Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-10-08
Posing the Buck

:
/ think @. Wallace Carper.
chairman Of the Fairfax Board
Of County Supervisors. and
The Evening Star owe the vir-
sinia State Water Control
Board some corrective article
to show who is really passing
the buck" and who is holding
the ..hot potato" mentioned in
your October 4 editorial.
Passing the Buck"
You state in effect that the
Virginia Water Control Board
acted favorably on my case at
the outset without adequate
study. then reopened it at a
hearing when a storm of pro-
tests arose. The board acted
favorably upon the very ade-
quate advice of engineers, pub
lie and private, whose qualifi-
cations and integrity are
widely recognized. and have
never been questioned. The
so-calied storm Of protests
must have petered out before
the hearing opened according
to tape recordings and wit
nesses present. I believe Fair
fax County representatives and
others at the start of that
meeting stated officially that
they we're not there to oppose
the boards action on my case,
and the few persons who did
protest were obliged to admit
they had no facts or evidence
to prove that my proposal
would result in any health
hazard or stream nuisance. On
the other hand. the board has
evidence that Fairfax County,
at that very same moment,
was planning to build a sew
age disposal plant Gift sta
tom on Dead Run. only a mile
away. I do not believe there
is q competent sanitary engi-
neer In Fairfax County who
viii deny that the county
plant constitutes a far greater
health hazard, stream nui-
sance and dangerous prece-
dent than any number of
plants such as I propose. AS a
matter Of fact, in Fairfax
County there are several sew
age disposal plants Gift sta
tions) recently built and fully
equipped according to Fair
fax County's standards. I be-
leve the sanitary engineers for
the Virginia Water Control
Board have records proving
these same sewage pumping
plants have by-passed hum
dreds of thousands of gallons
Of raw unchlorinated human
waste, even at times when
there was no power failure,
and into such critical streams
as the Accotink from which
Fort Belvoir takes its water
supply.
The fact shall remain that
my proposal did not include a
mere disposal plant subject to
the by-pasSing Of raw sewage,
always present at lift stations.
but did include q treatment
plant which can be built and
operated without by-passes of
any sort which would allow
raw sewage to get into the
stream.
! cannot see how the State
water Control Board could be
expected to deny my proposal
on Scott Run. and at the same
time grant Fairfax County's
proposal on Dead Run, with
out violating the rights of free
enterprise when in direct
competition with the county.
That seems to me to be the
most important issue during
these times if we are to pre-
serve free enterprise which
includes a free press.
John Bobby.
Editors note: The Dead
Run lift station the county is
building is strictly a pumping
station to lift sewage ont of
the Dead Run drainage area
(which does flow into the Po-
tomac above the Districts
water intake) and carry it to
the new Pimmit Run treat
ment plant the county is
about to build. Pimmit Run
flows into the Potomac River