Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Dec. 9, 1993, edition 1 / Page 2
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AS FEDS MANDATE WATER QUALITY UPGRADE.. Tough Decisions, More Controls Ahead I Symposium Speakers Say BY LYNN CARLSON The formula for solving the coast's water quality problems? Governments must: ? integrate their approaches to treating "point" and "nonpoint" sources of pollution (wastewater and storm water runoff in local parlance); ? address water quality needs in state-required land use plans; ? and think regionally. That was the consensus of academicians, politicians, government officials and other speakers participating in the first symposium on integrated coastal wastewater management in North Carolina, held Dec. 2 and 3 at Coastline Convention Center in Wilmington. Coordinated by the N C. Coastal Federation and spon sored by 1 1 entities, including Brunswick County, the event was attended by numerous local people, including elected officials and concerned citizens from Holden Beach, Shallotte and Sunset Beach and the surrounding areas. Wrapping up the session Friday were the chairmen of the state's Environmental Management Commission and Coastal Resources Commission, who said the two ap pointive boards will be working closely to establish coastal water quality standards and recommend to the General Assembly ways to enforce them while protect ing a beachfront economy heavily dependent on real es tate development and tourism. EMC Chairman David Moreau. who is also director of the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina, said over the next few years his board will be working with staff of the Office of Coastal Management to adopt maximum daily loads of pollutants entering river basins which drain into coastal areas. "We'd be looking at caps on pollutant loads from all sources," he said. "When they're reached, no further pollution-generating activities would be allowed." One barrier to that approach is that no mechanisms currently exist to manage growth, he said. "What if the existing loads already exceed what a cap would be? Would we ignore it and continue to issue permits? Would we declare a moratorium, an option I think most would find unacceptable?" CRC Chairman Eugene Tomlinson of Southport. who also serves on the Governor's Coastal Futures Com mittee, said improving coastal water quality makes it necessary to deal with "many important and stressful is sues. It is increasingly apparent that wastewater is of paramount importance to our protection efforts." Tomlinson said the CRC should have a future role in coastal wastewater management in North Carolina. "We'll be taking the technical information gathered and correlating it with various expertise to develop sensible rules and attain the goal of managing wastewater. Our approach will be proactive, not reactive." He said he is "firmly convinced" that local land use plans "are the base of proper wastewater management on the coast of North Carolina." Vereen Urges Action, Not Words To Stop Proposed Limestone Mine BY ERIC C ARLSON Despite hearing advice from the county attorney that it would do no good. Brunswick Commissioner Wayland Vereen wants the county board to adopt a resolution ban ning all deep quarrying operations like the one Martin Marietta Aggregates plans to open near Southport. "We're all saying we don't want it, but were not doing anything about it," Vereen said at the county commis sioners regular meeting Monday night. "It's time we took a stand for something." Vereen, who represents the district where the pro posed quarry would go, said he plans to consult with County Attorney Michael Ramos and the N.C. Institute of Government at Chapel Hill for help in drafting a local regulation to stop the company from mining. Martin Marietta has applied for a state permit to ex tract and process limestone on a 1,000-acre site off N.C. 211 near the Brunswick Nuclear Plant and the Sunny Point military ammunition terminal. Last week about 350 people, nearly all opponents, showed up for a public hearing to hear comment on the permit application. Vereen on Monday first asked the commissioners to reconsider a previously defeated resolution that would have prevented Martin Marietta ? and anyone else in the county ? from getting a building permit pending consid eration of a proposed change in the zoning ordinance that would prohibit any mining operation that requires blasting. That proposal is dnder consideration by the county planning board. When the other commissioners showed no inclination to support Vereen 's motion, he suggested several others aimed at stopping the mine, including one that said "any mining that starts down at 90 feet should not be permit ted" in Brunswick County. "You can put it any way you want to," Vereen said. "We can come back tomorrow night or the next night or the next if we have to. So far we're doing a lot of talking and not doing anything." Ramos cautioned that any local move to prohibit the mine is almost sure to be overruled if the state grants Martin Marietta a permit. "If the state approves it, you can't ban it," Ramos said. "It's like an ABC permit. A lot of places have tried to stop them. But if the state authorizes one, it can't be prohibited by local government." Ramos agreed to help Vereen come up with a