The Umstead Coalition's contested trial to restore the 50-year Sunset Clause and protective buffers was held over 6 days on June 18, 19, 20, 24, 26 and July 1. The court venue: The Office of Administrative Hearings, Admirative Law Judge van der Vaart assigned himself to the case.
BIG thank-you for all of you who came to court and showed your support!
Current status: The Umstead Coalition's case was strong and we presented a solid, convincing case full of compelling evidence. DEQ threw at us 80,000 pages of Discovery hoping we won't find the 'gems' but we could not be fooled by this stunt! We now await the transcripts, after which which the judge has asked each side to write a draft order (ruling) for him to consider. The judge does not have any deadline upon which to issue his decision. Either (or both) sides has the right to appeal his decisions to Wake County Superior Court.
More: After six years of DEQ-Mining staff telling us (incorrectly) we could not appeal the loss of the 50 year sunset clause and park protection buffers done in secret in March 2018, huge citizen response (big thanks to all of you!), court filings, overcoming several "Motions to Dismiss" our case, being sent back and forth to different courts, filings and hearings to try to get to court — we finally got a contested trial on the merits of our case!
In this trial, Wake Stone is not a party to the case - their lawyers were allowed to argue the case. It was the Attorney General (AG) lawyers defending DEQ vs the Umstead Coalition lawyers defending our Park.
- Dr. Jean Spooner, Chair, The Umstead Coalition
A recent review of the property boundary between William B. Umstead State Park and the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority (RDUAA) managed property to the south, known as the Odd Fellows tract, shows that the boundary of the Odd Fellows tract has been shifted northerly, encroaching over 120 feet into William B. Umstead State Park.
In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the United States Department of the Interior – National Park Service (NPS) to purchase a 209-acre parcel known as the PD Davis Tract to be a part of the Crabtree Creek Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA) (see Wake Register of Deeds, Book 743 page 499). The legal description for this tract includes boundaries that were re-confirmed via a survey in 1911 and remained unchanged through several sales after this survey and before becoming Park land.
The National Park Service confirmed the 1911 survey boundary as part of their 1937 purchase for the Park.
In 1943, the entire Crabtree Creek RDA, including all of the 209-acre PD Davis tract, was transferred to the State of North Carolina under the express condition that the land only be used for public park, recreation or conservation purposes (see the “Reverter Clause” in the Quitclaim Deed, Wake County Register of Deeds, Book 894 page 40). In 1955, the Crabtree Creek RDA, including the 209-acre PD Davis tract, was renamed William B. Umstead State Park.
The Odd Fellows tract, located just south of the 209-acre PD Davis tract, has been on the Umstead State Park acquisition list since 1935 and on the Park’s critical acquisition list since at least 1974.
Since the late 1800’s, deeds for the Odd Fellows tract indicate that it was “70 acres more or less.” Two one-acre tracts were sold off in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, leaving “68 acres, more or less.” In 1958, the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) purchased this tract of “68 acres more or less” and 1 additional acre, resulting in 69 acres, more or less.
In 1976, the Airport surprisingly took management control of the Odd Fellows tract. RDUAA employed their own surveyor who incorrectly shifted the Park boundary over 120’ to the north, taking Umstead State Park land, therefore Federal Park land. As documented in RDUAA meeting minutes, the encroachment into Umstead State Park resulted in the “69 acres more or less” becoming approximately 83 acres, a difference of approximately 14 acres. RDUAA did not inform anyone, including State Parks, regarding this large discrepancy in acreage. As such, the resulting encroachment into Umstead State Park was buried.
For almost 50 years, RDUAA’s encroachment was not known nor was it an issue as the Airport expanded in the opposite direction from the Park and Odd Fellows was knowingly being used for recreation (including camping by the Boy Scouts) and conservation, consistent with the neighboring Park usage and consistent with long standing plans for this land to be a part of the Park.
Unfortunately, RDUAA leased the Odd Fellows Tract to a private mining company (Wake Stone Corporation) whose plans are to create a brand-new open mine rock quarry pit, a use that is not allowed on Park land. Recently NC DEQ issued a mining permit to Wake Stone Corporation even though the mining permit application includes land belonging to Umstead State Park.
Fortunately, this border issue can be easily resolved by re-surveying and marking the boundary as delineated by the metes and bounds in the 1937 NPS purchase deed (and as per the 1938 NPS Park map). Additionally, RDUAA should re-evaluate their lease with Wake Stone Corporation and DEQ should reassess Wake Stone’s Triangle Quarry Mining Permit modifications.
