"Raw sewage" on river

By TOM RUE

DAMASCUS - At the August 17th meeting of the Damascus Township Supervisors, River Road resident Cecelia L'Hernault said she recently observed what appeared to be unprocessed septic effluent in the Delaware River near the Narrowsburg Bridge. "It's disgusting!" she exclaimed.

"If you go by in a canoe, it appears to be raw sewage," agreed her husband Eugene. "You can see it 10 to 20 years on each side of the bridge, pretty near all the way across. And by the time you get down to the Fish Commission Access, it's clear; so there must be something coming out right there. In several areas, it appears to be human feces."

Township secretary Charles Rutledge speculated that the hamlet of Narrowsburg may be "having problems with their sewer lines."

Contacted after the meeting, National Park Service (NPS) resource management specialist Malcolm Ross said Rutledge could be correct. "I've heard that same report of people seeing sewage bubbling up behind the main buildings [in Narrowsburg], before the town built their new sewage system. But that's the first time I've heard of anything since they put the system in," said Ross.

Ross promised that if one of the L'Hernaults would show him the spot, he would have the water tested. "I can take a fecal coliform sample on my own. If he'll show me where it is, I'll take a sample and run it down myself," he offered. [See follow-up].

In a similar matter, Rutledge noted that the sewage enforcement officer inspected a trailer on the Galilee Road, which was reported two weeks ago to be dumping raw sewage in a ditch. "There is evidence of a violation and he's following up on that," Rutledge said.

Independent Landholders Association (ILA) president Bertha Swendsen asked if any of the supervisors belonged to the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA recently gave "strong support" to the Upper Delaware River Management Plan, according to a letter read at the meeting. The NRA said the plan supports public hunting and fishing rights in the river.

However, Swendsen disagreed and urged NRA members to write to the organization, expressing dismay over the endorsement. "When the park service gets a hold of this land, it's going to go down the drain. There won't be no hunting and fishing. All you're going to have is those god damn bastards walking on your land and telling you what you're going to do," she alleged.

The supervisors announced that the following township roads were expected to be resurfaced: Blackwell Road, Keesler Road, Old Road, Hopkins Road, and Stone House Road.

In other business at the short meeting, the supervisors: said they still have not decided whether to appeal the jury verdict against the township in favor of Richard Crum; announced that the township's Consolidated Ordinances, open for inspection at the municipal building, will become final on September 7; and read a letter from Herb Wolfe of the Upper Delaware Citizens Alliance threatening lawsuits against town officials who support the River Management Plan.

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