Frye Road Land Farm

[NOTE: This essay originally appeared on my Facebook page on June 2, 2012. The topic regards a proposed open field petroleum contaminated soil bioremediation facility (aka, Land Farm) on Frye Road in northern Stokes County, North Carolina.]

Mill Rapid on Big Creek - class IV
Only runnable after at least 1/2 inch rain.

I do not like conflict. It makes me uncomfortable. I think most people are uncomfortable when conflict pops up. And people deal with conflict in different ways. My own instinct is to simply withdraw. When the stakes are meaningful to me, however, I will be firm. But it's a challenge to make the leap from withdrawing to being firm - at least it is for me. I'm prone to get carried away in the process and start losing my perspective. And I don't think I'm the only one who is susceptible to that.

So, I really want to be open to the objectives of a property owner wanting to make a living on their own land. Which is - very beautiful agricultural land.

I recognize that land farming is a good and necessary practice since we must deal with our waste. Land farming is really pretty reasonable and efficient with the right location and management practices. But, the evaporation of toxic compounds in petroleum in concentrations like a land farm will be a hazard anywhere and we can only limit - not eliminate - long term exposure injury. And while we can't eliminate the threat of hurricanes and severe flooding of a land farm anywhere - it's a lot more likely in a place like the banks of Big Creek downstream of the Fry Rd. bridge.

Susie slipping off Loop De Loop
at the bottom of Mill Rapid
on Big Creek
(2007-Oct; credit: Delane Heath)

read trip reports

And yet it breaks my heart to stand against a neighbor who just wants to make a living in a way that seems fit for their situation. I've been on the side of trying and failing to get a special use permit. It is very frustrating. But when the neighbors speak, the neighbors speak. And I respect that. I don't always like it. But good relations are more important to me than always getting my way.

 So - and again, I don't think I'm the only one - I pray that an alternative appears that achieves financial and familial objectives while giving a wide berth around Big Creek. Fish counts have been down up there in recent years and it would be best - I think - to keep as many additional stressers off it's banks as possible.

Brad whoopin' and hollerin' after
flipping on Loop De Loop at Mill Rapid
(2007-Oct; credit: Delane Heath)

I also have a personal and perhaps selfish affection for Big Creek. I've never been there on a typical summer day like many - splashing in the swimming hole at the old mill site. But when the creek is running at a good clip after a good rain - usually in the spring, I've had the good fortune to run it a few times. And here must express my thanks and appreciation to Kent Fulp for tolerating me and a few local boaters accessing the creek across his property on Forrest Rd. It is a very special section of whitewater to me ... tho I sorta like that it's not easy to access. It keeps it mysterious. And it should be. Because it's also dangerous.

Of special concern is the fact that Big Creek can only be floated after at least 1/2 inch of rain within 12 hours - making it even more rare to experience the challenge with clear water; the Big Creek basin terribly afflicted by muddy runoff. How much runoff will there be from the contaminated soil of a land farm? Will it ever again be safe to run Big Creek at whitewater levels?

Delane Heath, whose family goes back a couple generations in these parts, has documented two trips on Big Creek. For novice whitewater kayakers and canoeists in the area it is a "locals only" test. The intimidating Mill Rapid is the only significant rapid between Frye and Lynchburg roads - and therefore not worthy of a trip from Raleigh, Charlotte or points beyond. But for intermediate boaters fortunate to have a local connection here, running Big Creek is a rare and remarkable milestone.

Please take a moment to watch Delane's video of an outing there with me, my daughter, Susie, and other friends several years ago. This video provides a flavor of what a first descent of Big Creek means to those few Stokes County natives and residents afflicted with the whitewater bug.