The good news is that Umstead State Park and the RDUAA managed property known as Odd Fellows are public lands managed by public bodies. We call on the leadership of these public bodies to re-survey and correct the boundary of William B. Umstead State Park, honoring the NPS purchase deed and ensuring the encroachment is eliminated.
Supporting Documents are linked below:
BIG WIN TODAY! The Superior Court Judge John Smith ruled in favor for the Umstead Coalition today on our Sunset Clause Case. He ruled we were NEVER given proper notice to be able to Appeal the 2018 Mining Permit that took away the Sunset Clause and undisturbed protective buffers. Finally, after years of DEQ and Wake Stone attempting to prevent us - we finally move forward to a contested case on the merits. AND, our case is strong!
There are many roads ahead in this fight. Thanks to the citizens who were in court. We do have another related Motion Hearing on Monday, December 11, 10am Wake County Court House. Thanks for everyone helping to protect William B. Umstead State Park!
We've been blindsided! The Interim Director for DEQ-Mining, Toby Vinson, and Wake Stone reached a closed-door Settlement Agreement that reverses the previous Director's Mining Permit Denial for RDU Quarry and includes:
HOWEVER, Attorney General Josh Stein must approve the Settlement to be effective. That is where YOU can help.
What You Can Do
Please contact Attorney General Josh Stein and Governor Roy Cooper and ask the following of the Attorney General:
Contact Information
Attorney General Josh Stein: Fill out the form at bottom. Leave voice message at central phone number: 919-716-6400 (option 5).
Governor Roy Cooper: Email or call Governor Roy Cooper's office: 919-814-2000, Option 5
Additional Information
We, the public, were not the only ones blindsided by this closed door 'deal' by an Interim DEQ-Mining Director and a private mining company. NC State Parks was also blindsided.
The Press Statement released November 13 by Reid Wilson, Secretary of Natural and Cultural Resources states:
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2023 6:33:00 PM
Subject: Sec. Wilson Statement on Wake Stone
In response to the DEQ announcement (below), Secretary Reid Wilson made this statement (which will be shared with reporters covering the story):
“On behalf of North Carolina's state parks, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources strongly opposes the judge’s order to issue the permit and the settlement between the Department of Environmental Quality and Wake Stone Corporation that may allow a second quarry adjacent to William Umstead State Park. The Department of Environmental Quality did not consult with the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources before signing the agreement.
Unquestionably, a second quarry would damage two units of the state parks system, Umstead State Park and the East Coast Greenway State Trail, which runs through the park. For decades to come, a new quarry bordering the park would bring more blasting noise, more air pollution, more water pollution, more truck traffic, harm to wildlife, and a degraded experience for the roughly one million visitors to the park each year.”
The Umstead Coalition disagrees with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), Judge van der Vaart August 11, 2023 overturning of the State’s Denial of Wake Stone’s Mining Permit Application to destroy the Odd Fellows Tract. Read his Decision here=>
DENIAL in February 2022 by the State was correct.
Appeals to the OAH Decision must be made within 30 days per North Carolina General Statute § 150B-45.
The proposed new deep quarry pit would only have a twenty-five (25) foot set-back from William B. Umstead State Park and the East Coast Greenway (Old Reedy Creek Road). It would be the first private rock quarry on public property in North Carolina. The proposed quarry would have significant adverse effects for decades and then be a forever liability to the citizens of Wake and Durham County.
The public opposition is intense. A record 9,500 public comments were received by the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The NC Division of Parks and Recreation (aka NC State Parks) submitted multiple letters in opposition to the State. Local Governments, including Wake County and the Town of Morrisville have passed positions in opposition.
Adding to the wrong, the same judge that overturned DEQ’s denial, also did not allow the Umstead Coalition to Intervene and present our evidence in the trial. While the State’s case was strong and the mining permit denial was correct and should not be overturned, the Umstead Coalition was prevented from presenting our case in court, incorrectly limiting evidence.
