That mountain is dumped into our air. Non-point source pollution is now the major cause of water quality degradation. We know development threatens water quality. When it comes down to funding priorities for the watershed, some would buy land and development rights to prevent pollution, while others would rather treat the stormwater from development. Of course, prevention is a sure thing.
Treatment is unproven, even prone to failure.
We will be sceptical of schemes that tax everyone to treat pollution from a few lakeside homes. See more on the subject here . That's the good news. The bad news is that it isn't THIS local mill. We get so used to tolerating the pollution that it becomes a tradition.