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M <br /> -2- 7 <br /> Unsuitable soils. You have already received copies of the soil testing report <br /> dated November 16, 1993 performed by Barrett Kays & Associates (Kays Soils <br /> Report). The Kays Soils Report indicates that 80%of the 10 acres of soils in the <br /> primary nitrification fields at Piney Mountain are unsuitable. You will shortly be <br /> receiving a report from Thomas Konsler, of the Orange County Health Department, <br /> confirming the Kays Soils Report and stating that only 1.5 of the 7 acres of designated <br /> repair area at Piney Mountain contain suitable soils. Piney Mountain has been unable <br /> to locate sufficient additional suitable land to purchase. <br /> LPP System Beyond Repair. You have also received copy of letter dated <br /> November 24, 1993 from Paul K. Thames, Orange County Engineer, to Kathryn R. <br /> Kalb, Operations Director with OWASA. The Thames letter indicates that even with <br /> suitable soils (Mr. Thames was not aware of the Kays Soils Report when Mr. Thames <br /> wrote his opinion), the LPP System at Piney Mountain is never likely to perform <br /> adequately, regardless of the funds spent. <br /> NPDES Treatment Plant Not Feasible. By letter dated December 8, <br /> 1993, Barrett Kays & Associates (Kays Stream Report - copy previously submitted) <br /> reported on the preliminary low flow stream analysis for Pine Mountain Creek in the <br /> Piney Mountain subdivision. The report concluded that the Pine Mountain stream was ' <br /> not suitable for an NPDES treatment plant. The Kays Stream Report was confirmed by <br /> letter dated January 5, 1994 from A. Preston Howard, Director of the Division of <br /> Environmental Management (DEM) of the N. C. Department of Environment, Health <br /> and Natural Resources (DEHNR) to the Piney Mountain Homeowners Association <br /> (copy attached). In addition, Mr. Vernon O. Harris, Jr., President of Colonial <br /> Engineering, Inc. has by letter dated December 29, 1993 (copy attached), confirmed <br /> that spray irrigation is not a suitable alternative for Piney Mountain, and concluded that <br /> municipal sewer hookup is the best alternative available to Piney Mountain from an <br /> environmental point of view. <br /> Approval of Piney Mountain Installation Will Not Set a Bad Precedent <br /> The best way to prevent future requests similar to that of Piney Mountain is to make <br /> certain that government regulators look closely at proposals for subdivision with <br /> private sewerage systems. In the case of Piney Mountain, regulators at DEM <br /> approved a system that did not meet existing state standards, and the Orange County <br /> Commission relied on the DEM approval in approving the construction of the <br /> subdivision. You have already received a sample complaint recently filed by owners <br /> of 30 lots in Piney Mountain against DEM. <br /> Responsibility for enforcement of existing guidelines for sewer systems changed, <br /> effective July 14,1993, from the DEM to the Division of Environmental Health (DEH) of <br /> DEHNR. DEH, in turn, has delegated to local Health Departments primary <br /> enforcement authority, and it was the Orange County Health Department which initially <br /> Piney Mountain <br />