The goal of the community is to learn about the baseline of soil health in a county with a landfill that services 73 of the 100 counties of North Carolina, as well as high density production of hogs and turkeys. There are concerns about indirect contamination of soil from the landfill as well as the animal production. The community is interested in soil health to inform community agriculture and understand potential health hazards. This will result in a strategy for long term soil assessments that will help the overall holistic view of Sampson County’s already established water and air quality testing processes.
The communities in this project are the small communities within Sampson County, North Carolina such as the Snow Hill community and Roseboro. These towns are the closest to North Carolina’s largest regional landfill, and the approximately 1,400 acre landfill is known to take waste from at least 73 of the 100 counties in the state, including PPE from the Kerr-McGee Superfund site. An effort to deposit soil from the Kerr-McGee site was successfully thwarted by the community. These communities are Tier 1 rural agricultural centers where 50% of residents rely on well water, highlighting the importance of environmental justice for those 500+ people who live within a mile of the landfill.
This project is led by the Environmental Justice Community Action Network (EJCAN), a non-profit organization that provides resources to the community. The founding members had histories working in community-based organizations and programs. They also recognized the need to address the environmental injustice issues prevalent in Sampson County. This non-profit was created because of their passion to help communities realize the environmental benefits and protections they deserve. Learn more about what this non profit has done at EJCAN News.
The community would like to learn the baseline for how much pollution and the types of pollutants that are present in the soil. To do this, they would like to have soil samples tested from local property owners throughout the community. Whether the area that is sampled is throughout the whole county or within a radius of the contamination fields is yet to be determined. It is difficult to know what pollutants could have leaked into the soil or where the point source pollution originated. This is due to countless hog farms, whose waste is sprayed on to neighboring crops as fertilizer. In addition, Sampson County is one of the fastest growing centers of poultry production. It currently ranks number one in turkey production. Sampson County contains North Carolina’s largest landfill, as well as some of the largest hog production farms in the country. There are already scientists in the area that are working on air and water quality. The water quality team is already finding that about half of the wells are contaminated with PFAS.
Once the soil testing results are confirmed, they will be shared with Sampson County residents, who have struggled with health issues related to their environment. Communicating these results will be important to community members so that they can inform the agriculture community and understand the impacts of the potential contamination. This will benefit the community in many ways including providing a more holistic view of their environmental health. It will also result in a strategy for long term monitoring alongside the already established water and air quality monitoring programs in the area. By establishing what pollutants are in the area, it will allow residents to pursue bioremediation techniques if needed. Within the community, results will foster informed choices and resolve questions about their health and the types of pollutant exposure.
Timeline and Milestones
Sherri White Williamson is the cofounder and executive director of the environmental justice Community Action network (EJCAN). The organization was established in July 2020 with the goal of working closely with community members to identify the cumulative impacts of the polluting sources on communities in Sampsons county, NC.
Ms. White-Williamson is a graduate of Vermont law school (VLS), South Royalton, VT, where she earned dual degrees. a Juris Doctor and a Masters in Energy Regulation and Law. While at VLS she co chaired its first environmental justice solutions conference and co-founded the environmental justice law society she has received two awards from Vermont Law for her environmental justice activism – the Marc Mihaly Environment Leadership Award in 2018 in recognition of her commitment to the environment and environmental justice and the Social Justice Scholars Alumni Award in 2023.
Ms. White-Williamson retired from the U. S. EPA, Office of Environmental Justice, where she served in many roles including Manager of the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice established under Executive Order 12898 and Designated Federal Officer to the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
She has remained active with students through teaching an Environmental Justice course at Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment in the Spring semester each year. She currently resides in Sampson County, North Carolina.
Denise F. Robinson is currently the Deputy Director of Environmental Justice Community Action Network (EJCAN). She began working with the organization part time in 2022 as its first employee. The organization was established in July 2020 with the goal of working closely with community members to identify the cumulative impacts of polluting sources on communities in Sampson County, NC.
Ms. Robinson is a graduate of Clinton high school and North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC where she earned a degree in business administration with a concentration in Finance. She took an early retirement as a Senior Business Analyst from what is now Duke University. Denise has remained active in the community through her volunteerism with a variety of organizations in Wake and Sampson Counties.
Norveig Olson (she/her) works in Interpretation and Education for the National Park Service at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in Kettle Falls, Washington. Graduating from Northern Michigan University in Fisheries and Wildlife Management, she always planned to use her degree to reach communities far and wide. Her goal is to bring people closer to a connected living Earth, not just connected to other people. When she isn’t outside catching and taking pictures of insects with kids, she enjoys snuggling up with her cat, playing board games, foraging, and reading and writing poetry.
The scientist that joins the project will contribute to the community by identifying a feasible baseline procedure for soil sampling and determining the contaminates that will be tested for. While initial testing may be located in one study area, the long-term plan would be for the community to continue offering soil testing on a needed basis after the project is completed. Open to scientists that are local to Sampson County, North Carolina, the surrounding states, or a scientist who is willing to visit the field at least once. The Environmental Justice Community Action Network is happy to invite scientists with students engaging in the project.
Desired Skills and Qualifications:
Thriving Earth Exchange asks all scientific partners to work with the community to help define a project with concrete local impact to which they can contribute as pro-bono volunteers and collaborators. This work can also position the scientists and communities to seek additional funding, together, for the next stage.
