Thursday night the County Commissioners narrowed their choices for the county's Waste Transfer Station (WTS) down to two sites in southwest Orange County: Site 056 -- the Howell property -- and site 759, a smaller site owned by Orange Water and Sewer Authority currently being used for sludge dumping.

This decision was made contrary to very vocal community beliefs that the sites on N.C. 54 are the worst options for the station. The criteria used by consultants hired to conduct the placement study didn't rank these two sites as top choices.

Those who live in SW Orange wonder why these sites were selected, since neither are close to the center of waste generation and there are no nearby support services such as water, sewer or adequate fire protection. Nor are there services that are normally located around WTS facilities, such as easy access to major highways and rail service.

Six out of seven of our county commissioners live in areas outside SW Orange. So they lack familiarity with this part of the county. This past weekend the commissioners had scheduled a site visit to view the recommended sites for the WTS, but only three commissioners came to view the property. Those who did attend were new to the board. How is it our elected representatives cannot find time to see, firsthand, how this project would impact our area?

Consultants for the board report that neither an Environmental Impact Statement nor a formal traffic study are needed to site a WTS at the N.C. 54 sites, and that there are no known environmental issues associated with the sites. However, residents of SW Orange have confirmed that rare fish and mussel populations are just downstream of the sites on both the Cane Creek and Haw River waterways.

It's also been noted that the maximum speed for county garbage trucks is 40 mph. If this decision is made, N.C. 54 will have 100-300 garbage trucks per day driving 40 mph. Clearly this requires a traffic study. Why don't we rate environmental or traffic studies?

The consultant's report also states that the sites had high "community specific scores," or valuations by citizens. But no one in the SW Orange Community had an opportunity to complete any community questionnaires that ranked their choices. That opportunity was removed prior to the N.C. 54 sites becoming serious contenders in the selection process.

Residents of SW Orange County wonder why our area is considered "unpopulated" and available for continued assaults. It is not so. Our area is the home to many, many people who value our land and our way of life.

We protect the land via county-imposed land-use restrictions so that the municipalities' water supply in Cane Creek Reservoir remains viable. We have already felt the assault of bio-solids (sludge) from waste treatment plants from Orange County, Burlington, Cary and Durham being deposited onto land in SW Orange County. There is the very real potential of a municipal airport being located in SW Orange. And now the county wants to deposit the county's trash in SW Orange. Why here?

Three community groups encompassing most of the county have joined together and presented the commissioners with viable WTS siting alternatives, along with interim solutions to trash hauling due to the current landfill reaching capacity in 2011. The board needs to review its decision and the community's recommendations, and work with us to make a decision that works for all.

Susan Walser lives in Orange County.