The following are Science Coordinator for the Inland Bays Foundation John Austin's recent comments before Sussex County Council in support of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's on-site waste water regulation, submitted to the Cape Gazette for publication.
Good afternoon, my name is John Austin. I live near Rehoboth in Mr. Cole’s district. I’m currently the science coordinator and member of the board of the Inland Bay Foundation. We have closely followed and commented on onsite treatment regulations discussed earler.
I would like to inform the council that more than 90 percent of Delaware’s rivers, streams and lakes remain "impaired waters." That's politically correct speak for “polluted.” They are waters that do not meet water quality standards for their designated uses, such as recreation, fishing or drinking.
This council as well as DNREC has an obligation to protect the county and its waterways from the harmful effects of air or water pollution of any type. The onsite wastewater regulation has been through five years of development, 13 workshops, three public hearings; proposal, re-proposal and re-re-proposals after engaging groups such as the Delaware On-Site Wastewater Recycling Association, Center for the Inland Bays, Clean Water Advisory Council, Kent County Levy Court, Delaware Association of Realtors, Tidewater and Artesian, and numerous legislators.
The septic regulations for Chesapeake Bay tidal waters is but one sentence in a multi-page update to regulations. The consensus is the regulation is a workable compromise and should now be adopted by DNREC. I thank the council for not acting to delay or impede the regulation.
John Austin
science coordinator
Inland Bays Foundation
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
