Recycling firm scraps plans for Navassa landfill

RALEIGH -- A major recycling company said Thursday it has abandoned plans to build a facility in the coastal town of Navassa, frustrated by state lawmakers who are working to gain more power over the landfill industry.

Robert Kelman, president of Sims Hugo Neu, said he was "disappointed" by legislation that would remove a proposed landfill property from Navassa's jurisdiction. The town's mayor, Eulis Willis, had worked to recruit the landfill, saying that the town -- with an annual per-person income of $11,328 -- needed the 40 new jobs and $25 million investment.

Rep. Bonner Stiller, R-Brunswick, has proposed two bills that would place the property back under Brunswick County's control.

"I'm thrilled that Hugo Neu has decided to pull out," said Stiller, who noted that the landfill would have created a mound of trash 350 feet high. "It's not an industry that we needed here."

Both bills have been approved by a General Assembly committee on local government.

The Legislature passed a one-year moratorium last year to freeze landfill projects. Since then, lawmakers, incorporating recommendations from state environmental regulators, filed several bills that would increase permit fees, tighten rules and increase oversight for landfills.

Though lawmakers haven't yet voted on the bills or considered them in committee, the recommendations have already stalled a proposal from Waste Management Inc. that would have created a 2,300-acre landfill in Scotland County.

Hugo Neu had planned to store byproducts from a scrap-metal recycling plant and had made donations toward Navassa's water and sewer infrastructure. The company also planned to help pay for a fire station.

"This was truly a tough decision, both personally and for our company," Kelman said. "As we've said all along, we were committed to the people of Navassa, but we also left our options open to pursue other opportunities to make this recycling project a success."

Hugo Neu has also faced some unwanted publicity over the past couple of months. Company executives contributed about $4,000 last spring to the re-election campaign of Rep. Thomas Wright, D-New Hanover.

Wright resigned his House committee chairmanships because of an ongoing investigation into his campaign finances.