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December 5, 2012

I wanted to say thanks to Amy Adams at DENR, Regional Surface Water Protection office in Washington N.C. for all your help on the issue in Oriental harbor of trawler sandblasting (that has stopped until it can be legally started again.)

Also to Towndock.net for not only printing my letter but following up on the situation. Thank you.

The seafood industry is a huge part of our past and future and water pollution is a guaranteed way to end it as it exists. I hope Oriental’s seafood industry can move forward. They are very much part of our future.

Sincerely,

Walter Lane
Oriental
12/6/12

After seeing Towndock today, December 4, and the short info on who to call if you happen to see someone, or something fouling the water around Oriental, I had a feeling that I am not alone in seeing, hearing, smelling, and wondering who to talk to about chips of trawler hull bottom paint and dust.

It’s been flying all over vessels docked in the harbor and liveaboards anchored in the harbor and Oriental Harbor Marina vessels, cars and trucks parked around the harbor and around the Farmers’ Market and the Bean and the Toucan Grill.

It depends on wind direction who gets polluted with paint chips and toxic dust on any given day. I live on my vessel on A dock and see, smell, and hear trawler hull paint chips and dust during north and east winds. The water, vessels, docks, cars, trucks, look like it just snowed, only it’s red, green, off-white, gray, and yellow chips and dust.

We are all here on earth to make a difference, hopefully to make it better, not worse for the future of Oriental.

You hear lots of folks saying, “It is what it is.” Well, what’s going on in the harbor with the trawlers being sandblasted, flushed out, polluting the water, air, and ground is very wrong!

Walter Lane
Oriental
12/4/12

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