Emails-Town

from David Cessna <thepollutedloon@gmail.com>

to bftstanley@beaufortnc.org,

bftcampbell@beaufortnc.org,

bftchaplain@beaufortnc.org,

bfthagle@beaufortnc.org,

bfthollinshed@beaufortnc.org,

bftmcdonald@beaufortnc.org

date Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 6:34 PM

subject To The Town of Beaufort Commissioners

mailed-by gmail.com

Board Members,

After I left the meeting on Aug. 11, There was little doubt in my mind that the answers to my questions would be slow in coming, if at all. Now my assumption has been substantiated by your lack of response. I truly hoped you would prove me to be wrong. You did not. If you were not going to answer my questions, why did you invite me.

Why won't you answer my questions? I find it hard to believe the Beaufort Town Board has been stumped by this simple ole commercial fisherman.

Are you hoping I will just give up and quit asking? It would be sad to think you would believe or want that. That would make me a phony and I assure you I am 100% real.

Have you not answered me because there are more pressing issues? If so please tell me what they are and I will help if I can.

Two of the most asked questions I get asked since Monday's meeting have been " Have they answered your questions yet " and " Do you think they ever will ". I just say " Not yet " to the first question, and "Absolutely " to the second. Then I comment with something to the effect of " They must have more important stuff to deal with right now".

Is it because the questions caught you off guard, and they needed to be considered by Beaufort's "Deep Thinkers"? A fellow Polluted Looner said that makes for good questions. I hope they were good questions.

Is it simply because there are no good answers to most of the questions? I would like to believe there are good answers to all of them, even if it is uncomfortable to deal with them.

If it seems like I am being less that polite or possibly hostile, I wish to be neither. I simply want the answers I was told I would have, before they become irrelevant. It was been more than 8 days since they were asked, I would think that would have been enough time. If there is a reason for the delay please let me know and I will try to be patient.

I would love to discuss these issues in depth with the board, and I understand there isn't enough time at the monthly meetings. I am available however to get together with our note pads over coffee.

Monday night several members of the board encouraged me to keep speaking up, and asking questions. I'm trying, but it sure makes it hard when nobody responds. It makes me think of things that prompt questions and comments like the ones in this letter.

I do not believe this to be conducive to solving these issues and would rather have discussions of a more positive nature, however I am left to challenging the board in this nature just to get a response. Unfortunately the victims of the lack of positive banter are all of us.

Once again I respectfully request the answers you told me I would have, and encourage you to communicate with me on these and other issues involving not only Beaufort but the other citizens of Carteret County also.

Thank you. David A. Cessna Sr.

(Clammerhead)

P.O. Box 252 252-241 9557

Smyrna, N.C. email: thepollutedloon@gmail.com

28579

Follow up note

From:

Haglejp@aol.com

Sent:

Thu 9/04/08 3:49 PM

To:

theclammerheadgroup@msn.com

A few weeks ago you wrote Beaufort commissioners a note about water quality and other items.

Maintaining a high quality of the waters around Beaufort is important to me as it is to many citizens of our area. As you probably know the Town of Beaufort has been upgrading its sewer collection system for some time and is nearly complete with this work. The purpose of this project is to reduce the inflow of ground water into this system to prevent the overtaxing of the waste treatment plant that results in raw waste water flowing into Taylor's Creek and other waters. Results of water flow rate monitoring at the waste treatment plant indicate that reduction of groundwater inflow as been accomplished. This will greatly reduce the raw sewer overflows the town has experienced during the past several years.

The town now has another project underway to replace its very old and deteriorating waste treatment plant. This project began in May and expected to by completed by the end of next year. The results of this project will be a new, up to date plant that will produce a discharge stream cleaner than required by federal and state laws. The town has taken steps to go beyond what is required to produce high quality discharge water from this plant. This new plant will also greatly reduce the potential of raw sewer water from entering Taylor's Creek by using the best available technology with very good monitoring equipment. It is my hope that as new technology for waste water systems is developed that Beaufort will review it and install it where it makes sense in order to continue to be good stewards of the waters around Beaufort. I too do not like to see shellfish areas closed and believe that what Beaufort is doing now and will do in the future will help reduce these closed areas.

As you may know the Town of Beaufort passed a resolution supporting the DOT plans for the Gallants Channel Bridge. The NCDOT Transportation Improvement Plan indicates that most of the funding for this $102 million project will be after 2015. It is our hope that the DOT will maintain or improve this schedule.

The Turner St. Boardwalk and the improvements that the county is making to the boat access at Town Creek are public facilities.

I thank you for your note and your interest in making Beaufort and surrounding area better.

