People need to stand up to prevent pollution

To The Eagle:

The Clean Water Act defines sewage sludge as a pollutant.1979? That is why they put a stop to ocean dumping as it killed whole fisheries and created dead zones. So under federal law if there is even a possibility the disposal site will have an adverse effect on a threatened or endangered species and their critical habitat, directly or indirectly, that diminishes the likelihood of survival and recovery of a listed species, that act, is considered destruction of a critical habitat.

We have six listed species in the Grays along side the dump zone. We have paid close to $1 million to meet clean water specs. The permit approval will likely be the sounding of the death knell to salmon in the Grays and critical habitat in the watershed destroyed. As we are tidal, estuaries and the Columbia will also suffer the contamination from nitrogen overloads, pharmaceuticals, poisons and 27 metals, all cancer causing agents, not to mention endocrine disruption (things that run our body).

This permit is an etiological impact nightmare. The vectors for transmission of contamination travels from insects, fish, birds, animals to humans. Etiological agents of infectious agents are recognized as hazardous waste, warriors of toxins, bacteria, viruses, parasites and infectious diseases.

After spending billions to recover salmon and threatened species, why are we being targeted?

Across the country, small disenfranchised, underrepresented small populations are being targeted for waste dumping. We are too small to make a loud noise, too ineffectual to influence those in power. In other words, our county is the perfect victim. This permits invites waste from cities, industry from all over, in fact encourages dumping here. The exceptions to Fed. Rule 503, threats to critical habitat are under utilized, and according to some sources, almost never employed.

We are only victims if we do nothing, only underrepresented if we are not heard and disenfranchised if we allow the DOE to undermine our considerable efforts county wide to improve water quality for the past 20 years. In my opinion.

Cynthia Lahti

Rosburg