The Chapter has sent a mailing to every property owner in Rehoboth Beach to make them aware of the referendum coming up on borrowing money to fund the outfall pipe. The mailer aims to tell people that as property owners, they are eligible to vote in the election even if they don't live in Rehoboth. Here is a PDF of the one-page mailing. Please share this with those you know that own property in Rehoboth.
Talking Points for Friday's Hearing:
1) The Chapter is appealing the decision of DNREC to accept the findings of the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) supporting the outfall pipe option. That hearing is on June 23rd. It makes no sense to ask voters to borrow this money before this appeal is settled.
2) The final price of the outfall pipe is unknown. It will need seven state and federal permits in order to operate. No one has built an ocean outfall pipe in ten years, so it is very likely that whoever constructs it will NOT know everything that needs doing to satisfy these permits up front. If you are building a house and you find out you still need seven permits to move in, don't you think there is a chance that satisfying those seven permits will cost you some more money? Seems reasonable.
3) The main alternative to ocean outfall is land application. The EIS assumed that the City would have to buy land for land based, but this is not true. Utilities stated on the record that they have the land or will acquire land to deal with the treated water. So the entire conclusion of the EIS is based on false assumptions. Land based application can be done, and it can be done for less money, but it was never given a chance.
4) The outfall pipe will take the longest to build. Again, it hasn't been done in ten years. Whereas running pipes inland along state and county roads is routine. The seven permits needed will add to this time, and the longer this takes, the more pollution that goes into Rehoboth Bay. Land application requires fewer permits.