John Hagle, Beaufort commissioner

Subject-Sewage Free Water

From: David Cessna (theclammerheadgroup@msn.com)

Sent: Tue 2/12/08 11:52 AM

To: beaufort town commissioners

The reason for this letter is to get everyone possible involved in the current situation with the Beaufort sewer system. This situation can be dealt within a correct manner. It will take a lot of hard work, media coverage, public input, and government officials doing what is right for both the environment and economy.

In my effort to facilitate this I am sending this to you hoping you will do whatever you can to help. Attached is a copy of a letter being sent to newspapers, radio stations, television stations, and many government officials. This and other documents will also be displayed on my web site at www.theclammerheadgroup.com on the link for Sewage Free Water. I am asking the media to give it as much exposure as possible and investigative reporting would really help. I would like to see Beaufort town officials take a positive step toward change from a system that dumps waste water into our creeks, to a system that re-uses the water, now and not in 3 or more years from now. As for the State Representatives, County Commissioners, the many regulatory groups such as Division of Water Quality and others, The Governor of North Carolina, or anyone else with a responsibility to the people; please help fix this problem by changing the laws and regulations to stop the loss of our waters and reclaim the ones already lost. Most of all I ask the public to speak up and demand better. If you don’t make yourself heard now you may never get a chance. This Earth belongs to us all and we have got to start doing better or we will lose it. Then, what?

This problem doesn’t affect just the people of Beaufort or the commercial fishing industry. If you depend on income from ANY type of business in this area or related income it affects you as well. If you like going to the beach, swimming, fishing, boating, or just plain looking at the water it affects you. If you want lower rates, with more resources, and no drought restrictions it affects you. Most of all, if you want an environment that both your and my children can have a clean and healthy place to raise our grandchildren, it affects you. Thank you for your time and efforts, David A. Cessna Sr. (Clammerhead)

To the Editor,

This letter is about a very important issue, which has been left unaddresed too long. Although it will be a long letter, it needs to be printed in it`s entirety. So please understand the importance of and my passion for this issue and bear with me.

The Town of Beaufort has been dealing with their sewer problems for as long as I can remember, and I`m 47 years old. The town is now about to accept a bid for $14,950,000 to build their new treatment plant. Beaufort does need a new treatment plant. The one they have is in bad shape and the technology is outdated. It`s capacity is already barely sufficient, at best. With Beaufort`s population growing at the pace it is, the present system will not handle the needs of the future. This leads one to ask, if and for how long will the upgraded system be sufficient, and what will be the effects on the environment. Depending on where you get your “facts” Beaufort is currently discharging 500,000 to 1,000,000 gallons of treated waste water in Taylors Creek per day. This water is usually treated with chlorine before discharging it. There have been numerous times that for one reason or another, non-treated water was discharged, causing shellfish areas to be closed and swimming bans to be posted. One area of shellfish bottom on the south side of Carrot Island measuring 427 acres was recently closed permanently and the area is expected to grow in size. There is currently a sign posted on the 1600 block of Front St. warning people not to swim in the area. All of this is for one reason only. Discharge from the Beaufort treatment plant.

Beaufort Town Manager Terri Parker-Eakes stated she believed they could keep rates the way they are until 2010-2011. The other side of this statement says there will be a rate hike around 2010-2011. That is only 3 to 4 years. If there is a rate hike there has to be a reason for it. The residents of Beaufort and Carteret County deserve better than to have their pockets emptied and waters polluted. The loss of revenue generated by area waters reaped economic disaster on Carteret County during what was known as Red Tide in 1987-1988. Without careful planning our waters could be lost forever. Thus ending the quality of life we have now, and becoming nothing more than a stagnated cesspool for dumping sewage and toxins.

There are other ways of disposing of waste-water. It could be used in several land application procedures, pumped into a man-made reservoir, with a vegetation based bio tech purification system, or it could be pumped far enough off-shore it would be diluted by the mass of the Atlantic Ocean to the point it would no longer be harmful to the environment or the economy. Beaufort has plans of reaching their full capacity, then start using their waste-water in land app. processes. It would be foolish to think that at that point Beaufort will voluntarily stop pumping their waste-water into Taylors Creek completely. Although some Town Board Members think it would be a good idea, others want to increase the amount of discharge. The N.C. Dept. of Shellfish Sanitation has done dye test studies to determine current flow direction and rates, and then made a recommendation to the Division of Water Quality to not allow Beaufort to increase their output. The DWQ denied Beaufort the permits to increase. There are regulations that must be strictly obeyed. The creeks and rivers shellfish grow in are the same ones we swim and catch other fish in. If an area is too polluted to eat the seafood from or swim in, the answer to the problem is to stop the discharge, not to increase it.

The population growth rate, by reason of logic, dictates water use rates will increase. Environmental experts believe that by 2020, 85% of all waste-water in the U.S. will be re-used and 45% of that will be in U.S. households or for human consumption. Why keep pumping this precious resource overboard to pollute our rivers when we can use it to improve our quality of life? We have the technology to do it now, and as the technology grows better it will save more taxpayer dollars, thus reducing rates.