Dr. Jean Spooner, Chair of the Umstead Coalition stated, “There is no doubt that a heavy industrial operation with over 400 huge quarry haul trucks passing daily within 25 feet of William B. Umstead State Park and the East Coast Greenway, blasting, dust, rocks crashing, etc will have a devastating impact on our prized public recreational corridor. “
Background: The original 1981 Triangle quarry permit for the current quarry was denied by the State, but the denial was overturned by the NC Mining Commission (in current times, these appeals go to OAH). The 1981 permit was then issued over the objections of DEQ regulators and State Parks only after Wake Stone agreed to certain conditions intended to protect Umstead State Park which included a guaranteed end date for quarry operations in May 2031 and large forested buffers. All these protections are violated with the proposed new quarry operations.
The Umstead Coalition has another major win in their pursuit to protect William B. Umstead State Park! The Motions to Dismiss filed by Wake Stone Corporation and the State regarding the Umstead Coalition’s case to restore the 50-year Sunset Clause and protective buffers at an existing quarry adjacent to William B. Umstead State Park were not granted. The case before the Wake County Superior Court was filed on July 13, 2022. In Superior Court Judge Paul A. Holcombe, III’s Ruling on April 11, 2023, he stated that the Umstead Coalitions’ challenge “concerns modifications (to the Mining Permit) of significant interest to the parties and the public at large.” (April 11, 2023 Orderlink here). During the Motion to Dismiss Hearing, the State argued that the Umstead Coalition should have filed at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), presumably within 30 days of the March 2018 Mining Permit Modifications. However, the Umstead Coalition stated the obvious that such was impossible as there was no public notice of the significant modification.
To address the matter regarding which court should hear the Umstead Coalition’s case, in Judge Holman April 11, 2023 order, he ruled the Umstead Coalition file a contested case in the Office of Administrative Hearings, and stayed the Superior Court case. The Umstead Coalition filed this Petition for a contested trial at OAH on May 11, 2023 (link here).
Because the Motions to Dismiss were not granted, the Umstead Coalition’s case continues to move forward. On May 12, 2023, the OAH Chief Administrative Law Judge ordered the parties go to mediation, a typical process in such cases.
Dr. Jean Spooner, Chair of the Umstead Coalition stated that “The merits of the Umstead Coalition’s case are strong. The Umstead Coalition requests the NC Department of Environmental Quality restore the Sunset Clause and Crabtree Creek buffers on the existing Triangle Quarry to protect William B. Umstead State Park. These are conditions the public has long expected to be upheld.”
When informed of the recent ruling, Morrisville Mayor TJ Cawley stated, "I am glad the Umstead Coalition's case moves forward and will help protect William B. Umstead Park and the Old Reedy Creek recreational corridor so the public can continue to enjoy our natural open spaces and parklands."
Background: The original 1981 Triangle quarry permit for the current quarry was denied by the State, but the denial was overturned by the NC Mining Commission (in current times, these appeals go to OAH). The 1981 permit was then issued over the objections of DEQ regulators and State Parks only after Wake Stone agreed to certain conditions intended to protect Umstead State Park and guaranteed an end date for quarry operations in May 2031. The Honorable Rufus Edmisten, the Attorney General in 1981, recently confirmed that the 50-year Sunset Clause was one of these key guarantees. In March 2018, without public notice, DEQ-Mining issued a Mining Permit with major modifications stripping the long-held Sunset Clause and protective buffer protections.
The Umstead Coalition is requesting that the Mining Permit’s terms be restored to the December 2017 Permit language to:
● Restore the 50-year Sunset Clause that Wake Stone agreed to and was a condition included in the original Mining Permit on May 13, 1981 and eight subsequent Permit Renewals and Modifications through December 1, 2017. The Sunset Clause gave the State the “right to acquire the quarry site at the end of 50 years or 10 years after quarrying operations have ceased, whichever is sooner.” (The March 26, 2018 Mining Permit Modification requested by Wake Stone changed “sooner” to “later” effectively eliminating the Sunset Clause that had been in effect for 37 years and counted upon by NC State Parks.)
● Restore the measurement of the width of protective buffers along Crabtree Creek to be measured from the top of stream bank. (The March 26, 2018 Mining Permit Modification requested by Wake Stone changed the width to be measured from the centerline of Crabtree Creek, effectively gutting the protective stream buffers by 230,000 to 280,000 square feet.)
● Restore the Buffer labels in the Site Plan to the previous 2011 Site Plan to specify “Undisturbed Vegetated Buffer.” (The March 26, 2018 Mining Permit Modification requested by Wake Stone changed the Site Plan labels to “Buffer from Property Boundary.”)
