Nash County officials recently have come under fire by several water conservation groups for what they contend is a lack of transparency in the application process of certain water and sewer improvements.

Representatives from waterkeeper groups – Pamlico-Tar River Foundation, Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation, White Oak-New Riverkeeper Alliance and Waterkeeper Alliance – wrote officials with the N.C. Department of Administration’s State Clearinghouse asking that Nash County be required to resubmit requests for federal and state grant money that’s geared to help poultry producer Sanderson Farms build a processing plant.

The four organizations communicated the request through comments made under a National Environmental Policy Act review of Nash County’s request for funds that would pay for sewer line extensions for the proposed plant, hatchery, wastewater treatment facility and spray fields.

In jointly submitted statements dated Dec. 2, members of the four waterkeeper groups wrote that Nash County’s submission document should be re-written in order for state agencies, local governments and the public to fully evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the proposed plant.

The county’s proposed project has been operating under the  code name, “Project Baseball,” since the early stages of the recruitment process. The water conservation members have outlined the possible environmental impacts that the proposed chicken facility would cause.

“Nash County and Sanderson Farms are seeking to piecemeal the permitting aspect of this project in order to avoid a comprehensive environmental assessment that legally must include a secondary and cumulative impacts review of the processing plant,” Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Heather Jacobs Deck said in a prepared statement.

Nash County Manager Bob Murphy said in a telephone interview the county has done no wrongdoing in its application process.

“For them to suggest we’re trying to circumvent any required environmental review is nonsense,” Murphy said. “All we’re doing is simply applying for grants for infrastructure improvements. ... At the appropriate times, the project will go through the required environmental reviews.”

Derek Hawkes – public utilities director and Nash county engineer – said in a telephone interview that designating code names for a prospective industry is customary, especially when company officials have not formally announced their intent to come to an area.

“It was not our intentions in any way to try and deceive any one,” Hawkes said. “We have correctly submitted to the clearinghouse and other regulatory agencies the necessary environmental information only for the responsibilities of what Nash County will do – which is the infrastructure of water and sewer.”

Hawkes said the county has asked the regulatory agencies to identify issues associated with the sewer project that should be addressed in any environmental documents.  He said the environmental effects of the county’s project will be evaluated during the upcoming grant application review process.

Nash County and its Central Nash Water and Sewer District filed two separate pre-applications with the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center for grant funding worth $1 million a piece. The preapplications were dated Nov. 10.

The funding would come from the N.C. Rural Center’s Economic Infrastructure Program. Garnet Bass, the center’s communication director, said in a telephone interview that the program is geared to fund projects that create private sector jobs in new or expanding businesses served by the infrastructure.

Bass said both applicants are in “premature stages”, and it could be months before a decision on funding is determined. The grant requires Nash County and the Central Nash Water and Sewer District to match funding.

“It’s very, very preliminary. There’s still a lot of steps that have to be followed,” Bass said. “Our folks have to do a lot of due diligence on this by checking out aspects of the project and funding. ... Even if they were approved, they would have to have the rest of the money together.”

Nash County has requested funding for sewer improvement. They are seeking another $4 million from other agencies such as the Economic Development Administration, N.C. Department  of Commerce and Tobacco Trust Fund.

The Central Nash and Water Sewer District has requested dollars for water infrastructure. That portion still requires another $1 million, which county officials said will be sought from agenices such the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Tobacco Trust Fund.

Bass said if both pre-applications are passed, the county still would have to apply for and submit a full application.