narrow ly defined regulation targeted at some of the environ mental concerns raised by mining opponents. "Instead of a shotgun approach, you might be able to get them with a knife point," he said. Commission Chairman Don Warren said he would call a special meeting to consider Vereen 's proposal if necessary. In other business, the board voted unanimously to cancel the county's contract with Service America for meals at the Department of Aging nutrition sites and its meals-on-wheels program. Recipients have complained loudly about a drop in food quality since last August, when the board voted to pay a private contractor for ser vice formerly provided by the county cafeteria. The board agreed to advertise for bids on the service and to have the cafeteria submit a new proposal. If the cafeteria wins the contract, the county will probably have to reinstate a full-time position eliminated from the budget after the August vote. As required in the contract. Service America will be given 60 days notice before termination. The board also heard an explanation from former county commissioner Benny Ludlum about the recent trash clean-up on his property authorized by County Manager Wyman Yelton. A county employee with a backhoe spent an eight-hour day Nov. 9 removing debris from a strip of Ludlum s subdivision lots on Lakeside Avenue, off Oxpen Road. Ludlum told the board that the old burnt building, rusted car parts, wooden crates and other items removed in the clean-up were illegally dumped there because of the land's proximity to the county's Oxpen solid waste convenience site, located about a half mile away. After becoming dissatisfied with the county's response to his complaint about the dumping, Ludlum said he met with Yelton and requested the clean-up. Warren asked Yelton to prepare a report on the matter for the board's next meeting. In the board's annua! reorganization. Democrats again used their three- vote majority to name Warren chair man. Former Vice Chairman Tom Rabon nominated Vereen to assume his post and the three voted to approve the change. Commissioner Donald Shaw nominated fel low Republican Jerry Jones to be chairman, while Jones reciprocated by suggesting Shaw for vice chairman. In other matters: ? Ramos reported that the N.C. Supreme Court has reversed an appeals court decision on which the duPont Company based its protest of the county's attempts to collect millions of dollars in back taxes through a pri vate collection firm. "Hopefully that will be the end of their appeal," Ramos said. ? State Senator R.C. Soles introduced the board to Leo Mercer, who is Gov. Jim Hunt's newly named spe cial assistant for eastern North Carolina. ? Henry Tonn of the Old Towne subdivision in Leland complained about the need for a county ordi nance to regulate barking dogs. He said his neighbor's dogs bark constantly, forcing him to sleep in his living room. "I'm a prisoner in my own house," he said. ? No action was taken on the scheduled appointment for the nurse position on the Brunswick County Board of Health. The sitting member Patricia Nutter was not nominated for re-appointment. In bringing up the agenda item for consideration, Warren, who is also a member of the health board, commented, "I don't have anybody at this time." ? Robert Black of Shell Point was appointed as an al ternate to the zoning board of adjustment. ? Debbie Barthlow of Long Beach and Ronald Williams of Leland were appointed to the Aging Advisory Council. Taxpayers React To Revaluation (Continued From Page 1-A) appraiser," Williamson said. "Our appraisers don't go inside unless there is an appeal, so they don't know about any interior problems." LeAnne Crouch, the county's clerical supervisor for the revalua tion, said the office's three tele phones have been "constantly ring ing" since the appraisals went out. She said most concerns seem to stem from a misunderstanding of the revaluation process. "The comment I hear most is from people who think their proper ty has jumped an incredible amount in value over just one year," Crouch said. "But the schedule of values hasn't changed in eight years. So last year's appraisal was still based on the 1986 schedule of values. Even if they just built a new house, it was appraised last year based on 1986 construction costs." Williamson said the average jump in property values for this revalua tion is about half what it was be tween 1978 and 1986, when ap praisals rose 50 percent over eight years. The 1993 revaluation shows an overall increase of about 25 to 28 percent. "That doesn't mean everyone will see that amount of increase," Williamson said. "Some will go up 200 percent. Others won't even go up 5 percent." As in past years the average value of property and the rate of apprecia tion is highest along the southern beaches with amounts increasing from Long Beach to Holden Beach to Ocean Isle Beach to Sunset Beach, Williamson said. Property in the popular retirement areas of Calabash and along the Intracoastal Waterway also saw increases that were far above average. Crouch said it was not unusual for a $250,000 house in Sunset Beach to increase in value by as much as $150,000. "If someone's property value in creased significantly, it probably means they are in a high-activity, high-demand area and they've made a good investment," Williamson