● Restore Buffer Conditions 3.C and 3.D in the Permit narrative explicitly stating “buffer zone was to be maintained between any mining activity and Crabtree Creek.” (The March 26, 2018 Mining Permit Modification requested by Wake Stone removed the protective language in the permit language issued by DEQ and replaced with just a reference to Wake Stone’s Site Plan. This effectively degraded the protective nature of the buffers.)
View of PDF of Press Release here==>
Another win for William B. Umstead State Park! As of May 11, 2023 Wake Stone does NOT have a Neuse Buffer Authorization and therefore can not move forward with their planned bridge over Crabtree Creek!
On May 11, 2023, an Administrative Law Judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) stopped the second attempt by a private mining company, Wake Stone Corporation, to construct a massive 60-foot-wide bridge with walls and bridge abutments within the riparian stream buffer protecting Crabtree Creek.
The Neuse River Riparian buffer Authorization (aka permit) to permanently destroy stream buffers was vacated by Chief Administrative Law Judge Donald R. van der Vaart (OAH Case 23 EHR 01337, Order file link here). Wake Stone’s previous permit for the bridge was overturned in September 2021 due to a challenge by the Umstead Coalition. Wake Stone resubmitted the same bridge plan the following month, and were again granted a permit by the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The Umstead Coalition filed an appeal at OAH.
Wake Stone, a private mining company, has proposed to build a new bridge across Crabtree Creek just upstream of William B. Umstead State Park within the view and noise scape of William B. Umstead State Park to transport large, noisy quarry trucks from a proposed new pit north of Crabtree Creek on the Odd Fellows Tract to their existing quarry operations on the south side of Crabtree Creek. Concurrent with this proposed new bridge is the proposed construction of 1,700 linear feet of massive retaining walls along Crabtree Creek that would kill trees and substantially narrow the Crabtree Creek protected buffers on the existing quarry site.
The Contested Trial for The Umstead Coalition’s Appeal was held in January and February 2023. The Umstead Coalition’s expert witnesses presented testimony describing how a bridge could be constructed without permanent impacts to the Crabtree Creek riparian buffers, with alternative designs and a location farther from William B. Umstead State Park.
The Court Ruling to Vacate the Authorization to destroy Crabtree Creek riparian buffers was based upon DEQ’s inappropriate approval process. The merits of The Umstead Coalition’s case were not the key aspect of this ruling to vacate. However, the Umstead Coalition believes the merits of our case would also support the reversal of the DEQ’s Authorization.
DEQ appealed the judge’s decision on May 25, 2023 to Superior Court. Wake Stone was not a party to this proceeding and can not appeal.
This positive outcome for the buffer permit is but one of several legal challenges to prevent the destruction of the adjacent Odd Fellows tract, which has long been on the State Park’s acquisition list for inclusion into Umstead State Park.
DEQ denied Wake Stone’s mining permit application in February 2022, and Wake Stone filed notice of appeal the following month. That proceeding was heard in February 2023, and is awaiting the judge’s ruling to uphold DEQ’s decision, or overturn the denial. The Umstead Coalition strongly supports DEQ’s effort upholding Wake Stone’s permit denial.
View PDF of Press Release here==>
The Umstead Coalition is honored to win the Climate Action Award for Stormwater at the 2023 Raleigh Environmental Awards for our Forested Rain Garden project.
The Forested Rain Garden project at William B. Umstead State Park is an innovative forested bioretention area within a parking lot (Reedy Creek Cary entrance to Umstead State Park). The project includes butterfly gardens to support monarchs. Learn more about the rain garden here.
We couldn't have won this award without the help of many volunteers that help maintain the rain garden. Thank you to all our volunteers!
Photo: Bo Groff (L) and Paul Groff (R) accepting the award on behalf of the Umstead Coalition on April 21, 2023. Bo volunteered countless hours to help maintain the rain garden for his Eagle Scout Project. Thank you, Bo!
Photo: Dr. Jean Spooner, Chair of the Umstead Coalition (L) and Bo Groff (R). Bo presented Dr. Spooner with the Eagle Scout Mentor Pin on February 6, 2023 for her help with his final project working on the Umstead State Park rain garden.