Why do we have to wait until 2009 or later to begin building this type of system while our waters are still being used as a dump? If this were Downtown Baghdad it would be done in 6 days by people getting shot at. (Maybe we should get the Marines in here to handle it.)

I do not have all the answers, nor do I pretend to. I do however see a big problem that makes me ask a lot of questions. There has got to be a better way. The big question is what is it, and who will stand up and fight for it. A copy of this letter will be sent to all local news papers, local T.V. stations, the Beaufort Mayor, Beaufort Commissioners, County Commissioners, State Representatives, the Governor or anyone else that can help. There is a lot of work to be done. I need helpful ideas and people. There is an area on my web site dedicated to this effort. It has more info, a petition with a comment section, and an Email address. You can also contact these officials and the media to let them know that now is the time for immediate action to fix a long overdue problem in the correct manner, and not just set up for what will be called a band-aid solution in 3 or 4 years.

My web address is www.theclammerheadgroup.com

click- Petition for Sewage Free Water

Thank you very much for your time and effort,

David A. Cessna Sr. (Clammerhead)

Town of Beaufort N.C.

From: David Cessna (theclammerheadgroup@msn.com)

Sent: Tue 7/15/08 7:31 PM

To: ahenning@wnct.com (ahenning@wnct.com); business@fox8fox14.com (business@fox8fox14.com); charles mcdonald (bftmcdonald@beaufortnc.org); dateline NBC-msnbc (dateline@nbcuni.com); doug raymond (doug@dougraymond.com); hotmornings@hot96and1037.com (hotmornings@hot96and1037.com); john hagle (bfthagle@beaufortnc.org); John Stoken (jpstoken53@hotmail.com); jojo@bob933.com (jojo@bob933.com); marianna hollinshed (bfthollinshed@beaufortnc.org); math chaplain (bftchaplain@beaufortnc.org); news@wtkf107.com (news@wtkf107.com); nightly nbc-msnbc (nightly@nbc.com); richard stanley (bftstanley@beaufortnc.org); robert campbell (bftcampbell@beaufortnc.org); sossaman@wcti12.com (sossaman@wcti12.com); terri parker-eakes (bftmgr@beaufortnc.org); today show NBC-msnbc (today@nbcuni.com); witn news 7 (desk@witntv.com); wnct 9 (newsdesk@wnct.com)

Letter sent to The Carteret County News Times Today

To the Editor,

I find it very hard to believe I am the only one who can see what is going on in the Town of Beaufort. However if that is true this letter really has no use. Anyone that thinks the people in office are acting in the best interest of the citizens are in a fantasy world, and they need more assistance than I can give them. Logic alone dictates that everyone in Beaufort can’t be that un-attentive and the whole town not be imploded by now. This leaves only a few choices of why this on-going destruction of every thing public is being allowed. Is it because the people who can see what’s going on don’t know what to do about it, or they just don’t care? It could be prospects of great riches directing them to keep quiet and hope for the best or criminal greed. It could be just plain stupidity.

Look about you people. We have shellfish areas being closed at alarming rates. One large area to go was 427 acres behind Carrot Island a year ago this month. This area was closed because of a sudden need for a larger buffer zone for Beaufort’s wastewater discharge. As this is taking place Beaufort is allowing a golf course to tie into their system with an incredible amount of homes with it. Then there is the housing development on Laurel Road. How many of those homes will need to be pumped into Taylor’s Creek? Or we could talk about the new hotel resort or whatever it really is, going on the east end of Front Street. The best I can understand they are going to tie in also, but it’s ok because they are going to pay for an upgrade. How about the new development between East Carteret High School and the North River Bridge? Is that going into Taylor’s Creek, or North River? What about the development behind the sewer plant that borders Turner Creek? From what I can understand they will have their own system that Beaufort can add discharge to or is it the other way around. Either way the type of system they will have pulls ground water up for use and allows the ground to accept more wastewater. All the while their excess wastewater is held in a lagoon until it either seeps into the ground or overflows into Turner’s Creek and then North River. That is just the beginning of their sewer issues.

Now let’s look at the high-rise bridge that is supposed to be built across Gallants Channel. Just when and where is that going to happen? First we have plan # 1, then plan # 2, ect…. It seems that a few people have a great amount of power to get the bridge put where they want it or stop it from being put anywhere at all. Meanwhile the traffic accidents, back-ups, frequent openings, and the bridge being stuck open continues to cause grief for us all. With the expansion to the public access area on Radio Island and the condos being built on the other side coupled with the new bridge being built, how long before the area on the causeway being used by so many for shellfishing will be closed also? When and if the bridge is finished will the north side of the road be covered with condos or will they be private homes? Why not have D.O.T. stop the openings and let the boat traffic go an extra 1.5 miles around and pass under the high-rise bridge over Newport River. Any boat that has to have a high-rise bridge is either in or going into Newport River anyhow. If the traffic is allowed to flow freely; it will. Between the cost of the new bridge and operating/maintenance cost for the current drawbridge the taxpayers could save enough money to purify their wastewater and reuse it thus saving more tax dollars.

