Abstract:
In August 2005, the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation and Clean Water for North Carolina, representing downstream residents, challenged a state issued Special Order of Consent (SOC) for the city of Oxford's wastewater treatment plant. This was the first appeal ever of this kind in the state. The two groups argued that the SOC failed to meet North Carolina's own regulations for dealing with chronic polluters. Jacobs discusses the background of the case, its settlement, present conditions in Oxford, and plans for the future.