July 10, 2007
DAVID ANDERSON
Kinston Free Press
Staff Writer
City, state and federal officials gathered Tuesday to dedicate Kinston’s new $48 million Regional Water Reclamation Facility, which was built to replace the former Peachtree Wastewater Treatment Plant wrecked by Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
Rebuilding the city’s sewage treatment facilities was a critical part of local recovery efforts in the wake of Floyd’s devastation, and the chief executives who lead the city and state through the crisis – former Mayor Johnnie Mosley and former Gov. Jim Hunt – were on hand Tuesday to praise everyone who worked during the recovery process.
“I am delighted to be in Kinston again,” said Hunt, who lives on a farm in Wilson County. “I’m here to join you in celebrating, in celebrating what you’ve got here.”
Hunt lobbied Congress and White House incessantly and obtained several billion dollars in federal relief funds, and Mosley raised millions more in state and federal aid.
Both men received a standing ovation before and after their remarks, and the administration building where the ceremony took place was named the Mosley Building in honor of the former mayor.
“This facility will be a benefit for Kinston and Lenoir County,” said Mosley, who made some brief remarks after a plaque bearing the name “Mosley Building” was unveiled.
City Manager Scott Stevens told the audience that opening the new plant released the city from its judicial order of consent, a state-imposed moratorium that has hung over the city since 1998, when violations at the Peachtree plant came to light.
The city manager said during the ceremony that bringing the plant online is the final step in removing the judicial order, and he presented a signed court order stating the moratorium had been lifted.
Stevens said in a later interview that the order prohibited the city from building any new sewer extensions without state approval until its sewage disposal facilities are improved.
Charles “Tom” Collins, manager of the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management’s Kinston-based Eastern Branch, warned the crowd that another major hurricane is guaranteed to hit the area -several more have struck since Floyd – but the new plant would survive where Peachtree failed when it was overwhelmed by floodwaters, since it has been built away from the local floodplain along the Neuse River.
“It’s a great facility that’s going to help Lenoir County bounce back from Floyd,” he said.
David Anderson can be reached at (252)527-3191, ext. 237, or danderson@freedomenc.com
Fast Facts:
The Kinston Regional Water Reclamation Facility began operations in August 2006 after just over two years of construction. The Peachtree Wastewater Treatment Plant was taken off line that September and demolition of the plant ended in January.
The new facility was built on the site of the Northside Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is still operating. Combined with Northside’s capacity, the regional plant boasts a capacity to treat 11.85 million gallons of sewage per day.
Instead of chemical treatments such as chlorine, the new plant uses bacteria and ultraviolet light to treat the wastewater. It goes through three levels of treatment to remove debris and harmful pathogens, and is then discharged into the Neuse River.
The plant will serve all of Kinston, plus industrial customers outside the city and most of Lenoir County’s schools. Communities such as Cutter Creek in Greene County, plus Dover and Cove City in Craven County, have agreed to send their sewage to Kinston’s plant.