While we’re in that part of town lets talk about the Turner St. area. We have a wonderful new boardwalk, boatramp up-grade, and an impressive housing development going on. How long before that will be off limits to the public? We already have streets being closed in several areas to allow property owners to use what is now public property for their own benefit. It brings back memories of the National Park Service taking over Shackalford Banks and Core Banks. The camps and cabins we had in our families for generations were taken away “for the good of the public collective”. Then they were rented out to tourist.

There are a lot of other things going on that just doesn’t seem quite right to me, but they can be mentioned later. My effort now is to bring light to these things I have written about today in hopes of getting someone else to take responsibility for and speak up about these things. I have put forth a lot of effort to bring attention to these issues and many people have told me they agree with me, yet few will rally to the cause.

I have sent e-mails to almost every address I could find, in just about every part of government and activist group around. Two T.V. stations have done reports, and several newspapers have published my letters concerning the Beaufort wastewater situation. The only response from the Town of Beaufort has been an e-mail from the mayor saying the town has intentions of doing something better with their wastewater in the future, the town manager commented on the good work they are doing to repair their crappy system, and someone in the Sewer Department told a news reporter that I was making a big deal over nothing before hanging up on him. To my knowledge, not one letter has been published in response to these efforts from either the Town of Beaufort, any activist group, government official, or the private sector.

At some point someone is going to have to deal with these issues in a better way or not only will we lose our water and the attractions people come here for, we will lose all of the things that make this area what it is. This won’t affect just the people in Beaufort, it will hurt us all. It is Beaufort’s duty to be a good neighbor when dealing with these issues. History tells us this isn’t going to happen on its own. It will take the people of the area demanding accountability and responsibility. This won’t happen unless we speak up.

We have set up a web site dedicated to protecting and repairing our waters and the issues that affect them. It is still under construction and information is being added to it frequently. There is a petition and e-mail area to allow you to speak up and be heard. If you agree with us sign on and help. If you find an error in our facts, or don’t agree with us please speak up also. I am really interested in hearing what people have to say about these things, especially the town officials, government personal, and activist who are responsible for our future. I also want to know why so many people complain in private and hold their tongue in public. If you don’t want to use our web site, there are many other ways to be heard including T.V. and radio.

If you can convince me that I am wrong, or am making a big deal over nothing I will be more than willing to sit down and shut up. So far I am not convinced that the best thing for our area is to destroy it, and or take it away from the people that were here when it was still unknown. The way Beaufort and the neighboring areas have handled its development is disgusting. I am not impressed, and I will continue to speak out any chance I get.

Our web site is www.thepollutedloon.com. Please visit.

So, what you got to say about that?

David A. Cessna Sr.

(Clammerhead)

252-241-0136

From: David Cessna

To: ahenning@wnct.com ; business@fox8fox14.com ; charles mcdonald ; dateline NBC-msnbc ; doug raymond ; Fox 8 wfxi Gary dean ; john hagle ; marianna hollinshed ; math chaplain ; nightly nbc-msnbc ; richard stanley ; robert campbell ; sossaman@wcti12.com ; terri parker-eakes ; witn news 7 ; wnct 9

Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 11:26 PM

Subject: Town of Beaufort N.C. Meeting Time to speak up

Recently I wrote a letter that was published in several newspapers and e-mailed to many people in various offices. It delivered a large amount of response on our web site (www.thepollutedloon.com). All of it was in favor of fixing the Beaufort sewer problems, and most of it was in agreement with what I had written on several other issues. A large amount of the responders wanted to know what could they do to help. The answer is a simple one that takes a bit of effort, but has great return. Speak up. Tell everyone you can think of. Tell your friends, business associates, church members, neighbors, and anyone else that will listen to you. Especially tell your government officials, and don’t stop telling until they start doing.

They chose to serve you; with the best interest of all in mind. Therefore they should not have any problem in listening to you tell them what you need and finding a way to make it happen. If they won’t listen, thenuse your voice to let other voters know just how little their opinion matters to the person they voted for. Don’t let them fool you. We are in charge and with or without them we can have things done right. If you don’t think so, just tell them so and see the response you will get. They will either make promises, make excuses, apologize and start fixing things, or walk away and accuse you of not being smart enough to understand. In any event you will know just what type of person you voted for.

