01-08-2026 Meeting Minutes EIAC
Environmental Issues Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
Person County Senior Center Social Hall, 87 Semora Road, Roxboro, NC 27573
January 8, 2026
Voting Members Present: Bob Brauer, Holly Emerson, Bailey Hunt, Sammy Clayton
Other Attendees: Nancy McCormick, Harrison Cole
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: December 2025 minutes were approved with no further
discussion or changes.
● Guests/Special Announcements: Harrison Cole from Cypress Creek solar was in
attendance. Nancy McCormick stated that the 2026/2027 budgeting process has started
and EIAC will request $400 to cover misc. expenses.
● Spring 2026 Litter Sweep: Possible April dates were discussed and it was agreed that
Saturday April 18th would work. Bob will check this date with Lynda Clayton for the
City and then publish it.
● Household Hazardous Waste Day: Discussions are underway for a possible September
2026 event.
● Book Distribution: No updates.
● Logo Shirts: No updates.
● Solar Projects: Harrison stated that Cypress Creek is continuing to host community
events ( Jan 13th @ Unsalted Farm and Jan 15th @ 1792 Beer Co) to answer questions
about their proposed project. Bob will provide further details on these events to the
EIAC distribution. The BOC hearing on February 2, 2026 will review proposed changes
to county regulations limiting utility solar installations to 100 acres or less.
● MEC Project Update: Community members are continuing to pursue answers to the
water questions associated with this project through the County Manager. Bob also
learned that the lawsuit brought by the MEC neighbors is currently on appeal and has
been fully briefed. The parties are waiting on a decision from the Court of Appeals as to
whether there will be oral argument or if the Court will make a decision based on briefs
submitted.
○ 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
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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.
○ The specific source and delivery method of the testing water has not been
identified by Enbridge only that it is expected to be determined in 2026
but testing could begin as early as Spring 2026.
● Microsoft Megasite: Bob attended a community meeting on Dec 11th coordinated by
Clean Water NC to communicate what is known about the project and collect additional
community concerns. No additional details were added to what has been previously
known about the project.
○ The following points were communicated by Brandy Lynch to EIAC members
about the project:
■ Brandy Lynch is the single point of contact for Microsoft and is under
confidential disclosure. She continues to be in active discussions with
Microsoft.
■ Microsoft policy is to perform all needed/required environmental studies
in-house regardless of what has been supplied by the county.
■ The site plan for electronics manufacturing completed by the Timmons
Group is strictly a placeholder used to get Army Corps of Engineers
approvals and should not be viewed as Microsoft’s plan.
■ City water service is available to the site at a rate of 3 million gallons per
day on average, with a peak availability of up to 5 million gallons per day.
■ City sewer service is available for the site.
■ Microsoft has requested access to Duke electric power. Four 230 KV lines
are available to the site.
■ Person County has requested emergency services access to the closed road
across the property. The road closure is currently in a temporary
configuration and will need to be upgraded to meet DOT standards.
■ Microsoft has started doing some fencing work at the site.
■ Alpha Craft, which is a known Microsoft electric contractor, has
announced a new location in Person County.
● Hyco Coal/Gas Conversion: No updates.
● 2025 CT article plans and status: Discussion on ideas and plans for future articles for the
CT newspaper.
○ January - 2025 Climate Update (Drafted)
○ February - Burn Ordinance
○ March - New Recycle Center
○ April - Health Impacts of Environmental Toxins
○ May - Litter Sweep Review
Possible future topics include: Data Center Environmental Impacts, Return of Nuclear
Energy, Hydrogen as a fuel source
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There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Next meeting is February 5,
2026 at the Senior Center Social Hall at 5:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Brauer
Chairperson EIAC
Approved 3.5.2026
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