House OKs transfer of plant to company


Rep. Trudi Walend, a Brevard Republican, said she hoped the bill would revive talks to bring Ilford Imaging, a subsidiary of Oji, a Japanese conglomerate, to the county, which has been hit hard by job losses.

A bill to transfer a closed X-ray film plant in Transylvania County to a Japanese-owned manufacturer of digital photo paper passed the state House on Wednesday.
Rep. Trudi Walend, a Brevard Republican, said she hoped the bill would revive talks to bring Ilford Imaging, a subsidiary of Oji, a Japanese conglomerate, to the county, which has been hit hard by job losses.
The legislative action came the same day that Transylvania County announced that the company decided for strategic reasons not to go forward with acquiring the former DuPont facility.
"We're just hopeful we can get them back to the table," Walend said.
Gov. Mike Easley's administration had expressed concerns that the bill that passed the Senate could saddle state taxpayers with cleaning up a polluted industrial site in the future if the new company didn't make good on a financial promise to clean up the 100-acre site.
DuPont, which operated an X-ray film plant for more than 40 years, had declined to transfer the property to another company unless DuPont was given immunity from having to clean up.
As part of House changes, another unnamed government entity, probably Transylvania County, could be liable for clean-up costs if the plant didn't clean up the site.
"We're pleased that the House has acted to encourage jobs while protecting the environment and the citizens in the community," said Sherri Johnson, a spokeswoman for Easley.
The bill returns to the Senate for concurrence.

Posted: Thu - August 25, 2005 at 11:53 AM          

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