20111013 Ver 2_Public Comments_20130408 (3)

Strickland, Bev
From:
Karoly, Cyndi
Sent:
Monday, April 08, 2013 10:57 AM
To:
Strickland, Bev
Subject:
FW: MMM Permit
From: Edward Rhine [mailto:edwardrhineCa)yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 10:57 AM
To: Adams, Amy; Karoly, Cyndi; Belnick, Tom
Subject: MMM Permit
Dear Sirs;
The deadline is fast approaching for you to announce your decision on the permit requested by Martin Marietta
to discharge 9,000,000 gallons of water into the headwaters of Blounts creek.
The application is supported by a "study" done by CZR Inc. The credibility of this study has been questioned
by several scientists. The study reaches conclusions that are not only not supported by the data but in some
cases the conclusions actually contradict the data. They do conclude that the discharge will raise the pH but
attempt to disguise this change as good for the fresh water species. The combination of increasing the pH,
reducing the salinity and increasing the turbidity will eliminate the salt water species currently found in
abundance including the specked trout, striped bass, flounder and blue clawed crabs. CZR concludes that the
discharge will have no major impact on the creek. Eliminating all salt water species would seem to me to be a
pretty MAJOR impact. In their report they use a gravel bottom stream in New England to draw some of their
comparisons. Is Blounts creek a gravel bottomed fast moving mountain stream? Is this science? I think not. It
is an amateurish attempt to give MMM what they needed, a study that said the discharge would have no
significant impact on the creek. They got what they paid for.
Again the "study" does conclude that the discharge will raise the pH. They attempt to minimize the increase but
as "scientists" I am sure they know that pH is a Logarithmic scale. A change of one represents an increase or
decrease of l OX the first measurement. An increase or decrease of 2 represents a change of 100! Rounding off
their own numbers they suggest an increase of pH of nearly 3 (from a pH Of 4 to a pH of 7). This is a one
thousand(1000) fold increase not some minor change. Additionally, and I am sure you know this, they are not
allowed to change the pH under existing North Carolina law. This by itself should be justification enough to
deny this permit.
Now for the discussion of Aluminum. In this part of the report (based on the data from the New England
stream) they attempt to show that increasing the pH will help to lower the Al content of the water in Blounts
creek thus making it a better environment for the fresh water species. The problem here is that they did not
establish that there was any Al in the water in Blounts creek, They apparently assume that if the acidic water
leached the Al out of somewhere (probably the rocks in the bottom of the stream) then the acidic water in
Blounts creek would contain high concentrations of Al due to the assumed leaching. Again - is this science? If
any of my students reached such conclusions they would have received a failing grade. If asked to grade this
study I would give it an F.
On Saturday April 6th a "Save Blounts Creek Jubilee" was held at Cotton Patch Landing on Blounts creek.

Over 100 people attended and nearly $1000 was donated to continue the battle to protect this pristine natural
resource. We have over 1,000 signatures on our petitions which you have or will be receiving. We are not
finished and we will not just go away.
Our question is "Why won't MMM do the right thing "? They can easily pass on the additional costs of treating
the water on to the consumers. They have no local competition. Should they be allowed to destroy one natural
resource in order to avail themselves of another natural resource? Who do these resources belong to and who is
looking out for them and for us. They belong to us - the people and YOU are supposed to protect these
resources and us! Please do the right thing. Do not allow them to waste up to 12,000,000 gallons of water
every day. Do not allow the aquifer to potentially be replaced by salt water (intrusion) and do not allow Blounts
creek - a brackish estuary - to be destroyed and replaced by who knows what!
Thank you for your attention and hard work. I have been a public servant for my entire 49 year career and I am
fully aware of the pressures on you. No matter what you do someone is going to be upset with you. When
making these tough decisions my litmus test was always - is this the right thing to do. If the answer was yes
then I did it and dealt with the consequences. I ask - no I expect you to do the same.
Ed Rhine, Retired Science Teacher & Superintendent of Schools