NC House committee issues subpoenas to compel EPA officials to testify on CTS

A North Carolina House Select Committee has issued subpoenas to compel key EPA officials, including Superfund Branch Chief Don Rigger, to testify in a hearing in Raleigh next month, even as Mills Gap Road-area residents file a formal complaint of criminal negligence against the agency in the case of the former CTS of Asheville, and another Mills Gap home receives an emergency supply of bottled water from the EPA. Photo by Susan Andrew.

Where is winter? Look to the polar vortex


Snowflakes were flying earlier this week, as Valentine’s Day started off white at the higher elevations.

Snowflakes were flying earlier this week, as Valentine’s Day started off white at the higher elevations.  This image of Max Patch in western Madison County shows the short-lived snow.  So – what has happened to this winter? Why has it been so different than the last two years?

PHOTOS: UNC Asheville dumpster dives into waste reducing competitio­n

Coming down the stairs of Ramsey Library, students and faculty faced the unmistakable smell of UNC Asheville’s trash.  Despite the cold, grounds workers and the recycling coordinator, Zig, searched for recyclable and compostable items discarded in trashcans and sorted them on a large blue tarp on the quad.  The demonstration was part of Recyclemania, an international competition to increase recycling and reduce waste.

NC lawmakers hear testimony from DENR, CTS neighbors on contaminat­ion case

A Statehouse committee chaired by Buncombe Rep. Tim Moffitt convened in Raleigh Jan. 17 to question DENR officials and hear from residents near the former CTS electroplating facility on Mills Gap Road south of Asheville. Here, Moffitt embraces CTS neighbor Dot Rice, whose family’s spring was contaminated by hazardous chemicals used at the plant; numerous Rice family members have become gravely ill.