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1   Link   The Men in the Shadows (Star News Online Forums)
Discussion about an op-ed piece on backwards business practices in the area by the piece's author and others
2   Link   Opponents' agenda (News & Observer)
The battle to stop Titan Cement from locating to our beloved coast gains momentum daily. New Hanover County commissioners have received a petition from nearly 6,000 people who oppose Titan. As we learn more, opposition grows.
3   Link   Stringent smog standards open new chapter in Titan debate - Lumina News
Stringent smog standards recently proposed by the federal government have opened another chapter in the debate of Titan America and its prospects in New Hanover County.

By announcing the proposal in January, the federal government has brought into focus a shift in critics’ ire for what they argue is North Carolina’s propensity for issuing permits before rigorous environmental standards are finalized.
4   Link   Editorial - Piecemeal reports on Titan's impact inadequate (Star News editorial)
Exhibit A in the argument for doing comprehensive environmental reviews for proposed industrial plants instead of issuing permits piecemeal:

The head of North Carolina's Division of Water Quality wrote the head of the Air Quality Division last month to let him know that the Northeast Cape Fear River can't take any more mercury – which may make it more difficult for Titan Cement to get a discharge permit for its Castle Hayne plant.
5   Link   Protesters rally against proposed cement plant
WILMINGTON – Protesters in New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties rallied together Monday for a group known as Citizens Against Titan.

The grassroots group is protesting Titan America's proposed cement plant, which opponents say would harm air and water quality. Members went door-to-door collecting almost 6,000 signatures and handed the petition over to county commissioners during their Monday meeting.
6   Link   Titan’s mines shut down when county issued incentives
Titan America’s subsidiary in Florida had its mining operations partially closed down after it was linked to contamination in Miami-Dade’s water supply at the same time New Hanover County was vetting the company for a $4.2 million incentive package, according to news reports and court documents.

U.S. District Court Judge William Hoeveler issued an injunction on July 13, 2007 against Titan’s Florida subsidiary, Tarmac America, ordering it to cease all lime rock mining activity because its quarry on a Miami-Dade well field had been linked to contamination.
7   Link   River's mercury level may bar permit (News & Observer)
The river near a proposed cement plant in New Hanover County can't tolerate any more mercury pollution, state officials say, a judgment that could block the controversial factory from opening.

The state environmental agency is considering permits for the plant planned for Castle Hayne near the already mercury-tainted Northeast Cape Fear River. The factory built by Titan America would produce a number of pollutants, including mercury.
8   Link   E-mail trail shows Titan officials sought state and county help (Lumina News)
Marino Papazoglou, a Titan America official, sought help from New Hanover County and North Carolina in jumping a potential hurdle for his company.

Titan’s counsel, attorney George W. House, informed Papazoglou in an e-mail dated July 22, 2008, that if a state or county incentive package involved writing a check—which it does—the State Environmental Policy Act, better known as SEPA, would trigger a top-to-bottom review, delaying Titan’s permits until the review could be completed.
9   Link   Cement site - Opinion - NewsObserver
"All this arises because of e-mails between state officials, a lobbyist and officials of Titan America, which plans a major cement-producing facility in Castle Hayne, near Interstate 40 north of Wilmington. The e-mails center on whether a comprehensive state environmental review (known as SEPA) should be required - our view is that it should be, although the state says it is not. But the incentives issue dovetailed into the permits question."
10   Link   Easley fund-raisers sold building to Titan executive (Star News)
A corporation that shares an address and president with a Titan America subsidiary bought a Wilmington office building for more than twice its tax value from Democratic fund-raisers under scrutiny by state and federal prosecutors.
11   Link   Pediatrician rebuffs colleague's letter on Titan Cement's impact (Greater Wilmington Business Journal)
In the Oct. 30 edition, my colleague Dr. Dennis Nicks published a letter entitled, “In letter to medical society, doctor questions Titan opposition.” This letter, modified from a version he sent to members of the New Hanover-Pender County Medical Society, is riddled with errors both factual and conceptual. Having lectured to both the Medical Society and the North Carolina Pediatrics Society on this issue, I would like to respond to some of his assertions. Let’s start with the facts.
12   Link   Changes in attitude count
A letter swap between the state's most prominent critic of governmental ethics and Gov. Bev Perdue suggests that this time around, someone in the governor's office is paying attention.
13   Link   Perdue requests examination of cement plant permit
Gov. Bev Perdue is weighing in on the debate over whether Titan America’s proposed cement plant should be allowed to come to New Hanover County.
14   Link   Titan America accused of price-fixing (Star News)
Titan America and eight other cement companies conspired in a price-fixing scheme to boost the price of cement and concrete and eliminate competition in Florida, according to a class-action lawsuit filed this week in federal court.
15   Link   State vs. feds (Star News editorial)
On Friday, the state will close the public comment period on the draft air quality permit for Titan Cement’s proposed Castle Hayne plant. And there’s a good chance that the state will issue an air permit that bears almost no resemblance to the emissions standards Titan would be subject to under new federal rules for cement plants.
16   Link   Watchdog urges Gov. Perdue to act (Raleigh News & Observer)
Dear Governor Perdue,

The recent State Board of Election hearings on Governor Easley and his alleged campaign activities, as well as the Verizon contracting scandal, have once again shaken confidence in our state government. These repeated scandals are damaging our state's reputation for honest government and demand executive leadership. While we all hope the General Assembly will take on the call of reform in the 2010 session, there are a number of positive and immediate steps you could take as governor to help restore confidence in state government:
17   Link   Wilmington’s Star News article about EPA letter: on Titan air permit
The Environmental Protection Agency sent written comments to state regulators about the draft air permit for the Titan America cement plant.

But what do these comments from the EPA really mean? It depends on where you stand on the debate.
18   Link   State is pressing too fast on cement plant permit (Charlotte News & Observer)
If you've watched the news from southeastern North Carolina in the past year, perhaps you've wondered what the fuss was over a proposed plant Carolina Cement proposes to build and operate on the banks of the Northeast Cape Fear River near Castle Hayne. It appears to be a classic dispute between those who want the jobs the plant would provide and those who fear the air emissions, including mercury, would violate air quality standards and threaten the health of area residents.
19   Link   Draft Air Quality Permit
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources issues a draft air quality permit for Titan Cement.

This is the document itself (PDF)
20   Link   Titan Cement Hearings (Lumina News)
Both sides converged at two public hearings held at the Cape Fear Community College North Campus BB&T Auditorium, where officials with the state Department of Air Quality (DAQ) fielded about 200 public comments for approximately seven hours Tuesday evening, said Tom Mather, the division’s public information officer.
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