THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410220285
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Representatives of Kill Devil Hills, the Dare County schools and the Nature Conservancy have announced their support for exploring new technology which officials hope will eliminate the discharge of wastewater pollutants into Roanoke Sound.
The new proposal, called resource-recovery wastewater treatment, was developed in England and refined at Cornell University. It uses plants grown in sewage to remove pollutants.
Cornell has operated a pilot plant since 1986, which has proven effective in reducing adverse by-products of wastewater treatment.
While Kill Devil Hills Mayor Terry Gray was cautiously optimistic, he said it would not change the town's plans to refurbish its current wastewater treatment facility.
``Our preliminary investigation into this technology shows promise, at least on the surface, in that this approach requires less land, less funding, and is generally perceived as supportive of environmental concerns.''
However, he said, ``This latest option in no way represents an abandonment of our plans to refurbish the current system. It is merely a forward-thinking approach for possibly achieving the town's long-term goal of eliminating point-source discharge.''
Nature Conservancy spokesman Jeffrey Smith DeBlieu was also optimistic, but said there still are many unanswered questions.
``We have a lot of work to do before we know this is the answer, but the Nature Conservancy is committed to finding a solution that benefits the entire community.''
The Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Protection Agency have entered into an agreement to find ecologically and economically sound wastewater treatment solutions for small communities, particularly those near environmentally sensitive areas.
Board of Education member Fletcher Willey said the plan is another indication that the three groups are working together.
``This latest development, the total group's support for a good working solution for the Town of Kill Devil Hills, is just the latest evidence that we are continuing to work as a unified force,'' said Willey.
The working group, made up of school, town and environmental representatives, agreed last May on three goals: to eliminate point-source discharge from the Town of Kill Devil Hills wastewater treatment facility into Roanoke Sound, to preserve Run Hill and to provide a buildable site for a new beach high school.
The group had been in negotiations with Asheville businessman C. Wayne Kinser in an effort to merge the Ocean Acres treatment facility in Kill Devil Hills with the privately run Outer Banks Beach Club system that Kinser owns. Those negotiations broke down earlier this fall in part because it was too costly. by CNB