HILLSBOROUGH - The Hillsborough Town Board adopted a resolution last week opposing the siting of a county waste-transfer station in any of three recommended sites around Hillsborough.

The resolution, which has been forwarded to the Orange County Board of Commissioners, notes two of the sites are located at an entry to Hillsborough and within the town's economic development district. The town considers the district strategically important and wants to include it within Hillsborough's planning jurisdiction.

Those two sites -- located near Interstate 40 and Old N.C. 86 just outside the town limits -- were the top two sites recommended to the county by a consultant examining the sites under technical criteria, such as access to major transportation routes and parcel size and availability.

The sites recently received a lower ranking, 5 and 6, in an evaluation of the sites based on community-specific criteria, such as environmental justice considerations and impact to air quality.

The county commissioners are expected to narrow the 10 proposed sites to three during a work session Oct. 21. The proposed transfer station, which would open in 2011, would allow waste to be consolidated and prepared for transfer to a landfill outside the county.

The Town Board's resolution may be viewed on the town's Web site, www.ci.hillsborough.nc.us, under the Waste Transfer Station Advisory Committee page. Click on "Town Government" and then on "Boards and Commissions."

For information on the siting process and transfer stations, visit the Orange County Transfer Station Siting Web site at www.olver.com/orangecounty/index.html. Information prepared for the county commissioners' Oct. 21 work session is available at www.co.orange.nc.us/OCCLERKS/081021e.pdf.