A very good place to do this will be at the Beaufort Town Meeting on Aug. 11, 2008. I was invited to do so by Mayor Stanley and I am going to take him up on his offer to have my questions answered. Not only would it be helpful to have all the support I can get, but this would be a great time to get together with the many of you that have contacted me about how we can make a difference. Believe me; I won’t be hard to pick out. You will know it is me when you see me.

I have never spoken at a meeting like this before, so I don’t have a strong knowledge of how this will work out. I do know that with my shyness at public speaking it should be humorous at the very least. My wishes would be to read a prepared statement, then ask a few questions,and get some answers. A fellow “polluted looner” said there wasn’t enough time for me to ask all of the questions I have, much less get answers to them. Never the less I will give it my best effort. I am prepared to stay and listen to their plans and answers and engage in conversations all night if they are. I don’t mind helping them out if they want me to. I invite everyone to attend the meeting at the Old Train Depot on Broad Street in Beaufort. The meeting will start at 6:00pm, Monday August 11th, 2008. You do not have to be a citizen of Beaufort to attend, or be heard.

Thank you,

David A Cessna Sr.

(Clammerhead)

p.s. Following this letter within a few days a copy of the prepared statement and questions will be emailed and available at the meeting.

po box 252

Smyrna NC 28579

252-241-9557

Requested Response to Questions Dated August 11, 2008

1. Why is Beaufort adding intake to their sewer when they are not dealing with their sewer in an environmentally sound manner at present?

The Town of Beaufort is dealing with their wastewater in an environmentally sound manner by maintaining compliance with all current regulations of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR). The Beaufort WWTP is routinely in compliance with the requirements of the of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permit issued to the Town by NCDENR Division of Water Quality. This permit spells out the monitoring requirements for various effluent parameters, as well as the acceptable limits for those parameters. Residuals removed from the water are treated and disposed of by a contract hauler who is responsible for land applying the residuals in compliance with the terms of the Class B Sludge Disposal Permit issued by DWQ.

The NPDES discharge permit allows a maximum of 1.5 MGD of treated effluent to be discharged to Class SC waters of Taylors Creek. Current development within the Town of Beaufort’s utility service area has not exceeded the allocated discharge of the current NPDES permit.

2. At what time and with what manner will Beaufort start re-using their wastewater and other sewer matter?

Non-discharge options, i.e. re-use, land application, etc., are significantly more expensive to the customer base than a traditional surface water discharge option. However, the new WWTP will treat the wastewater to a higher quality than that of the existing WWTP and that is required under the current NPDES permit. The effluent from the new WWTP will be of a quality in which the Town can begin to consider land application or other re-use opportunities to supplement the surface water discharge capacity.

The Town has recently entered into a Pre-annexation Agreement with two Developers in which the Town will accept and treat the wastewater generated by their subdivisions, and the treated reuse quality effluent will ultimately be disposed in a High Rate Infiltration Pond located on the site of one of the developments. The time frame for installation of the infiltration pond will be a function of the development schedule and growth within the Beaufort service area.

Requested Response to Questions Dated August 11, 2008

3. When will Beaufort start recognizing our creeks, rivers, and beaches as the undeniable life’s blood of our area and start treating them as such by making them priority #1?

The Town of Beaufort continuously seeks to be a good environmental steward, and has in recent years invested many millions of dollars to improve its wastewater collection, treatment and disposal systems which have the most visible impact on surface waters of the State. For the past five or more years, if measured by the expense associated with Beaufort’s sanitary sewer improvements, the Waters of the State have been priority #1 to the citizens, staff and elected officials.

4. What measure or plans for enacting measures to regulate better standards for future development along our delicate waters in the future, such as alternative and /or individual methods of disposing of sewage and wastewater are being utilized?

The Town of Beaufort’s ordinances do not allow individual methods of treating and disposing of wastewater within the Town limits. New developments are required to connect to the municipal sewer system. Municipal systems are…regulated by the State of North Carolina; permitted for maximum capacity and effluent quality; maintained and operated daily by licensed operators; subject to mandatory monitoring and testing that is reported to DWQ on a monthly basis; subject to routine State inspection and issuance of notices of violation and/or fines for non-compliance; and subject to routine regulatory modifications or improvements.

Town staff, in consultation with their Engineer, Regulatory Agencies, Equipment Manufacturers/Vendors, Contractors, etc., considers the merits (environmental, financial, operation & maintenance requirements, etc.) of best available and/or alternative technologies when designing, permitting and specifying items associated with collection and treatment systems.

After the initial permitting, installation and inspection of individual wastewater treatment systems, there are no additional requirements for licensed operation, routine maintenance, monitoring, testing, inspection, etc. If individual systems fail, they could create greater pollution to the surface waters of the State than a municipal system.

