Farmer accuses NCDOT of burying trash on Hampstead property
HAMPSTEAD, NC (WWAY) — A Pender County farmer says the North Carolina Department of Transportation buried construction debris and potentially contaminated materials on his property while building a bypass near his Hampstead strawberry farm.
Jeff Morris says the NCDOT destroyed a shed on their property after a 2022 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project. Morris alleges the department buried the structure rather than properly cleaning up the debris.
“They got caught. They made a mistake. Clean it up. Let’s get on with our lives,” Morris said.
Morris said he became suspicious when the area where the shed had stood appeared to be covered only with bare dirt.
“It was bare dirt and it didn’t make any sense,” he said. “It should have been grass covered in small pine trees growing.”
Morris said the NCDOT denied burying the shed. He then began investigating the site himself.
“I said, ‘Bring me an auger. Bring me my soil auger,’” Morris said. “And within a couple minutes, I found pine needles and pine four feet down.”
Morris said he later hired an environmental investigator, who he says found tires, insulation, paint and roofing materials buried on the property.
“The insulation we just pulled out — more insulation than I’ve ever seen — but paint,” Morris said. “Paint was the one thing. The tar for the top of mobile home roofs, for repairing our sheds and stuff. It was in there, and all of that ends up in the ground. And that shouldn’t be anywhere. It shouldn’t be anywhere buried, let alone on private property.”
Morris said he had hoped to donate the property to the county for use as parkland or game lands.
“This would be a nice piece of property once it gets cleaned up, just to have folks come out and enjoy,” he said. “There’s a pond in the back, and a little elbow room, a little breathing room.”
Morris said environmental restrictions have prevented him from transferring the property because of concerns about contamination.
He has filed a tort claim against the NCDOT seeking over $800,000 in damages. Morris said the department responded with an offer, but the dispute has continued for about four years.
Now, he said, a judge will decide who is responsible for cleaning up the property and any associated costs.
Morris hopes the court proceedings will bring an end to what he describes as years of bureaucratic delays.
“The light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be the DOT train,” Morris said. “We just get run over again, and they kick it down the road. But we’d like it to finish it.”
We reached out the NCDOT, but they said because it is an active investigation, they could not comment at this time.
