After stalling for several months, this proposal is suddenly moving very quickly. There was a surprise special hearing about it on Monday December 7, and after we pressed for it, the Town has agreed to accept written public comments about the new plant until 2 pm today.

The Watauga River cannot handle more sewage plants. There are currently 36 permitted active and expired discharges on the Watauga River, many of which fail to meet standards. Just upstream from Seven Devils, The Ponds wastewater discharge plant has been in flagrant violation of North Carolina’s water quality regulations. When our Watauga Riverkeeper program began sampling there this summer, samples were 20-40 times over the EPA’s safety limit for E. coli pollution, and at times were so high that they maxed out our water monitoring equipment. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s follow-up visit to that plant discovered corroded leaking pipes, inactive overflow alarm systems and uncontrolled solids buildup – all indicating a serious threat to the river we love.