Written by Richard Stradling, News & Observer
Raleigh-Durham International Airport wants to more than triple the size of its largest surface parking lot, expanding its remote parking capacity on forested land near Interstate 40. RDU plans to add about 8,700 spaces to Park Economy 3, the lot off National Guard Drive near the Sheetz gas station on Aviation Parkway. The lot now has 3,820 spaces, served by shuttle buses that carry passengers to and from the terminals. Airport officials will present their plans at a public workshop Monday evening, the start of a process to study the project’s potential impact on the environment. Some people have already raised concerns about the expansion because of the lot’s proximity to William B. Umstead State Park.
The expansion of Park Economy 3 was part of RDU’s 25-year master plan approved in 2016. The airport shelved the project and several others during the COVID-19 pandemic but has decided to revive it as air travel rebounds. RDU needs the expansion primarily to keep up with demand for parking, said Bill Sandifer, the airport’s chief operating officer. The number of passengers at RDU grew 56% in the decade just before the COVID-19 pandemic, and airport planners expect air travel to flourish again as the region’s economy and population grow.
The airport also expects to temporarily lose up to 2,500 of the 11,000 spaces it has between the terminals when it begins work on expanding Terminal 2 and building a new car rental and ground transportation complex near the parking decks. The first of that work is expected to begin in early 2025, Sandifer said. “It really is critical to get at least part of the expansion online by the end of 2024,” Sandifer said. “Because we’re going into construction on Terminal 2, and we’ve got to be able to provide that space for customers somewhere else so we don’t run out of parking.” Longer term, RDU also plans to close Park Economy 4, a remote parking lot with about 2,500 spaces north of the terminals. The airport expects to use that land to expand the air cargo complex at the north end of the main runway. While the loss of spaces between the terminals will be temporary, the elimination of Park Economy 4 would be permanent.
Park Economy 3 now covers about 36 acres surrounded by forest. The airport’s latest design calls for expanding the lot in three directions, for a total of 70 acres. It also includes covered waiting areas that may have video display monitors and Wi-Fi access, a building for parking and security staff and possibly restrooms for customers. A surface lot makes the most sense, Sandifer says, because the airport has the land and because construction is easier and about a fifth the cost of building a deck. “We call this lot ‘economy’ for a reason. Because it’s priced appropriately for the customer,” Sandifer said. “And if we go building a deck structure, I don’t think we can any longer call it an economy lot, because the price you’re going to have to charge to recover that investment will be significantly greater than it is today.”
Airport customers pay $11 a day at Park Economy 3, compared to $17 for Park Central in the main parking deck.
EXPANSION COULD IMPACT UMSTEAD STATE PARK The expansion would bring the lot closer to Umstead State Park and a planned 151-acre off-road cycling park on land Wake County is leasing from the airport. Jean Spooner, head of The Umstead Coalition, a park advocacy group, worries about felling trees and laying down pavement close to the park. “Ensuring a substantial forested buffer along our park boundary, we feel, is critical to protecting the park from visual, noise and water quality/quantity environmental impacts,” Spooner wrote in an email.
The coalition will press the airport to minimize the effects on the park, through the lot’s design and operation, including the handling of stormwater and the clearing of ice and snow. “Any proposed development that would impact Umstead State Park should have greater critical reviews and enhanced environmental protections,” Spooner wrote. Monday’s meeting is part of a new process developed by the airport to review the potential environmental impacts of construction projects and allow the public to weigh in.
The Environmental Compliance Review process, which RDU officials say is unique among airports nationwide, was requested by some Airport Authority members, including Wake County representative Ellis Hankins, who said he wanted to see “meaningful public participation” in airport development. Spooner says she’s pleased by the new process and hopes it’s not too late to have influence on the parking lot. “What has happened in the past is that the RDU Airport Authority has just told us what they decided,” she wrote. “We hope this changes with this project and there will be meaningful two-way dialog.”
The kickoff meeting is 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, at the RDU Airport Authority building, 1000 Trade Drive, off Aviation Parkway. The Airport Authority will also accept written comments at publiccomment@rdu.com or by mail at RDUAA-Environmental Programs, P.O. Box 80001, RDU Airport, N.C. 27623. T
he public will get another chance to comment on the final environmental compliance report before it’s completed in June.
Read more on the News & Observer.
On November 21, 2022, the Wake County Commissioners approved a proposed new mountain bike trail park on a 151-acre tract known as “286 East” located to the east of Haley’s branch and to the west of the East Coast Greenway (aka Old Reedy Creek Road). Their proposal must be approved by the Raleigh Durham Airport Authority (RDUAA) Board at their upcoming December 15 meeting.
Wake County’s proposal includes:
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