20111013 Ver 2_Public Comments_20130330

Strickland, Bev
From: Karoly, Cyndi
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 9:24 AM
To: Strickland, Bev
Subject: Fwd: Please help us Save Blonts Creek
Sent from my iPad
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Adams, Amy" <[e-mail]>
Date: April 1, 2013, 9:17:22 AM MDT
To: "Karoly, Cyndi" <[e-mail] >, "Belnick, Tom" <[e-mail]>
Cc: "Stecker, Kathy" <[e-mail] >, "Rawls, Paul" <[e-mail] >,
"Strickland, Bev" <[e-mail]>
Subject: FW: Please help us Save Blonts Creek
Comments for LF
Amy Adams
Regional Office Supervisor
Surface Water Protection Section
NC Division of Water Quality
Washington Regional Office
www.ncwatergualitV.org
252.946.6481
**E -mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed
to third parties. **
From: Edward Rhine [mailto:edwardrhineCa)yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 11:17 AM
To: Adams, Amy
Cc: Ashley Vansant; billtucker; Bob Boulden; Bob Daw; Buster Thompson; Chris Toppings;
david.emmerlina(a ptrf.org; Gilbert Tripp; Heather Deck; Jennifer Watkins; Jimmy; Larry Payne; Mike
Fraley; Phyllis Hazel; Warren Tripp
Subject: Please help us Save Blonts Creek
Dear Ms. Adams,
My name is Edward Rhine and I am a retired Educator. I taught Science for almost 20 years
and retired as a Superintendent of School in upstate New York after 29 years in the Central
Office. My wife and I live in Bay Harbour on Blounts Creek and I have been actively involved
with a group of local citizens who are concerned about the impact the discharge of up to
12,000,000 gallons of water per day by Martin Marietta Mining will be to the creek. I am not
opposed to the mine and the jobs that will come wit it.

Part of my Masters Degree incorporated the study of wetlands ecology and associated animal
and plant species. I studied under Dr. William Neiring, an internationally renowned wetland
ecologist from Connecticut College. One thing that I learned and it was emphasized over and
over again was that these ecosystems in addition to being the most productive systems are also
very fragile. Minute changes can and do result in major changes to the system. What we are
looking at in this case is a series of significant changes to pH, salinity, turbidity and possibly
temperature. We can speculate about what the result of any one or all of these changes will be
but I think we all know that there will be changes to the creek. I guess the question is does
anyone in a position to stop this dumping care about the changes that will result. Must we, as we
have done many time in the past, wait until the damage is done and the look to place blame and
possibly attempt to restore this natural resource to its original condition?
Should this company be allowed to waste up to 12,000,000 gallons of water every day when
neighboring growing communities are struggling to provide adequate water? Why would the
DWQ allow this? The stated or implied reason we were given was that the alternative methods
of disposal are more costly. It would seem to me that the additional costs would be passed on to
the consumers of this stone. To my knowledge MMM has no competition in the area. To import
stone from hundreds of miles away would surely be more expensive. As a matter of fact, at the
informational meeting MMM held they told us that one of the benefits to the neighboring
communities of having the quarry here would be reduced costs due to not having to truck the
stone as far as they have to currently truck it. The additional costs factor does not hold water
pun intended).
I am also concerned about the impact all the additional trucks, loaded with tons of stone, will
have on our local roads. This would be another hidden cost to be assumed by the taxpayers, not
MMM. I realize this is not your problem but I think you can see that this is a real problem and a
real concern for many of our local taxpayers.
I join with the almost 1,000 people who have signed our petition asking you to deny this
application. Do the right thing, protect our water and our creek. Profits are important but not at
the expense of our natural resources. We can balance our need for this stone and still preserve
this pristine natural resource.
Thank you in advance for you attention and dedication. Having been a public servant myself
for 49 years, I appreciate the competing forces you must contend with and the feeling that you
are going to be criticized no matter what you do. My solution was always the same - I attempted
to the best of my ability to "do the right thing ". Please think about this as you consider your
response to the application.
Edward V. Rhine, Retired Educator
N