Tom Panetta is a standing member of the Lewes Board of Public Works, the Lewes Planning Commission, and the sea level rise subcommittee. Other planning commissioners also serve on the sea level rise subcommittee and have drafted two city code ordinances which will alter building requirements for property owners in the water recharge area. Once drafted, the foreboding, restrictive building ordinance recommendations were then presented back to themselves as planning commissioners for approval. Is this not a conflict of interest?
The Sea Level Rise Ordinance proposes elevating the first floor of new structures above the floodplain by 18 inches, plus an additional sea level rise index, but does not allow equivalent height elevation.
The Water Resources Protection Ordinance proposes to protect public drinking water resources and aquifers from contamination and pollution, and to ensure that groundwater quality and quantity are adequately protected and maintained. This ordinance suggests a 50 percent lot coverage with an option for an additional 10 percent within the groundwater recharge areas.
These two proposals exclude the critical and vulnerable Lewes WWTF located in a tidal wetland with no plans for relocation or effluent redirection. From the 2011 Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Action Plan: “During Hurricane Sandy there was an untreated sewage overflow from the WWTF into the wetlands and homes.” (Pg. 44). Furthermore, from the Lewes City Code section 197-75 E(5) titled ‘Water Resources Protection Area: Source Water Protection Overlay’ states: “Wastewater treatment and disposal systems. Such systems shall not be permitted in an excellent groundwater recharge potential area.” Mr. Panetta states that the WWTF is “grandfathered in” with elevation certificates; however two WWTF elevation certificates expired in 2012 and were for two of the tallest structures in the facility, excluding the ground-level sewage sludge bins in the tidal wetland.
If these two proposed ordinances are approved by city council, complications could possibly arise from lenders, insurance companies and homeowners. Mortgage loans could be called, insurance premiums could escalate and/or insurance policies could be canceled. Banks and insurance companies could possibly file lawsuits based on changes to their existing risk exposure and coverage value. The city solicitor, Glenn Mandalas, alluded publicly to the city’s potential legal nightmare and financial quagmire caused by these ordinances if approved. Some believe defending against these potential litigation battles will bankrupt the City of Lewes.
In last Friday’s Cape Gazette, Mr. Panetta attempted to refute Fred Beaufait’s letter to the editor. Mr. Panetta blames the filter manufacturer, the operator, and others for the 4 million-gallon, nine-day partially/untreated sewage spill in December 2019 when BPW was ultimately the supervising authority of the WWTF.
The WWTF currently pumps over 1,000,000 gallons of effluent per day (average) into the canal. With more annexation and rampant new construction over the next five years within the Lewes sewer district, this volume will increase dramatically. Over the next 10 years the volume of effluent could exceed 4 billion gallons which could otherwise be recycled and reused as potable water for spray irrigation and/or utilizing Rapid Infiltration Basin technology. Tidewater Utilities submitted an RIB proposal to the Rehoboth Beach commissioners before ocean outfall was adopted. Go to the EPA Water Reuse website:
https://www.epa.gov/waterreuse/basic-information-about-water-reuse.
Federal, state, county and municipal money, and eight large parcels of city and state-owned land within four miles of the Lewes WWTF could be available for such a project.
I respect Mr. Panetta’s intellect, but is he unknowingly and/or unintentionally creating a chaotic scenario with dramatic consequences for us all...? Maybe he should step aside and let new ideas come forward.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
