REPORT: Fertilizer and Manure Are Polluting the Bay

By WAYNE CREED
Cape Charles Wave

April 6, 2014

According to a new report released by the U.S. Geological Survey, an excess of fertilizer and manure being used on Eastern Shore farms is excessively polluting rivers, streams and tributaries that flow into the Bay. The report, “Understanding Nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and Implications for Management and Restoration – The Eastern Shore,” is based on research and data which looks at the Eastern Shore, which is responsible for nearly twice as much nitrogen and phosphorus per square mile of land area as other parts of the watershed. The report indicates that most of the excess nutrients come from agricultural production of crops and livestock, which use inorganic fertilizers or manure.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the landmark Chesapeake Bay “pollution diet” in 2013 to restore clean water in the region’s streams, creeks, and rivers. Formally known as the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), the pollution diet identifies the necessary reductions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Key components are committing to more stringent nitrogen and phosphorus limits at wastewater treatment plants, dramatically increasing enforcement and compliance of state requirements for agriculture, and committing state funding to develop and implement state-of-the-art-technologies for converting animal manure to energy for farms.

Despite the federally imposed “Bay Pollution Diet,” the bay continues to be damaged by excessive nutrients, mostly nitrogen and phosphorus, which deplete the bay of oxygen needed for fish, crabs, and oysters, disturbs the habitat of underwater plants crucial for aquatic life and waterfowl, and causes harmful algal blooms and decreased water clarity, submerged aquatic vegetation, and dissolved oxygen.

“On the Eastern Shore, the concentrations of nitrogen in groundwater, and nitrogen and phosphorus in surface waters, are well above natural levels and are among the highest in the nation,” said co-author Scott Ator. “We are also seeing worsening nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the Choptank River, which is the largest river on the Eastern Shore, despite management practices to improve water quality.” Read more

LETTER
Supervisors: Read Your Own Report, Ditch Sewer Plan

December 8, 2014

DEAR EDITOR,

I have sent the following letter to the Board of Supervisors:

Dear Northampton County Board of Supervisors,

In considering the need for a central sewer system, I’d like you to study the attached report, produced by Northampton County. You’ve probably heard before that Northampton County is losing population. The attached report illustrates how the county population has declined steadily from 18,565 people in the 1930 census to just over 12,000 today (see Figures 3.2 and 3.3 in the attached report). We currently have less people in our county than in any time in the past century. We are nearing the point where we will have lost 50% of our population. This trend is predicted to continue for the forseeable future. Projections going out to 2040 predict a continued decline in population (see Table 3.3). [CLICK to download report.]

Population density has a direct bearing on the ability of an area to treat sewage effectively with septic systems as opposed to centralized sewer systems. “On June 28, 2013, EPA released a model program for onsite wastewater treatment systems in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to help states more effectively prevent nutrients from entering the Bay from onsite or septic systems, which will improve water quality. When properly designed, sited and maintained, decentralized systems like septic systems can treat wastewater effectively and protect surface water and groundwater.” (http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/septic/index.cfm).

The EPA also “concluded in its 1997 Response to Congress that “adequately managed decentralized wastewater systems are a cost-effective and long-term option for meeting public health and water quality goals, particularly in less densely populated areas.” (http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/septic/index.cfm). Read more

LETTER: News Reporting Should Be Unbiased

April 14, 2014

DEAR EDITOR, 

Perhaps like many of you, I grew up in a time when most news outlets operated under the Golden Rule. Television and radio stations were mandated to devote time to contrasting views on matters of public interest. They were also required to offer equal time to political candidates with opposing views. The policies that required this applied only to radio and television but, in simpler times, were a standard for all journalism. Unfortunately these policies were repealed in 1987.

While none of these rules were ever mandated for newspapers, many people still expect the news to be delivered in an unbiased fashion. Reading your April Fool’s story and subsequent postings made it very clear that the Wave has a political agenda and is actively promoting a particular point of view.

The right to vote is sacred and it is the duty of voters to learn as much as they can about all candidates and issues prior to voting in any election — national, state, or local. In every election, it is important to get information from multiple sources.

In Cape Charles, all of the candidates live just a few blocks away. We have the opportunity to watch how they volunteer their time in our community. We can speak to them directly and ask their opinions. We can attend Town Council meetings and candidate forums. It is only by knowing both sides of a story that we can be sure that we vote for what is best for our future.

NANCY DANIEL VEST
Cape Charles

Letters to the Editor are welcome, and a diversity of opinions is encouraged. Send submissions to [email protected].

REPORT: Why Water Bills Just Went Up Again

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

August 8, 2013

Yesterday Cape Charles residents received their first water bill with the huge new sewer increase – formerly $35.45, now $60.85. The rate hike is to pay debt service on the Town’s new sewer plant.

This is not the first double-digit rate increase caused by the new plant: In March 2009 Town Council hiked the $25 minimum sewer charge to $34.

The minimum sewer charge might not be the highest in the state, but other high-rate localities are “more affluent than Cape Charles,” according to USDA Rural Development official Kent Ware. The Town’s new $108 minimum monthly combined water bill is a burden on low-income and fixed-income residents, and appears likely to continue to drive them out of town.

How did the Town come to charge such a high rate? The answer is that plans for a new sewer plant were based on the assumption that the developers of Bay Creek would contribute significantly to the cost. When that didn’t happen, the Town went ahead and built the plant anyway, leaving ratepayers to shoulder the cost.