The Town is currently working with Developers to plan for disposal of reuse quality wastewater effluent within the subdivision following treatment at the Beaufort WWTP.

Additionally, the Town has recently adopted a storm water ordinance which, in conjunction with State regulatory requirements, is an endeavor to mitigate water quality concerns due to surface water runoff from new development.

5. Does Beaufort have or intend to have a Committee looking into these methods and finding ways to fund the implementing of programs to accelerate their use?

Beaufort has a Public Works Committee that consists of two Commissioners as well as Town Staff members that coordinates the decision making and review of capital projects and maintenance projects. The Commissioners, staff and committee operate within the current provisions of the Town of Beaufort ordinances. Currently, there is no provision to allow individual methods of wastewater treatment and disposal within the corporate boundary.

The Town and its consultants are continually looking for methods of funding new programs. A recent planning grant received from N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund is being utilized to continue development of storm water management planning tools.

6. When is Beaufort going to stop dumping it’s wastewater into our rivers?

The Town of Beaufort does not discharge untreated wastewater into Taylors Creek. Treated effluent that is discharged to surface waters meets the NPDES discharge permit requirements issued by the State of North Carolina. Refer to Number 1 above.

Occasional minor spills of untreated wastewater occur due to system surcharges caused by large storm events or from pipelines damaged by the actions of others. The current collection system improvements are designed to mitigate storm related issues.

7. Why do all of the pumping stations next to the water on Front Street have “closed shellfishing” signs near them, but only the discharge pipe has a “contact danger” sign near it? (And there is a tree growing in front of it.)

NCDENR, Division of Environmental Health, Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational Water Quality Section is responsible for classifying coastal waters as to their suitability for shellfish harvesting, monitoring and issuing advisories for coastal recreational swimming areas, and certification of shellfish and crustacean processing plants. They operate under the guidelines of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish Model Ordinance. This ordinance requires that a prohibited area shall be established adjacent to each sewage treatment plant outfall and other waste discharges of public health significance. This prohibited area shall be sufficiently large enough in size to afford the time necessary to permit the shellfish control authority to stop harvesting before pollution discharge could travel through the prohibited area to an area classified as approved, conditionally approved, restricted, or conditionally restricted.

8. Am I mistaken in seeing loopholes in the sewer expansion contract that will allow the developers to manipulate not only their capacity allocations but their cost and reimbursements also?

There are provisions in the recent Pre-Annexation Agreement that obligate the Developers and the Town to certain costs, responsibilities and capacity allocations. There are also provisions that allow adjustments to these parameters.

9. Why do only two people responded to me on this issue when I have E-mailed you all, it’s been in the papers, on T.V. and discussed among yourselves?

The previous and current Board of Commissioners, staff and consultants has worked diligently on issues related to the wastewater collection and treatment systems for well over five years. A great deal of time and money has been spent and is being spent related to these issues. Most of the environmental review, planning, decision making, design, permitting and a great deal of construction has been completed. Your interest and concern is appreciated.

10. Why do I and others with the same ideals have the feeling we are being ignore in the hope we’ll eventually get tired of trying and give up, and what does this Board intend to do to make that feeling go away?

Every citizen is encouraged to attend and actively participate in Board of Commissioner meetings and proceedings. This is the best way to be aware of issues facing the citizens of Beaufort and to voice your questions or concerns to your elected representatives.

11. What can I do to help?

Recognize that the Board of Commissioners and Town Staff are faced with many issues and competing interests from the electorate that they serve. Make your suggestions early in the process when an issue of interest or concern to you arises. Understand that the decisions that are made are intended to be in the best interest of our entire community.

12. Will you help me keep this issue and your efforts to stop dumping wastewater into our rivers, and to repair the damage already done in the public eye?

We want to work with you and all other concerned citizens to provide the Town of Beaufort with a cost efficient, environmentally friendly, well-operated and reliable wastewater system.

BONUS QUESTION Beaufort was turned down for a permit to discharge more than 1.5 million gallon per day into Taylors Creek. Their new agreement calls for an additional 350,000 gallons per day from these new developments. This brings them to 1.85 millions gallons per day. What river does that get pumped into?

The additional 0.35 MGD will be treated to reuse standards and applied via a high rate infiltration pond. Refer to Number 2 above.

from

David Cessna <thepollutedloon@gmail.com>

Eren Tataragasi <eren@thenewstimes.com>

date

Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 3:46 AM

subject

Re: E-mails between Clammerhead and Commissioners

mailed-by

gmail.com

Eren, I've been nursing a stingray injury to my hand so it's slow going around here. After looking at your last e-mail. I realized these were even better questions than I first noticed. It is hard to come up with an easy answer, so please bear with me. The questions I asked were each designed for a specific purpose, not all the same as the others yet with a common agenda. That having been said, prepare for some lengthy and hopefully good reading.

