Optics are important in wastewater decision
Alan Levin, director of Delaware’s Economic Development Office, told a Lewes Chamber of Commerce installation dinner audience recently that, over the past five and a half years, the state’s tourism industry has grown from a $1.5 billion contributor to the economy to $2.5 billion.
That’s nothing short of extraordinary. It speaks volumes about the popularity of Delaware’s beaches, historical and cultural sites, recreational opportunities, and the steady efforts on behalf of this clean industry by so many different agencies.
No wonder Natural Resources Secretary David Small and the Markell administration are taking so long to decide whether to approve Rehoboth Beach’s application for a permit to discharge treated wastewater into the ocean. In a recent interview, the governor said he sees real legitimacy to the concern expressed by former DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara about what he termed “the optics” of the proposed outfall.
By optics, O’Mara meant the public perception of building a wastewater outfall off a beach consistently cited as one of the cleanest in the country.
The optics of that proposal contrast sharply with the optics of an alternative spray irrigation proposal that Artesian Resources Corporation President Dian Taylor has been lobbying heavily for through advertising and public letters. The proposal carries the luster of a greener solution with adaptive reuse and positive agricultural implications.
The administration’s delay in deciding signals that it sees itself as an important partner with Rehoboth, a major player in the state’s tourism economy. The big question: If state analysis finds the Artesian proposal environmentally acceptable and superior to ocean outfall, will DNREC pledge to make up the difference in the cost of the two systems - if the irrigation proposal is higher - and provide Rehoboth with guarantees that will soothe the city’s concerns about the financial implications of not owning its system, as it would with the ocean outfall?
The delay is frustrating, and the benefit to be realized in Rehoboth Bay water quality is stalled. But the stakes are high. If taking longer results in a more workable solution for all parties concerned, one that doesn’t jeopardize our obviously important optics, the time will have been well spent.
