WUNC: “It seems as though the community is evenly split. Half agree with Altmon and Herring: the wood pellet plant is bothersome and negatively impacts their livelihood. The other half agree more with Mincy: the facility is great for the economy.
Environmental advocates are concerned the wood pellet plant will have a long-term negative impact on the overall well-being of the community.
“I believe that even though there may be some economic benefit, that the detriments that occur are much worse than the alleged economic benefit that comes with these industries being here,” said Sherri White-Williamson, the environmental justice policy director with the North Carolina Conservation Network.
She points out that Sampson County is also home to industrial hog farms and the state’s largest landfill, so to her, Enviva’s presence just exacerbates the issues this community is already facing.
“I would say the situation is very urgent at this point, because we have become an extractive county and extractive country,” White-Williamson said.
She alleges that Enviva is decreasing resiliency and contributing to deforestation by cutting down trees to produce wood pellets.
“Sampson County is in the path of most storms. [Enviva is] reducing the ability of communities to protect themselves from flooding,” she said.
Enviva strongly refutes that claim. The company says its wood pellets come from low-value wood fiber, mill residues, tree limbs, and trees cut during forest thinnings. Additionally, Enviva says it works with its suppliers to make sure that trees are regenerated.”