DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

TOWN OF CARY DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

The planet is in crisis. Wildfires now rage with unprecedented size and intensity, their smoke poisoning millions of lungs. Landslides tear through mountainsides, storms horribly erode streambanks, and unchecked and unscientific development strips away the natural defenses that once buffered us from disaster. Forests fall, the air grows dirtier, our waters turn toxic, and communities everywhere are suffering.

Extreme heat is killing the elderly, the poor, and outdoor workers. In the first two months of summer, 2026, 16,000 people died of het-related injuries in Europe. Flooding swallows homes and vehicles and people, contaminates drinking water, and forces families to flee. Increasing numbers of children everywhere wheeze from asthma and a host of other pulmonary diseases directly caused by polluted air; survivors of fire and flood struggle with trauma, loss, and financial ruin. Entire neighborhoods become unlivable, while hospitals and social systems buckle under the strain.

Yet the response from leaders remains timid, fragmented, and dangerously slow. Science and experience demand bold action – cutting emissions, protecting and expanding green spaces, and investing in resilience – but too often politics, profit, and inertia win out. Citizens raise their voices and grassroots groups fight on the frontlines, but the system drags its feet. The disasters are no longer warnings – they are here, they are deadly, and unless urgent change comes, they will define our future.

In 2013, Cary re-structured its departmental organization. Two of the largest departments were divided into four smaller ones. The Engineering Department was eliminated and replaced by the Transportation and Facilities Department and the Water Resources Department. The Public Works & Utilities Department was split into two separate departments. Two new Assistant Town Manager positions and a Deputy Town Manager position were created. It was the largest re-structuring undertaken by the Town in 20 years.

The Town is now faced with the question: Are we in our small jurisdiction going to attempt to halt the degradation of our environment? More specifically the question is: Are we going to shift our efforts from what we are doing now – slowing the rate of continued degradation – to reversing that degradation.

If the answer is YES, we are indeed going to reverse the degradation, then the full power of the Town's Executive Branch must be focused and armed to deal with the various causes of that degradation. The way to begin the offensive is to unite the various sustainability and remediation initiatives now operating with the town's bureaucratic framework into one focused department, frame and refine its mission, and invest it with the authority to accomplish that mission. This is why I propose that Cary create its own Department of the Environment.

There were four days so far this year when the Air Quality Index in Cary was in the Orange Zone. This zone means that there are at least 150 parts per million of pollutants [in addition to the 424 ppm of carbon dioxide] in the atmosphere. And this in a town that has no heavy industry, no manufacturing or generating plants that stream noxious smoke out of their chimneys, and only one mining operation [nearby]. Almost certainly the cause of the extremely high concentration of pollutants is exhaust from the ever-increasing number of vehicles. This is what is causing the children of Wake County to have ever-increasing rates of asthma and other pulmonary diseases. We are causing our children to be sick!

With development moving apace, the number of days with dangerous air will increase, and will subsequently increase each year. An AQI in the Orange Zone means that "active adults . . . should limit outdoor activity." Active adults! It is this problem that requires a strong and focused Department of the Environment to work toward improving the quality of the Town's air and thus the quality of life of its citizens.

The liquid substance in Lake Crabtree looks more like chocolate milk than H₂O. That is caused by soil erosion and stormwater runoff. Below is but a single example of runoff and erosion coming directly from a Cary townhouse development onto an adjacent shopping center's parking lot, then directly into a storm drain that will channel it into Lake Crabtree [and then on to our fellow citizens Down East].

I understand the argument that Durham and Raleigh also contribute to the horrendous quality of the water in Lake Crabtree. However, if the water is ever to be improved, some Town must be the first to begin that improvement. Cary often deems itself a leader. Here is a chance to lead.

We were told by Cary authorities that there are no Town ordinances that prevent this situation, and that what is shown in the video is not illegal. A Cary Department of the Environment could – at the very least – work with the developer and landscaper to institute better grading and sloping practices and suggest the proper planting of trees and bushes that will absorb some of the rainfall. Note that it is not raining at all during the video. The water is being pumped out of the development's retention pit long after a rainstorm that "dumped" 1.25 inches of rain in a three-hour period.

A retention pit is used to reduce the "peak" runoff rate to an amount that meets an arbitrary (and esentially meaningless) requirement. It does nothing to reduce the total amount of water that runs off from the development, nor does it [or any other current ordinance, statutue, or law] do anything to prevent the soil from eroding into our drain pipes, lakes, and rivers. This is a problem that must be addressed, and the best organization to do it would be the Cary Department of the Environment, if for no other reason than no Town organization is now working on the problem.

Examples of projects that can be studied and recommended for adoption are listed below. [This is a work in progress, but I publish it anyway, in order to spark conversation on the point. If you have a suggestion you believe a Cary Department of the Environment should consider, and that would benefit the Town, please send it and I'll publish it here.]