Chapel Hill neighbors criticize Bingham Facility

A local environmental group is taking steps to ensure UNC followed procedure when it bought properties surrounding an animal research facility.

Preserve Rural Orange sent a letter on Sept. 21 to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, asking him to investigate the recent purchase of two properties that expanded the facility’s land by 12.5 acres.

The Bingham Facility — located in a rural area of western Orange County — is an animal research center owned and operated by UNC.

The facility, which was fined for leaking treated wastewater in 2009 and 2010, has come under fire from neighbors for its lack of transparency.

A 4.21 acre property was purchased for $225,000 in 2010 and a second 8.32 acre property was purchased for $440,000 in September.

Robert Lowman, UNC associate vice chancellor for research, said UNC followed the proper procedures in the recent purchases.

“We’ve certainly made every effort to comply with every requirement,” he said.

Lowman said the University purchased the land as part of an offer to buy neighboring properties if neighbors think the facility negatively impacts their land.

The new properties will be used as a buffer to limit the impact of the facility on neighbors, he said.

“All I know to do is to keep making decisions that minimize our impact,” Lowman said. “I hope over time they will come to realize there are no hidden plans to do anything else out there. We are just trying to clean up the mess we made.”

Laura Streitfeld, executive director of Preserve Rural Orange, said the group’s main concern was the University’s track record of noncompliance.

The group became concerned when it discovered UNC had not disclosed to the State Property Office information that might have affected the outcome of the September purchase, Streitfeld said.

In March, Walt Lobotsky, the property seller, filed an appeal of the county’s decision to not require a special use permit for the facility’s wastewater system.

Lobotsky’s appeal was still pending at the time of the September purchase.

“The real problem there then is that there has been little transparency as to what the long range plans are,” Streitfeld said.

“Without the transparency, we don’t know if the University is following the process properly.”

John Runkle, an environmental attorney for Preserve Rural Orange, said the attorney general could require the University to take corrective steps if the investigation reveals that proper policies were not followed.

The group also sent a letter to the state auditor’s office requesting an investigation into the use of state funds in the acquisitions.

“It just looks like a frivolous expenditure of taxpayer money without a valid reason,” said Cliff Leath, a neighbor of the Bingham Facility.

Leath said he does not oppose the facility’s research, but he wishes UNC would be more proactive when it comes to informing neighbors of its plans.

“I think the university does have a responsibility to the public and specifically to its neighbors — just like a company would — to proactively communicate,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.