The answers they gave me were all but exactly what I expected, and that was very disappointing. I had hoped they would acknowledge the short-comings in their present methods and the plans they have made for the future. Instead they gave me some technical jargon designed to not answer the questions while defending their actions. It would stand to reason they are trying to abide by the regulations, however these regulations still allow for less than desirable and often harmful practices. They know this and need to step above the minimums they have accepted as goals. If they had given me these answers in a timely manner instead of 3 hours before the meeting I may have been less irritated and dealt with things differently. The only reasons I can come up with for this is either this just isn't important enough to them, they are clueless and want to keep it a secret, or they are scared of what this could turn into. It could be a combination of any or all of these. Regardless of which, this is the type of political behavior that has allowed things to get to the point they are now. It is a dream of mine to see the Commissioners realize they can do better and do so. I don't believe left to their own schedule they will and that is why I have tried for more than a year to get people to speak out. They asked for the job, and now they are being brought to task. I truly hope they succeed.

In order to express what I had hoped to receive as answers, and or what I think they meant, I will address them individually by # in an effort to shorten my keyboard time.

-1- I knew they would not admit their current system is not environmentally correct, even though the fact that the new plant is required by DWQ to be a tertiary system ( much better), thus proving the current one is inadequate. I think they are missing the fact that pumping this water overboard is not only wasting the water but increasing their carbon footprint also. The correct answer: Oops, you are right. that one slipped past us. We will fix it right away.

-2- I understand this answer to mean sometime after the plant is up and running ( app. 2 years ) they will begin to consider re-use plans for the current wastewater and the extra from every toilet and sink added until they actually do start re-use.

That is likely to be another 5 years or more. The high rate infiltration pond system pulls water out of the ground which gets disposed of instead of used in order to allow the wastewater to seep in at a higher than normal rate. they currently have no re-use plans at present for their other sewer matter either. The correct answer would be: We will begin re-use of all of Beaufort's wastewater as soon as the new plant is up and running. It will be used on area farms, golf courses, and other industries. After further purification it will be used in our households like normal. We are researching ways to re-use the solid matter, however we have too much fertilizer around here now.

-3- It seems they are saying they have put a lot of money into fixing the sewer system. They have, and the taxpayers are well aware of it. The correct answer would be: Even though we have spent a lot of money on our sewer system we still have a long way to go and will stop spending on stuff like celebrations until we handle our responsibilities to the environment that supports our citizens.

-4- They actually answered part of this one. The correct answer would include that they are looking into methods of use for " gray- water " and incentives to make it desirable. We are also looking at some of many systems with fail-safes that help purify wastewater on site of use without endangering the environment.

-5- I don't know exactly how to interpret this one. They have people working on service and funding but not on individual systems be cause the Town does not allow this type of system. I think that means the answer is no.

-6- The question didn't say untreated wastewater. For the correct answer reference to answer and #2.

-7- This was not a answer, but a reference to the fact that it isn't their responsibility so I called DWQ and was told it is due to regulation, basically because there may be an undetected discharge of partially treated wastewater. The tree still partially blocks the sign. We have used the word partially 2 times and within a foot of that pipe.

-8- I understand this answer to mean either they don't know or won't say. The correct answer should be: We hope you are mistaken, but just in case we will put our Deep Thinkers back on it and if you are right we will try to fix it right away. Or the correct answer should be: yes, you are mistaken; however I don't think I am.

-9- I think this answer means: Duh. I cant say what the correct answer is. Only they know the answer to this one. I think I made it clear on Monday night that I don't think they want to discuss this with me. Reference to paragraph # 2.

-10- Again I see only a partial answer. They invite but don't seem very inviting. As per their instructions I will keep speaking to my representatives if they will speak to me. ( Even though I invited them to call me Tuesday after I had become less emotional, no one has.)

My next step is to start e-mailing everyone in Raleigh. Maybe they will listen to me and make me feel important to them.

-11- I think this means I should be more active in letting them know how I feel. I started on this over a year ago. How early on in the project do I need to get. Please tell me I don't have to move back to Beaufort and become a Commissioner. I don't think I want to be aligned with some of that crowd.

-12- They didn't say yes or no. They just said what they want to do and it didn't include repairing the damage done or making their efforts or lack of them known. The correct answer should be : Yes.

-13- That was meant to be a smart- Alec question, that didn't need to be answered. They would never admit it is going to be pumped into a river if it is. If it does get pumped into the lagoons as planed I already know where it will go if they rupture.

When I wrote these questions it was my hope they would incite the Town Commissioners to stop and take a closer look at the way they are doing things. The questions were an attempt to have their actions and lack of response to myself and the others I am trying to represent made known to the public. Most people already believe that government caters to big money and special interest. This was their chance to do and say the right things to change that opinion. I have talked to a many people since Monday's meeting. Every one of them have told me they think the Commissioners are dodging the questions, the issue, and especially me.

