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MCWQP Response (cont.):
North Carolina assessed $10,414.88 in penalties to the responsible parties (Childress Klein Properties, Inc., Earnhardt Grading, Inc., and Carolina Drilling and Blasting, Inc.) for making an outlet to the waters of the State (North Carolina General Statute 143-215.1(a)) and for creating conditions in surface waters that preclude the waters' best usage (North Carolina Administrative Code 15A NCAC 2B .0211(1)).
Neither the General Statute nor the Administrative Code that the responsible parties violated was based on fecal coliform bacteria sampling data. The fecal coliform data collected by South Carolina was NOT used by North Carolina in the assessment and/or determination of these penalties as implied by Ms. Servatius.
CL response: We agree, but then our article didn't claim that the fecal coliform sampling data was used by NC, nor did it come close to implying that it was. To our eyes, this seems like an attempt to confuse the elected officials to whom this memo was distributed. Anyone who read the entire section of the article that dealt with the Steele Creek spill knows that the above charges are silly. The article contains no claim that the spill received a fine because South Carolina environmental officials bother to conduct fecal tests. Instead, that section of the article detailed the vast amount of pressure SC citizens and the media had to put on both the county and state environmental departments to ensure that someone received a fine for the Steele Creek spill. What the article said was, "The test proved beyond a doubt that the spill violated both North and South Carolina water quality laws."
* Creative Loafing Article:
"In its annual work plan, which it submits to the state, county environmental officials at MCWQP acknowledge that yearly water quality monitoring data from 1998-2000 revealed high fecal coliform counts downstream of sewer leaks and other areas from which sewage has been legally or illegally discharged. This is particularly ironic when you consider that the county has spent tens of millions of dollars on a surface water improvement plan aimed at preserving natural buffers and improving the quality of the water the county's creeks and streams, while at the same time often turning a blind eye to the sewage spills that have caused some of the pollution the county is trying to combat." Page 32 - Column 1 - Paragraph 2
MCWQP Response:
Since the initiation of the S.W.I.M. Program in July 1998, the County's cost has been approximately 1.5 million dollars, not tens of millions as reported in the article.
CL response: The article was referring to the cost to the county, not to merely to county government. The combined cost of the buffer program bought about by SWIM has cost developers and the county tens of millions of dollars, although we concede the article could have been clearer on this point.
MCWQP Response (cont.):
We have never turned a "blind eye" to sewage spills. As a matter of fact, sewage spills have been our highest priority. Since the beginning of the S.W.I.M. Program, water quality data clearly indicates a significant reduction in fecal coliform bacteria levels in urban streams resulting in great progress toward making these waters suitable for human contact. The reductions in bacteria counts are as follows: 78% reduction in Sugar Creek, 73% reduction in Little Sugar Creek, 62% reduction in McAlpine Creek and a 46% reduction in Briar Creek.
CL response: Again, that's great, but this was not the point of the article, although we are curious what the bacteria counts of Long and Steele Creeks look like.
MCWQP Response (cont.):
The MCWQP is constantly seeking out new and innovative ways to identify sewer spills in Mecklenburg County. For example, this past winter low-level infrared aerial photography was used to identify warm spots in Little Sugar and Briar Creeks, which is an indicator of possible sewer releases. The entire survey took only 2 hours and over 27 miles of streams were checked. As a result, over 70 potential sewer leaks were detected that are currently under investigation for elimination. This project was done in cooperation with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities. We have applied for an EPA grant to have this infrared survey performed on all of our urban streams impaired by fecal coliform bacteria. This is only one example of the many efforts we have underway to address this critical water quality problem.
The article completely ignores the fact that the biggest problem with sewer spills is locating them. Charlotte-Mecklenburg has over 3000 miles of streams as well as approximately 3000 miles of sewer lines. Surveying these systems to find leaks is difficult and time consuming. It's not the leaks we know about that cause the greatest concern, it's the ones that we can't find that pose the biggest threat.
