Obama’s damage

I want to thank Mr. Burrell for correcting my Letter to the Editor where I stated that Nebraska sold their Yes Vote on Obama Care for a free ride on their financial obligations to Medicare forever.

They actually sold their Yes Vote for a free ride on Medicaid  forever.

Louisiana and several other states sold their Yes Votes for several million dollars.

You suggested that these bribes should be looked into. My question is by whom? The 30+ Czars appointed by Obama?

 Many of the Czars owe several thousand dollars to the IRS for delinquent taxes.

Mr. Burrell per your suggestion the following is my attempt at "reality."

The damage that Obama has done and is doing to our country may be irreversible.

Granted, he inherited a faltering economy, but what is he doing to repair it?

 The Stimulus Program isn't working. Just check the unemployment statistics.

 If the idea was to get money into the hands of the citizens, why didn't he suspend personal and small business federal taxes for as many months as it would take to get the economy back on track?

That would of put money directly in the hands of the citizens and the largest employers in the country. Small businesses.

Of course, by giving the tax payers their own money back the federal government would not have the control of the private sector that they are attempting to do by taking over and operating private businesses.

In one year of Obama’s presidency, the Federal government owns major interests in some of the larger companies with GM being the most notable.

To the administration’s credit they are allowing banks to pay back loans that some of them were forced to take. It certainly feels like Socialism.

The administration’s foreign policy is nothing more than Obama apologizing for the U.S. in every foreign country he goes to.

Your comments about the aggressiveness of Israel towards the Palestinians are unfounded.

Israel has time and time again not retaliated for rockets shot at them and suicide bombers let loose on the streets of Israel.

Like most things in life, "enough is enough" and Israel is now retaliating by answering the Hamas’ rocket and suicide attacks. Israel is the only true democracy in that part of the world.

I am writing this as the election for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat is being decided in Massachusetts.

 I am claiming victory for most all U.S. citizens who don’t want the direction of our country to change. (pre Obama).

Jim Reitano

Pawleys Island

Bad headline

The headline on the front page of your January 18, 2010 edition stating “DeBordieu Sewage Will Go Into River” is misleading your readers and is a distortion of facts.  Raw sewage will not go into the river.  The water that will be discharged is secondarily treated waste water that is treated to the same extent as the waste water that is discharged into the Waccamaw River by all the sewage treatment plants on the Waccamaw Neck.  The city of Georgetown also discharges secondarily treated waste water into the Sampit River including the sewage generated by your own facility on Front Street.  All major communities and towns from Georgetown up to Myrtle Beach and Conway discharge waste water in this manner except DeBordieu.

Under a 1986 DHEC permit, DeBordieu disposes of its treated waste water by land spraying on its golf course. DeBordieu is the only community on the Waccamaw Neck re-using waste water in this manner.  The growth on the Waccamaw Neck in the past twenty years has been accompanied with growth in treated waste water which must be disposed of.  Discharges into rivers have increased.  DeBordieu has also grown during the past twenty years and the waste water generated has increased.  As reported the golf course is no longer performing the required filtration because it is overwhelmed with the volume of waste water.

DeBordieu is the only community that borders the pristine waters of North Inlet which is designated as an Outstanding Resource Water by DHEC.  With this designation are rigorous restrictions on runoff and discharges to protect these waters.  As waste water sprayed on the golf course has increased, there are risks that this waste water can seep into North Inlet.  Because of this risk the residents of DeBordieu have requested a disposal alternative to protect North Inlet.

Although part of the public record, your reporter has failed to include the alternatives that DeBordieu has already explored such as spraying on forest land owned by Clemson University and the creation of artificial wetlands.  Because of the restrictions of North Inlet, these alternatives would not comply with regulatory requirements.   And there was no mention that DeBordieu voluntarily reduced the number of residences to be built from 3,000 in the originally approved Planned Unit Development to 1,235 thereby reducing our environmental footprint and generated waste water.  The land that would have been built on was donated to Clemson University for research projects and will not be developed.

Your reporter also has not informed your readers that the proposed river discharge meets all state and federal requirements and is treated to the same level as other towns and communities.  And your reporting has not made it clear that DeBordieu will continue to irrigate waste water on the golf course when it is dry enough to absorb and filter the waste water without creating runoff which could damage the waters of North Inlet.  And there is no mention that DeBordieu will still be the only community re-using waste water on the entire Waccamaw Neck.  And none of your articles on this subject have informed your readers that the current permitted discharge of treated waste water from all the other towns and communities on the Waccamaw Neck to the Waccamaw River is 40,000,000 gallons per day. The average daily rate of discharge for DeBordieu will be about 150,000 gallons per day depending on rainfall and drought conditions. Nor does your reporting make it clear that DeBordieu residents are so concerned with protecting the cleanliness of the waters of North Inlet that we have accepted the financial obligation to pay for this project and no public funds will be utilized nor will there be any increased costs for other customers of Georgetown County Water and Sewer District.

The overall implication of your coverage on this subject is that discharging 40 million gallons of treated waste water into the Waccamaw and Sampit rivers by all other communities in the area is acceptable but DeBordieu should not be allowed to do this, even with scientific data showing this alternative will protect North Inlet with negligible impact on the Waccamaw River.  Why?

While your reporting has included accurate information, omissions in fact and perspective and sensationalistic headlines have been misleading to your readers.  Journalistic standards require you to include all relevant facts so your readers get the entire story.  In this case your paper and your reporter have failed that standard.

 Wilson Lowery

Georgetown

‘Biased and prejudicial’

Well, the Georgetown Times is at it again (DEBORDIEU SEWAGE WILL GO INTO RIVER) January 18, 2010.

As I am sure the writer for the Times is well aware, there is a real and implied difference between “sewage” and “treated effluent”. In fact, in the body of the article the writer revealed what  has been repeatedly stated by DHEC, Georgetown County officials, and others in the scientific community: namely that  the excess water from DeBordieu has been shown not to be detrimental to the water quality of the Waccamaw River.

The inaccurate but attention getting headline appears to imply something different.

Why not state the fact that DeBordieu is the only community between Georgetown and Murrells Inlet that does not presently discharge effluent into the Waccamaw River? Why not state the fact that the occasional discharge from DeBordieu will be miniscule in comparison and exactly the same treated water that has been sprayed with no ill effects throughout the residential area of the DeBordieu golf course for over 20 years?

It’s one thing to try to sell papers; it’s something else to do it in a biased and prejudicial fashion. It appears the writer is not interested in letting the facts stand in the way of a good headline.

Geoff Groat    

Georgetown