The Town Manager stated in this ( her first ever ) e-mail to me that the Commissioners decisions are made with the best interest of the entire community in mind. In the past 13 months there has been an estimated $ 200'000 to $300,000 dollar loss to commercial fishermen due to the Carrott Island closure. This also has resulted in losses to area business ( especially in Beaufort ) from fishermen that travel from as far away as Southport. How is this in the best interest of the entire community when we suffer needlessly at this rate.

Their lack of good stewardship to this community has, is, and will continue to cause the Town Commissioners, their Deep Thinkers, and all of their staff to have to deal with things that should have been dealt with better first time around. To be sure this is not in the best interest of the entire community.

It is a mis-conception that since I am trying to convince the Commissioners ( Town and County ) to issue a moratorium on large development that I am against development. I am simply saying slow down and re-examine the way things are currently being done. If we can put a stop on something as simple as 3 windmills until we can evaluate their impact on the community, why can't we do the same with these large developments. Simply taking the developers word that they will have all positive and no negative impact is not enough. For some reason the Commissioners don't seem to want to entertain that idea at all.

I am sure there are better options available for both the development of our area and the treatment of our wastewater. I have researched and examined them for about a year now. If I can find them, then the entire Town Government should be able to. They have many more resources than I do, and I would hope there are people smarter than me working for the Town. If not we are in BIG TROUBLE. I have opened the door for them to call me and set up a time to discuss some of them. To this moment they haven't.

I thought I made myself clear to them that the discharge pipe must leave the river. Contrary to what I was told by the engineer at the Aug. 11 meeting, DWQ has made it very clear that Carrott Island will remain closed as long as that pipe is discharging anything.

I hope this e-mail/novel has answered your questions and explained what we are trying to accomplish. As with any matter of such depth it is hard to explain everything in without an unlimited forum. I do greatly appreciate your interest and efforts. If there are any other questions I can answer or anything you wish me to explain more in-depth Please call me. I should be available until 6:30 pm. Thursday, I have been asked to speak at a meeting on Pivers Island and don't know what time I will get out of there. Fortunately these are friendlies and not hostiles. Thank you very much Eren,

David A. Cessna Sr.

"Clammerhead"

Here is our reply to the above

from

David Cessna <thepollutedloon@gmail.com>

Stanley & Phillips Law <stanleyandphillipslaw@embarqmail.com>

date

Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 4:08 PM

subject

Re: The Polluted Loon

mailed-by

gmail.com

Richard,

Thank you very much for your reply. To date you are the only Board Member to contact me since the Town Manager sent me what was supposed to be the answer to my 13 questions. I don't understand why the other Board Members or the County Commissioners won't contact me. I do find it confusing when someone does contact me one of the first things they say is how much they care about the environment. That is not the issue at hand. The issue is the environment is not being protected as well as it should be and there are no immediate steps being taken that will do this in a timely manner. It stands to reason that if the Town had made significant steps toward land application or reuse other than the small amount to be used by the North River Club and the developments just annexed, someone would have told me by now. I have been told the Town will start looking into land application and other reuse after the new plant is finished. What about until then. Would it not be prudent to have these methods available by the time the new plant is put into use? Would it not also be prudent to stop adding on customers until this is done? Yet every time I mention a moratorium I get the same response; NOTHING. I find this to be not totally unlike what has been going on with the River Dunes situation in Pamlico County.( Information can be found at http://waterfrontsportsman.com ) I have repeatedly commended the efforts by the town to repair their system, so there is no need to keep polishing these trophies. My concern is with the present and the future. I also have stated that I understand how the system arrived at the state of disrepair it achieved and I am not trying to blame anyone for that. It doesn't matter how we got here. What matters is where are we going and why are we taking so long to get to where we need to be. Therefore instead of telling me how the previous administrations failed tell me what the present one is going to do to get ahead of the problem.

Richard, you among several other members told me to keep expressing my thoughts, concerns, ideas, and questions. Today you have told me and I quote, " Barking up the wrong tree". You as Mayor, along with the Town Commissioners and our State Officials were elected to take care of things like this. Just what tree should I bark up? If I have mistakenly identified the ones responsible for taking care of these types of things please direct me to the right offices. Otherwise, let's work on this together and solve the problem.

If this is too much to ask, just say so. I am sure there are others out there that would like to give it a try. I am convinced I am right about this or someone would have told me I am wrong by now. The only reason I have been given for not removing the discharge from our waters has been cost. I will be addressing the cost on the Our Voyage page on our website www.thepollutedloon.com

Once again I am very appreciative of your reply on this issue and look forward to future communications with you and others.

David Cessna Sr.

Clammerhead