An organization called the Stop Burke-Lake James Megasite was formed by residents to fight what they see as government overreach.
A group of residents in western North Carolina are protesting their county board’s lack of transparency over furtive moves to welcome an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing the residents believe would pollute their waters and ruin their scenic countryside.
In October 2023, the North Carolina state legislature allocated $35.8 million to Burke Development Inc. for the purchase of a 1,400-acre property on which to build an industrial megasite in Burke and McDowell counties.
Though the all-Republican board of Burke County Commissioners has made no official decision on approving an EV battery plant to be built within the megasite, Alan Wood, the CEO of Burke Development, alluded to the site’s potential for such a project, according to a local media report.
Mr. Wood listed several EV manufacturing plants sprouting up in the Southeast because of their proximity to a lithium mine in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, which a Charlotte-based chemical manufacturing Albemarle Corporation is set to reopen by 2026 with the help of a $90 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defence.
Since reports surfaced of the development, an organization called the Stop Burke-Lake James Megasite (Stop BLJM) was formed.
A petition with 2,859 signatures is circulating while Stop BLJM members speak out in county commissioner meetings.
In February, Burke County Manager Brian Epley held a Fireside Chat in response to the criticism in which he argued that there’s misinformation surrounding the project and that it’s a more minimal design than what’s been broadcast by those in opposition.
He pointed to country trends that highlight a need for economic development while addressing the dimensions of the project itself.
Economic development within the megasite will create jobs and increase the tax base in a county that will see challenges in the future with maintaining its workforce and population while facing current issues with “pockets of poverty,” he said.
Great Meadows, LLC., owns 1,400 acres of land comprising 14 parcels zoned for industrial, residential, and commercial use.
He said the largest parcel of land is 550 acres, 440 of which is zoned industrial, and the remaining 110 general business.
