LUMBERTON — At least one member of the Lumbee Tribal Council fears that historical evidence and artifacts that could have strengthened the tribe’s fight for federal recognition may have been destroyed by crews building a liquefied natural gas facility on N.C. 71 between Maxton and Red Springs.
“We will never know what was destroyed. We will never be able to access and verify the things that the ancestors left behind that prove that we have been here and that we are still here,” said Wendy Moore-Graham chairperson of the Tribal Council’s Agriculture/Natural Resources Committee and a District 5 representative.
That fear and other concerns gave rise to the Council’s approval Thursday of a resolution opposing construction of the facility being built by Piedmont Natural Gas. The resolution was approved by all 15 of the Council’s 21 members who took part in the called meeting held via Zoom. The resolution was signed that same day by Council Speaker Ricky Burnett and Council Secretary Sharon Hunt.
Not taking part in the meeting were Tribal Council members Carvicious Barfield, James B. Hunt, Jarrod Lowery, Reginald Oxendine, Frank Cooper and Shelley Strickland, Moore-Graham said.
The storage facility is being built on land in the Wakulla Community in Red Hill in Maxton, she said. It was said to have been occupied by American Indians since 1000 B.C.
Council members have been consulting with Dr. Ryan Emanuel, an environmental specialist at N.C. State University; Donna Chavis, senior Fossil Fuels campaigner with Friends of the Earth; and Jefferson Currie II, with Winyah Rivers Alliance, about the project, she said. And on July 31 the Agriculture/Natural Resources Committee heard presentations from Piedmont and a panel of environmentalists that caused alarm.
“When Jefferson reported on the archaeological evidence, that upset a lot of Council,” Moore-Graham said.
But, Piedmont said its survey didn’t reveal enough evidence to warrant historical protection of the land, she said.
Preservation of the tribe’s historical record is one motivation for the Council’s approval Thursday of the resolution opposing the facility being built by the Charlotte-based company that is a subsidiary of Duke Energy. Another is a lack of input from the tribe.
The Lumbee Tribe wants to be considered and to be consulted when projects are undertaken in tribal areas, Moore-Graham said. That is a wish never granted by Piedmont, she said.
“During development of the project and before construction began, through communications with the administrator of the Lumbee Tribe, we invited the tribe to the site to perform a blessing ceremony,” said Tammie McGee, a Duke Energy spokesperson.
Piedmont was not able to secure agreement for a site visit or public support of the project from the Tribal Council, but project personnel had frequent discussions with the tribe’s administrator to provide project updates, to receive feedback from the tribe and to hear about tribal concerns, McGee said.
“We had a minimum of seven different discussions with the administrator, and we understood this information was then being conveyed to the appropriate tribal members,” McGee said. “She shared the tribe’s deep connection to the land and its waterbodies. As a result, we instigated some of the most stringent and modern construction methods to safeguard the swamps and waters of Robeson County.”
Another concern stated in the resolution is a fear of the adverse effects the people, mostly Lumbees, living near the site might suffer during construction and operation of the storage facility.
Piedmont held an open house event at Oxendine Elementary School in May 2019 and an update for the Pembroke Chamber of Commerce in March to address concerns and questions about aspects of the project, McGee said. Both events were open to the community, and Piedmont representatives interacted with many members of the tribe, some of whom were supportive of the project. During the July 21 Tribal Council meeting Piedmont representatives gave a full presentation and answered all of the questions asked by Council members.
“From the very beginning, we made concerted efforts to be open, transparent and available to the tribe for any question or concern,” she said.
The resolution also cites the lack of an environmental impact statement or an environment assessment.
“An environmental impact statement was not required for the Robeson natural gas storage facility,” McGee said. “It is under the jurisdiction of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, not the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Piedmont Natural Gas obtained all necessary federal, state and county permits for the project, which included an environmental analysis but did not require the preparation of an environmental impact statement.”
The resolution approved Thursday by the Tribal Council is the second resolution in opposition of the natural gas storage facility. The first was approved July 18 by the Council.
The July 18 resolution was in support of the District 5 residents who oppose the facility, Moore-Graham said.
“This is a tribal opposition,” she said. “This says we, the tribal government, oppose what they’re doing. That takes a whole different significance.”
Construction of the $250 million facility that will occupy 65 acres of a 685-acre tract of land owned by Piedmont began in June 2019. It is projected to generate $1 million in property taxes each year.
“The project is proceeding on schedule, and we’ve employed about half of the craft personnel from within a 50-mile radius of the area,” McGee said. “And, there have been about $24 million in subcontracts awarded to contractors within the Carolinas, and about $1.2 million spent with diverse and local suppliers.”