Town Council also raised, but then lowered, water and sewer connection fees for new service that are intended to pay capital costs of new water and sewer infrastructure.

How did it all happen? The Wave has unearthed some pieces of the puzzle. It begins 25 years ago with the mega-construction company Brown & Root, who decided to develop a large tract of land to be called Accawmacke Plantation and incorporate it into the Town of Cape Charles. Read more

Inside Business Report Focuses on Bayshore Concrete

EDITOR’S NOTE: From time to time, newspapers and magazines record their impressions of our fair village.

The reports invariably are of interest to local residents, even if they already know everything they read.  

Last May, the Hampton Roads business journal Inside Business sent reporter Bill Cresenzo and photographer Harry Gerwien across the Bay to take a measure of Cape Charles. They took a look, and saw Bayshore Concrete Products. Inside Business has graciously permitted the Wave to reprint the entire interesting story below.

CAPE CHARLES HAS A WAY OF STAYING ALIVE

By BILL CRESENZO
Inside Business
May 11, 2012

Dora Sullivan and Charles Brown are sitting in chairs on the sidewalk in the heart of Cape Charles on a recent sunny spring day.

The strip of commercial space that lines the town’s main street is quaint and historic, with a hardware store, a pub, a boutique hotel that just reopened and a couple of souvenir shops.

All are within walking distance of Cape Charles Beach, a well-kept stretch of sand that features a fishing pier that extends into the Chesapeake Bay — no fishing license required, compliments of the town.

Sullivan and Brown are quick to say hello to a couple of passers-by and introduce themselves.

Sullivan informs them that she is originally from Egypt.

Fifteen years ago, she and her husband, Michael, happened by the small town at the southern end of the Eastern Shore, while living in Virginia Beach. They decided they just had to live in Cape Charles.

Now “I’m the mayor,” Sullivan said.

She waved her hand at Brown.

“And this is our police chief.”

Across the harbor in view of where Sullivan and Brown sit is Bayshore Concrete Products with its cranes, its 86 rocky acres and concrete segments pointing to the sky, waiting to be shipped up the East Coast.

It’s a scene that one wouldn’t necessarily call pretty.

But in the eyes of Sullivan and Brown, who worked at Bayshore Concrete before becoming police chief, and of the residents of Cape Charles who depend on the company to keep the town’s economy alive, Bayshore Concrete — one of Northampton County’s largest employers — is a classic case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder.

“It is a most beautiful thing to look at,” Sullivan said, “because it creates jobs.” Read more

WAVY-TV News Report on Old School Controversy

Old school building sold for $10: wavy.com

To watch the WAVY news report, click “Read more” to enter full story; then click the PLAY button.

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

July 18, 2012

The WAVY Channel 10 news crew ventured across the bridge today to film a story about the controversy surrounding the Town of Cape Charles decision to sell the old school, basketball court, and parking lot adjoining Central Park to a private developer for $10.

The developer intends to convert the school into a 17-unit apartment building.

WAVY-10 interviewed Town Manager Heather Arcos as well as the president of Old School Cape Charles LLC, Wayne Creed. Old School Cape Charles is a legal entity formed by residents intent on saving the school for public use as a community center.

Cape Charles Mayor Dora Sullivan declined to be interviewed on camera.

The story aired during the 6 p.m. news on Wednesday on both WAVY-10 and FOX-43.

To watch the WAVY news report, click “Read more” to enter full story; then click the PLAY button.

2012-2015: A Record of Cape Charles News in the Wave

The Cape Charles Wave was published from July 2012 until July 2015. It remains online as a record of local events that occurred during those three years. Every story published in the Wave may be accessed by clicking on the various tabs at the top of the page.

The most-read stories over those three years are now featured permanently on our front pages, in order of popularity. Ironically, although a primary goal of the Wave was to inform voters on local issues, not a single political issue featured in the top 10 stories. Instead, real estate got by far the most attention — Aqua/Oyster Farm in particular. Even our little feature about the storybook cottage gas station eclipsed any reporting about local elections or any other town issue.

The story we had the most fun writing only placed #20. CLICK HERE to read it.

#2 Story
NJ Entrepreneur Buys AQUA, Marina, for $4.6 Million

Click the PLAY button above to watch the auction. Buyer Robert Occhifinto is on right. (WAVE video)

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

December 29, 2012

Five bidders signed up for the trustees’ auction yesterday in front of the Northampton County Courthouse, where AQUA restaurant, Bay Creek Marina, adjoining shops, and Marina Village rental units were on the block.

But when bidding began at $3.3 million,  the amount due on the bank note, the players quickly dropped to two: Eastville attorney Bert Turner, and New Jersey entrepreneur Robert Occhifinto.

Turner presumably was representing a client, while Occhifinto was bidding for himself.

The two began by raising each other’s bid by the minimum allowed — $10,000. Occhifinto soon tired of that game and bid a full $3.6 million.

Turner followed suit at $3.7 million.

And so it went for the next minute or so, until Turner bid $4.5 million. Occhifinto immediately came back with $4.6, and Turner was silent. That was his limit.

And so a new major investor has appeared on the lower Eastern Shore. Robert Occhifinto has actually been around for a while, but until 11:30 a.m. yesterday, few realized the extent of his interest or the depth of his pockets. Read more

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