10-02-2025 Meeting Minutes EIAC
Environmental Issues Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
Person County Senior Center Social Hall, 87 Semora Road, Roxboro, NC 27573
October 2, 2025
Voting Members Present: Bob Brauer, Holly Emerson, Steve Evans, Bailey Hunt, Holly Forester, Sammy
Clayton, Cheryl Allen
Other Attendees: Nancy McCormick, Commissioner Donald Long, Bo Freeman, Harrison Cole, Joseph DiBiasi
The monthly meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Bob Brauer, Chairperson.
A quorum of voting members was present.
BUSINESS DISCUSSION:
● Meeting Minutes Approval: September 2025 minutes were unanimously approved with no
further discussion or changes.
● Guests/Special Announcements: Harrison Cole from Cypress Creek Solar joined to speak about
the proposed solar ordinance. Joseph DiBiasi joined as a resident of the Woodsdale township and
has submitted his application for EIAC membership.
● Book Distribution: No updates.
● Logo Shirts: Item for discussion at a future meeting.
● 2025 Litter Sweeps: The Fall Litter Sweep was completed with the following results:
● Solar Projects: Harrison Cole from Cypress Creek Solar spoke to the group about their plans to
request expansion of current county regulations to allow for utility solar installation of greater
than 100 acres. The following points were reviewed:
○ Requirements for vegetative buffers around the 100+ acre sites and the implementation of
an agri-voltaics program to integrate agriculture with the solar installation
○ Concerns were raised about soil disturbance, runoff and possible degradation of the soil
when/if the site is converted back to pure agriculture.
○ Concerns were also raised about loss of community control over the proliferation of these
larger sites and the loss of farm land.
● MEC Project Update: Partial answers to questions sent to Enbridge concerning water usage at the
MEC site were received on September 12th:
○ MEC site well water will only be used for employee facilities and to refill the firewater
storage tank in the unlikely event it is used for fire suppression.
○ LNG tank testing is expected to happen no earlier than Spring of 2026 and requires
approximately 16 million gallons per tank.
○ There are currently no plans to build a water pipeline for municipal water.
○ Enbridge will adhere to all North Carolina DEQ approved erosion and sediment control
regulations when releasing water used in tank testing.
● Microsoft Megasite: Bob and Nancy McCormick met with Brandy Lynch (Economic
Development Director) and Brian Hart (Asst. County Manager) on September 11, 2025 to
discuss questions about the planned Microsoft project. The following points were discussed:
○ Brandy is the single point of contact for Microsoft and is under confidential disclosure.
She is actively engaged in discussions with Microsoft.
○ Microsoft policy is to perform all needed/required environmental studies in-house
regardless of what has been supplied by the county.
○ City water service is available to the site at a rate of 3 million gallons per day.
○ Microsoft has requested access to Duke electric power.
○ Person County has requested emergency services access to the closed road across the
property.
○ Alpha Craft, which is a known Microsoft electric contractor, has announced a new
location in Person County.
● Hyco Coal/Gas Conversion: NC Dept of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved the water
permit for the T-15 pipeline. However, DEQ did include some of the requirements community
members asked for to protect their drinking water & farms. They required a well water testing
plan and plan to hold Enbridge accountable for any well water contamination.
● Personality Festival 2025: Plans are in place for participation in the Personality Festival on 10/4.
EIAC and PI have been assigned booth #44.
● 2025 CT article plans and status: Discussion on ideas and plans for future articles for the CT
newspaper.
○ January - Clean Water Act (Published)
○ February - 2024 NC Climate Report (Published)
○ March - Responsible Pesticide Usage (Published)
○ April - Adopt a Highway in Person County (Published)
○ May - Earth Day 2025 (Submitted but not published)
○ June - Person County Timber Harvest (Published)
○ July - Pollinators in Person County (Published)
○ August - Book Distribution and Fall Litter Sweep (Published)
○ September - Benefits of Utility Solar (Published)
○ October - Invasive Species in North Carolina (Drafted)
○ November - Protecting our Ground Water (?)
○ December - TBD
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Next meeting is November 6, 2025 at
the Senior Center Social Hall at 5:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Brauer
Chairperson EIAC
Approved 12.4.2025