Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 3 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
Hazel River
Alert
To the Editor:
The State Water Control Board has under consideration the issuance of a permit for a sewage treatment plant on the Hazel River at Boston. There is an open comment period for the public for thirty days from the date of the first published notice on Nov. 22. Please take a moment during this busy season on think of the river and to write in your comments before Dec. 22.
This river is currently eligible to be considered for a Wild and Scenic designation, and is in the top two percent of the rivers in the United States for water quality. It currently meets the fishable and swimmable goals of the Clean Water Act. In the sewage permit application there is a statement from the Virginia Department of Health stating that it may be necessary to post signs on the U.S. 522 bridge that this area is not safe for swimming once the plant is constructed. This is an old swimming hole used by many generations of local folks for recreation and is also a site much used for canoe and tube launching.
The National Park Service writes in a letter to the Virginia Water Control Board, “In light of the alarming degradation of the nation’s aquatic ecosystems documented by the National Research Council, there is a growing awareness that unspoiled, natural rivers, such as the Hazel, may be the only source of native plant and animal species needed to restore the full health and benefits of an area’s rivers and 04506710bays.”
If we can get enough letters in to the DEQ we can bring about a Public Hearing on this use of the river. In
97.2%