Groups sue Camden County Spaceport consultants for withholding public safety documents
The Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit today in Camden County, Georgia Superior Court against the County and Spaceport Camden consultants Andrew Nelson and the Aerospace Corporation for failing to meet requirements under the Georgia Open Records Request Act.
The lawsuit alleges that Camden County has ignored requests for specific documents, including debris field maps and an analysis estimating the number of human deaths that could occur if a rocket explodes on the launch pad or in the air.
The lawsuit charges that withholding documents concerning public safety and environmental impacts leaves communities in the dark about the project’s potential dangers to residents and ecosystems. Spaceport Camden is a proposed rocket launching facility in Camden County, Georgia.
Opponents of the spaceport are concerned about the disturbance to Cumberland Island National Seashore and the possibility of injuries and damage from launches.
NC residents using well water near Duke Energy’s coal ash facilities can have their water tested for free
Residents in Mecklenburg and Catawba Counties concerned about the quality of their well water can have it tested for free. The EPA and the National Science Foundation funded the program, which comes amidst concerns over water quality around Duke Energy’s coal ash basins.
Researchers from Virginia Tech and UNC-Chapel Hill will be testing the water for metals such as lead, copper, arsenic, and chromium. 300 test kits are available. Those interested in participating can pick up a sampling bottle between February 20 and February 27 at designated locations. The testing comes at a time when concerns about coal ash facilities are high.
A recent cancer cluster in Mooresville, NC, home to several structural landfills that are also unlined and made of coal ash, has residents worried. Duke Energy says that coal ash does not pose a threat to the public.
