Carolina County Approves Landfill and Sparks Question of Discrimination

Lynn Schenkman

Raleigh, N.C. – the North Carolina Court of Appeals announced its support for the construction of the 189-acre South Wake Landfill in Holly Springs, N.C. The landfill will take over for the North Wake Landfill, which will close in 2006. The South Wake site will take approximately 18 months to construct and will handle 600,000 tons of garbage per year.

The population of Holly Springs has been steadily increasing during the past 10 years and so has residents’ opposition to the new landfill. But one group of African-American residents is particularly concerned. Easton Acres, a predominantly black community in Holly Springs, has filed a separate suit against the county in federal court claiming that landfill placement represents a longstanding pattern of intentional discrimination.