said. "If their property went up a bunch, they should consider them selves somewhat fortunate. Isn't that what people kind of want to hap pen?" Still, the question on everyone's mind is the bottom line: "How much will my property tax go up?" "I can't answer that," said Williamson. "Nobody can until we finalize the county's total value and until the commissioners set a new tax rate next July. We always as sume that the rate will be adjusted downward to reflect the increase in values." As of today, before any adjust ments are made in response to ap peals, the county's total property value is $5.5 billion (based on the 1993 valuation), which represents a jump of about $1.1 billion over last year (based on the 1986 valuation). During the last revaluation transi tion, the county's total worth rose from $2.2 billion to $3.8 billion. That year the county tax rate went from 59.5 cents per $100 valuation in 1985 to 46.5 percent in 1986, Williamson said. Anyone who has a question about their new tax appraisal or who wants to schedule an informal hearing with an appraiser should call the revalua tion office at (910) 253-7616. The hearings are held at the Brunswick County Tax Office in Bolivia and take about 20 minutes. Parking has been reserved in front of the build ing for those with appointments for hearings. After the informal hearing, the applicant's property will be re-eval uated and a notice will be mailed to inform the owner whether an adjust ment is recommended. Those who disagree with the findings may schedule a formal hearing with the Board of Equalization and Review. Tomlinson was quick to add that care must foe taken to protect the coastal economy in the process of controlling growth and managing water quality. "Coastal North Carolina is a major asset, and tourism is a major eco nomic factor in North Carolina," he told the gathering. He called for the General Assemfoly to grant increased authority to the CRC to "require and enforce the require ments for land use plans to adequately address waste water treatment needs under the Coastal Area Management Act," taking into account the carrying ca pacity of individual areas. "As unpalatahle as this may he, failure to adequately address wastewater treatment needs should result in seri ous penalties and the withholding of grants." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contends that water quality remains one of the most serious envi ronmental prohlems in the United States. According to the most Octoher issue of "Coastal Comments," a publication of the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, "In coastal areas, shellfish foed closures, loss of biological productivity, and foeach clo sures are evidence of water quality problems. Experts agree that polluted runoff ? known as nonpoint source pollution ? is a major cause of declining water quality." Coastal waters are affected by both point and non point pollutants. Point sources include the discharge from municipal sewage treatment plants and overloaded or malfunctioning septic tanks. Nonpoint source pollu tion happens when rainwater does not drain; it can in clude such contaminants as agricultural and industrial chemicals as well as fecal coliform from animal waste and from leaching septic tanks. In 1990, Congress voted to require coastal states to clean up nonpoint source pollution when it reauthorized the federal Coastal Zone Management Act. States with federally approved coastal zone management programs, like North Carolina, were required to begin developing coastal nonpoint source control programs. North Carolina must submit a coastal nonpoint source program to the federal government by July 1995. Moreau said a study of the Cape Fear River basin is due to be completed next year. "I think we'll see that there won't be much water quality resource left to allo cate. This poses a serious challenge as to how we would live under a cap." Tomlinson said one option being considered by coastal regulatory boards is "transboundary planning" to ensure that one community's problems don't diminish another's water quality. He said the state's coast includes four general regions? the Brunswick County coast; the area from Cape Fear through Topsail Island; the Crescent Coast from Emerald Isle to Atlantic Beach; and the Outer Banks from Cape Lookout to Virginia. Tomlinson praised North Carolina's 20-year-old coastal management program and encouraged the sym posium participants to follow the work of the Coastal Futures Committee. "I encourage each one of you to spread the word, to watch what we're up to and the rec ommendations that come out. Let the General Assembly know what you want to come out." New Terms Begin Taking the oath of office at Sunset Beach Monday were (from left) new Councilman Herb Klinker, in cumbent Councilmen Julia Thomas and Ed Gore, and Mayor Mason Barber. They were sworn in by Town Administrator Linda Fluegel, at right. Council later elected Gore to continue as mayor pro tem and Thomas to continue as finance officer. Council passed a resolution thanking outgoing Councilman Bud Scrantom for his four years of sen ice to the town;. NINE MAKE FIRST COURT APPEARANCE Tenth Suspect May Be In Bahamas (Continued From Page 1-A) If convicted of murder, the 16 year-olds face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. They