CEPTIC TANKS, VERY IMPORTANT

Hi Everybody, please read this letter from one of our residences, it is very important and it may affect everyone of us..... Dave

Dear Senator Constantine,
It has come to my attention that you have introduced yet another bill (SB 274) that, if passed, severely and negatively impacts the 70,000+ residents of the Wekiva River Basin area with no particular, or measurable benefit to the environment or the water quality.

I am very aware of your concern and dedication to the environmental quality of life along and in the Wekiva River. I am also very aware that, although the change in DOH rules and/or EPA standards will force homeowners to install a certain type of replacement system, there is no system replacement available that guarantees it will produce the nitrogen reduction results you seek. Further, your efforts are aimed at a group and a circumstance that DOH studies prove is responsible for less than 6% of the nitrogen going into the Wekiva Basin area. Can you tell me what people are supposed to do for sewage treatment when hurricanes hit and there is no power to run these high tech septic “solutions”? Are we supposed to live in hotels for weeks, or live with backed up sewage into our homes? I think that represents a far greater threat to the environment – and to our health - than our current low tech, low impact solution.

In fact, your bill will financially destroy further the value of homes in this area already hit by a 30% reduction in marketable value. The enormous cost to install and maintain the “preferred” systems is beyond the means of most homeowners. For my family, this relentless pursuit of a standard that cannot be achieved by any available means, puts us in a situation where we will not be able to afford to live in our home, nor will we be able to sell it. Your bill effectively destroys forty years of building equity in our home, saving for retirement, and being able to control our monthly expenses into retirement. That is unconscionable!

It is beyond my comprehension that you would allow this situation to continue as a threat over the heads of the citizens of this area. I ask that you withdraw your bill, and understand that your continual push for these unachievable standards is creating economic chaos in our lives. I think there is currently enough of that and you should not be adding to the burdens of your fellow citizens and constituents. I think your energy would be better spent finding ways to eliminate wasteful and unproductive bureaucratic spending so we can adequately fund our schools.

Sincerely,
Andrea Samson