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Re: NFC: NC little t conservation news
What sepecificaly should the letters say, what
provisions referred to etc? To who addressed?
jake
--- robert a rice <robertrice at juno_com> wrote:
>
> Robert Rice
> NFC president
>
>
> December 7, 2001
>
>
> URGENT – MANY LETTERS NEEDED
>
> Dear Friends,
> Those of you for whom this is redundant,
> who have already
> written letters, stood up at hearings, etc. please
> forgive me – and thank
> you. This is too important to miss any
> opportunities.
> We have just had two public meetings –
> one in Franklin, the
> other in Bryson City – about the Division of Water
> Quality’s draft
> Basinwide Plan for the Little Tennessee Basin. At
> both meetings,
> numerous citizens, including representatives from
> several local
> conservation organizations, asked for additional,
> special protection for
> the unique and priceless reach of the Little
> Tennessee River between Lake
> Emory Dam in Macon County and Fontana Reservoir in
> Swain County. It is
> within the power of the Division of Water Quality
> (DWQ) to include such
> protection, in the form of recommendations, in the
> final draft of the
> plan. No one at the meetings opposed such special
> protection. This is
> reminiscent of, and related to, the hearing on the
> “Tennessee River RV
> Park” discharge permit, when 43 speakers opposed the
> permit and only one
> individual – the developer – spoke in favor. And
> the protection we seek
> would mean that we do not face the prospect of
> innumerable such hearings
> in the future, any time someone wants to discharge
> pollutants to our
> river.
> The only “opposition” to further
> protection is in the form of
> reluctance to move on the part of the DWQ. They
> want to put the whole
> issue off to be taken up in the next 5 year planning
> period. We all know
> what will happen in 5 years; we can’t wait.
> The main justification the DWQ gives is
> that they always face
> opposition when they try to issue regulations or
> deny permits. One might
> ask “opposition from whom?” Not from anyone who
> cares to be publicly
> identified, it seems.
> In addition to the specific issues of
> our river we are here
> facing something which looks a lot like the issue of
> campaign finance
> reform. A relatively small number of individuals,
> who do not come to
> public hearings or write letters to the editor have
> other ways of
> exercising influence, and do so disproportionately
> to their number.
> Most of you are already familiar with
> the river issues –
> endangered species, recreational use, baptisms, and
> the nature of
> development along our river corridor north of town –
> including the
> Needmore Tract, for which many of us have campaigned
> long and hard.
> Here we have another issue, one of public
> participation and – in my
> opinion – a battle for the soul of the DWQ.
> About at least one thing, the DWQ has
> been very forthright.
> The more letters they receive advocating for special
> protection for the
> Little T, the better chance it has of happening in a
> timely fashion. Our
> goal is that they receive correspondence way up in
> the hundreds of
> letters. So PLEASE write before Jan. 11. Ask
> other family members to
> do the same, or at least to sign your letter. Bring
> this before any
> organizations you may belong to, not only
> conservation groups, but
> community clubs, churches, sportsmens groups, etc.
> Widen the circle to
> include people you know who may not live in our
> watershed but who visit
> and use our river recreationally. The address:
>
> Callie Dobson, planner
> North Carolina Division of Water Quality
> 1617 Mail Service Center
> Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
>
> Let’s help the Division of Water Quality
> live up to their
> name. You don’t have to cite all the issues, just
> let it be known that
> you expect the DWQ to protect water quality, in the
> Little T and
> elsewhere, and that there is a need to adopt special
> provisions for the
> Little T below Lake Emory Dam. You will be helping
> not only the Little T
> but, in the long run, all the waters of North
> Carolina.
>
> THANK YOU!
>
> Bill McLarney
>
> p.s. If you need additional info, or just want to
> discuss ideas, please
> feel free to contact me at this address, by phone at
> (828) 524-8369 or by
> mail at 1120 Meadows Rd., Franklin, NC 28734.
> www.nativefish.org
>
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