to defend NC DEQ’s decision to deny this critical permit.

Below is an infographic about how pipelines impact surrounding communities:

Citations:  https://www.ecowatch.com/north-carolina-mountain-valley-pipeline-permit-2646956589.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 

Crystal Cavalier Keck, from Mebane, NC, is a member of the Occoneechee Band of the Saponi Nation and is the founder of the Missing Murdered Indigenous Coalition of North Carolina (MMIWNC). MMIWNC is a non-profit that is dedicated to pooling resources and raising awareness about the high number of Indigenous women and girls who go missing. She also sits on the NAACP Environmental Justice Board and on the board of the Haw River Assembly, and co-founded a business, Seven Directions of Service, with her husband to promote community service opportunities in Native communities.

Below is an excerpt from an interview I had with Ms. Cavalier Keck. A blog post about our interview is available on our website:

As for the intersection of these social justice issues with pipelines, she says, “It’s just a really bad situation. Most of these pipelines are going through marginalized communities… It’s just like a cycle of trauma that is affecting these people. They grow up with this cycle and it’s really hard to break unless someone is actually going in there and working with the community, instilling community values, trying to change things.”

Brenda Hines speaks very highly of community organization Down Home North Carolina, which is a group that is working to build multiracial power for working families across North Carolina, and which focuses on mobilizing small towns and rural communities. Ms. Hines has been a member since Down Home began in 2017, and one of her current goals is making people aware about the effects of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate project. The pipeline is proposed to cut through several central NC counties, including Alamance, which is where Down Home began.

Down Home NC's website is linked below:

Below is an excerpt from an interview I had with Ms. Hines. A blog post about our interview is available on our website:

It takes a long time to develop relationships, and that’s what people have to be rooted in - the relationship building, not just the issue of the moment… Everybody is giving up something. Don’t be shortsighted because it’s a Black life or a Brown life in the forefront, but everybody is affected by it no matter what your racial background may be.”