are being held in lieu of a $250, 000 cash bond. The older suspects could face the death penalty and are being held with out bond. A tenth war rant has been is sued for the ar rest of Byron Henry Knowles, KNOWLES 24, whose cur rent address is listed as an apartment on St. Andrews Drive, Wilmington. Records at Brunswick Community College list Knowles as a student in the air conditioning, heating and re frigeration curriculum. The college directory lists Queen's College in Freeport, Bahamas, as the most re cent school Knowles attended. Investigators say Knowles could be extradited to the U.S. for prose cution if he is found in the Bahamas. Although few details of the mur der have been released. Miller con firmed that the killing "may have been drug-related." However, he disputed a report quoting him saying that Davis went to a mobile home on Randolphville Road to buy crack co caine. "I don't know where they got that," Miller said. "We don't know why Davis went there." It was at the Randolph Mobile Home Park that Davis and a friend reportedly got into an argument with one of the murder suspects on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 29, Miller said. After the two men left, Davis dropped his friend off and drove home. Two cars carrying the 10 murder suspects were waiting for Davis when he arrived, investigators say. They aren't saying what happened next ? only that Davis was found dead lying on his hack in the drive way Monday morning. Miller said that if all 10 went to the Davis home knowing that some kind of crime was about to be com mitted, all 10 could all be prosecut ed for murder. "It just goes to show that you need to watch who you get into a car with," Miller said. One by one, each of the six new suspects was brought into district court in orange jail jumpsuits and handcuffs Thursday afternoon. Some had their parents in the audi ence. Others faced Judge Ola Lewis alone as she considered bond and chose court-appointed attorneys to represent them. Named to defend the six were Sheila McLamb for Mitchell, James Payne for Randolph, Dennis Worley of Tabor City for Anthony Smith, Benedict Del Re for Nicholas Smith, Craig Wright of Columbus County for Stancil and Joseph Causey for Williams. Earlier last week, attorney Michael Ramos was appointed to defend Ford. None of those arrested in the case last Wednesday have lengthy arrest records listed in the Brunswick County Clerk of Courts office. Randolph was given a two-year sus pended sentence in a December 1992 assault case. Anthony Smith was arrested on a larceny charge in 1991. Stancil was charged with dri ving while impaired last October. Ford was given two years proba tion in a March 1992 conviction for carrying a semi-automatic handgun into the G.F.B. Club in Ash. An as Local Weather Expected To 'Feel Like Christmas' Seasonable weather is in the im mediate forecast for the South Brunswick Islands area, cool enough to "feel like Christmas" but not too cold, says Shallotte Point meteorolo gist Jackson Canady. He expects that trend to continue in the near future, with no major weather swings. Canady anticipates temperatures averaging from the upper 30s at night into the upper 50s during the daytime, with about a half-inch of rainfall. For the period Nov. 30 through Dec. 6, Canady recorded a high of 73 degrees on Dec. 4 and a mini mum low of 32 degrees on Nov. 30. A daily average high of 66 de grees and an average nightly low of 41 degrees combined for a daily av erage temperature of 53 degrees. That is about 5 degrees above aver age, he said. Canady recorded two-tenths of an inch of rainfall during the period. sault charge brought against Ford in that case was dismissed after the al leged victim did not show up to tes tify. In July, a warrant was issued for Ford's arrest on a charge of selling a rock of crack cocaine to an under cover officer last February. The war rant was not served and the charge was dismissed when the district at torney's office learned that the offi cer was no longer available to testi fy Jones was charged with voluntary manslaughter Oct. 7, 1992, after he allegedly stabbed Jamie Levaughn Moore to death during an altercation at the Randolph Mobile Home Park. Charges against Jones were dis missed after a Brunswick County Grand Jury could not find probable cause to indict Moore. Ford was taken to Dosher Memorial Hospital Thursday after noon for examination after he al legedly collapsed in the Brunswick County Jail. Ford was later trans ferred to Central Prison in Raleigh. "He was sent there as a precau tionary measure because we believe he may be a security risk," said the jail supervisor, Capt. Douglas "Son ny" Padgett. Check Out The Real Estate Listings In The Beacon THE BRUNSWKKftKACON Established Nov. 1, 1962 Telephone 754-6890 Published Every Thursday At 4709 Main Street Shallotte, N.C. 28459 SUBSCRIPTION RATES IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY One Year $10.36 Six Months $5.55 ELSEWHERE IN NORTH CAROLINA One Year $14.86 Six Months $7.90 ELSEWHERE IN U.S.A. One Year.. $15.95 Six Months $8.35 Second class postage paid at Shallotte, N.C. 28459. USPS 777 780. Postmaster, send address changes to: P.O. Box 2558, Shallotte, N.C. 28459-2558
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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