Dear Gaston County, if you don't want Piedmont Lithium, we'll take them
Like any engaged resident of the tri-county area, I watch and read the news about how Piedmont Lithium is being treated by local government officials next door.
The economic impact that will be made on our region is substantial. The industrial construction company I run is but one of many businesses in the region that might very well benefit from an economic engine like Piedmont coming in.
Local officials would be better suited to spend time working to maximize the economic benefit of those who will inevitably be affected by this operation and others as well. I’m not implying that the path should be paved and lined with palm branches to make it easy for anyone to come in and make money off of the natural resource our area has been blessed with.
In fact, as a land owner in Cleveland County, I sympathize with the folks who have deep ties to the dirt that will be affected by this development. If this were in my back yard, you can believe I would not be trampled on or taken advantage of.
However, some things are inevitable. And the principles by which I run Hoke Enterprises should be applied to the dealings with those impacted by this development. Piedmont should treat folks fair and with integrity; and as representatives of the residents of Gaston County, the commissioners should help to ensure this is the case.
On the local employment end of things — from everything I have studied — these will be high-tech manufacturing jobs for people in the tri-county region. The Board of Commissioners states six priorities on their website and they have an opportunity to advance three of them by bringing Piedmont Lithium in: job creation, economic development, and quality of life.
It could be argued that education, community health, and public safety also stand to improve from Piedmont Lithium’s impact.
If the commissioners in Gaston County do not see the clear, economic benefit in embracing and working with Piedmont Lithium, then Cleveland County will gladly welcome them.
Understandably, hardly anyone will be excited for industrial operations to move in on their personal property, but the fact is the need for lithium is only growing and if there are folks intent on mining and processing it here, we can capitalize on the opportunity, or we can fight tooth and nail only to likely end up with the same result.
This natural resource that God put here under our soil should not go to waste. With the commitments made by auto manufacturers and other industries, electric power is going to be around for decades.
Environmental excuses that I have seen from the NIMBY residents and naysayers can be handled by getting a surefire development agreement in place between Piedmont and Gaston County and holding officials accountable for enforcing that agreement.
Don’t get me wrong — I enjoy my gas-powered truck like the next guy, but everybody knows that the lithium batteries in our devices and electric vehicles are here to stay, so why turn our back on an opportunity to use the resources we’ve been blessed with for the benefit of our people and for our country.
To date, I cannot identify one potential concern about this company that cannot be dealt with in a development agreement.
At the end of the day, what would really be a waste is if the country’s largest domestic source of lithium went to waste at the hands of local government shortsightedness. Again, Gaston, if you don’t want the direct and indirect economic benefit from Piedmont, we will be happy to welcome this company next door.
Chris Greene is president of Hoke Enterprises Inc. in Cleveland County and a resident of Earl.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County, if you don't want Piedmont Lithium, we'll take them
