By Staff
Burr asked to look into PCS Phosphate permit
By PETER WILLIAMS
Managing Editor
Beaufort County officials lobbied U.S. Sen. Richard Burr to intervene on their behalf with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the senator’s visit to Washington on Friday.
A major concern was the permit that would allow PCS Phosphate to continue mining at its site near Aurora, said Tom Thompson, the county’s economic development director. Problems with a wetlands issue at the new county industrial park near Chocowinity and replacing a breakwater in Belhaven were also discussed, Thompson said.
The corps expects to complete its environmental impact statement on the PCS permit by the end of March and issue a final decision by mid-May. Any delay at this point will cause a negative economic impact on the operation, said Ross Smith, a PCS official who briefed the senator. PCS is Beaufort County’s largest employer and the biggest user of the state port facilities at Morehead City. Based on a study conducted by East Carolina University, PCS has an annual payroll of $64 million and a regional economic impact of $800 million.
Pulliam is in charge of the corps’ district office in Wilmington. PCS has been working to get the permit to mine new areas for the past eight years.
Smith did not want to talk about possible layoffs at the PCS plant, but admitted that could happen.
Thompson said he also urged Burr to look into a wetlands issue that has forced Beaufort County to adjust the layout of the new 277-acre industrial park.
The corps has classified a crescent-shaped strip of land at the center of the site as wetlands, and it has refused to allow development there unless the county seeks a permit. Instead of delaying the project, the county decided to relocate the site of the industrial park’s first tenant by some 500 feet. That also means extending a rail line 500 feet at a cost of more than $60,000.
Thompson is concerned that the corps could put other portions of the industrial park off limits to development.
Replacing the breakwater in Belhaven is a third issue the corps needs to deal with, Thompson said.
The project was once estimated to cost $3 million, but the corps has no funding to do it, Thompson said.