| Here is the text of the letter. Please weigh in on this thing. It would be nice to see some letters to the editor in the Independent.
August 14, 2006
County Commissioners of Charles County
Via Hand Delivery
Dear Commissioners:
We, the undersigned are writing to you today to express our sincere concern about the health of our waterways. We are especially concerned about the health of citizens who use our waterways and enjoy our fish and crabs. It is imperative that the Charles County Commissioners start taking seriously the rapidly deteriorating health of virtually all of our waterways. If not, Charles County stands the chance of losing not only its prestigious fishing tournament, but the use our waterways altogether. Recent reports in the Maryland Independent, have alerted the citizens of Charles County to the serious problem of high concentrations of fecal bacteria in the Port Tobacco River, Wicomico River, Nanjemoy Creek, Mattawoman Creek, Cuckold Creek, Neal Sound, and the many smaller tributaries which feed into them. The County Commissioners must stop dealing with this issue as a normal occurrence, and must start dealing with the situation as an emergency situation that warrants immediate attention. This issue has been studied for two years in the Port Tobacco Watershed, without any corrective action to begin remedying the situation. While we believe all of the Commissioners care about the health of our waterways, the response to the problem to date has not been commensurate with the seriousness of this issue.
In an historic event, all of the undersigned candidates for commissioner, both Democrat and Republican, have come together to make the following suggestions:
1.) The commissioners must ensure that the County, in concert with State agencies or alone, moves quickly to implement more comprehensive testing to isolate the sources of pollution that are causing the current and unacceptable levels of fecal bacteria.
2.) The sources of the pollution need to be remedied, whether it is through grants to fix leaking septic tanks and inadequate sewer systems, citations to stop illegal dumping, or other appropriate remedies. These actions need to commence expeditiously.
3.) There should be a node of County government created or assigned to deal with this problem forthwith and permanently.
4.) There needs to be a time table with specific goals set to restore our waterways.
5.) There should be goal that by the summer of 2008 and thereafter, there will be no restrictions on our local waterways because of fecal bacteria, meaning no excursions or events that result in local waterways exceeding safety standards.
In conclusion, we are most concerned that this public health and safety issue be addressed immediately. We state this while setting political considerations aside, and we hope that you will move with all deliberate speed to implement an emergency plan of action.
LETTER TO COMMISSIONERS – 8/11/06 PAGE 2 of 2 SIGNATURE PAGE ONLY
Sincerely,
Candidates for County Commissioner: Nessy Environmental Project Representatives:
James M. G. Coffey Gloria Heisserman
Reuben B Collins II Ken Kraushaar
Joe Crawford Father David R. MacDonald
Johnnie De Georgi
Sam Graves
Kathy Kazimer
Frederick Lancaster
Monifa Tarjamo
Eric Vrem
Bruce F. Wesbury
Kurt W. Wolfgang
Kurt W. Wolfgang, Commissioner Candidate, Charles County
wolfgangcommissioner.com |