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Letters to the Editor

   Written by on August 3, 2017 at 9:40 am

Prepare to Lose Your Guns

Many of us hunt, fish and own guns. Are you ready for that to be illegal? You say it could not happen here. Australia, England and Canada all three have in recent years made private gun ownership illegal. Don’t those places speak English are democracies?

Arizona voted a few years ago to end all fishing, hunting and trapping…The measure lost but 44% of the voters voted for that proposed law.

In the Heller v DC case at the Supreme Court, DC lost. The issue was a virtual ban on handguns if you lived in DC. DC officials were so vindictive at the loss that they allowed handguns under rules so strict that in three years only 125 people qualified. They could have gotten the same result if only those six foot six could have one.

To the rescue comes the Second Amendment Foundation. I donate to them from time to time and you might consider it. They sued DC and won the case last week.

They also have a great book for $15 called Right to Carry by Alan Gottlieb. Call 800-426-4302 to order.

Gun owners need to get involved or prepare to lose your guns. Seventy million own guns but only five million support the NRA. Only about 4% of us now hunt unless you count MS-13 hunting you. The constitution of a. makes hunting a right.

Sincerely,

Terry Miller

Keysville, Va.

Reader Supports
Biosolid Investigation

I agree with Mr. Randall Phillips that Prince Edward county should test the aquifers for heavy metals and pathogens if biosolids are being used in the county. The aquifer, not just individual wells, should be checked since that is where well water originates.

Runoff in the streams may be a factor also. These waterways should also be monitored since the Appomattox river is a major source of Farmville city water.

There should be established procedures for monitoring the use of biosolids. If the EPA has concerns, there is probably a problem and politics is probably involved in restricting EPA involvement.

I agree that newspapers should investigate for facts and report findings to the public. If nothing is found, that is good, but the county still should have monitoring procedures if it allows the use of biosolids despite concerns with its use.

Robert McRae 

Keysville,  VA

Response to
Biosolids Letters

In response to Mr. Phillips recent letter on biosolids, let’s make sure that biosolids are properly defined: biosolids are organic materials resulting from the additional treatment of sewage sludge in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. During treatment, beneficial bacteria and other tiny organisms break the sludge down into simple organic matter. The organic matter settles to form biosolids, which can then be safely recycled as a fertilizer and soil conditioner.

The U.S. EPA states that: (1) biosolids can be recycled and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth; (2) effective sewage sludge and biosolids management options help ensure that useful materials are recycled on land and harmful materials are not released to water bodies. The U.S. EPA maintains a good, informative website on biosolids management and use that can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/biosolids.

In Virginia, the Department of Environmental Quality regulates how biosolids are applied in order to prevent runoff into streams or leaching into groundwater. The DEQ, and in some cases a local biosolids monitor, inspect sites during and after applications.

Regarding the author’s health concerns, in 2007, the Virginia Department of Health published a study by three respected epidemiologists that represented an exhaustive review of the current scientific literature about biosolids and human health.  The primary conclusions were as follows: “… there does not seem to be strong evidence of serious health risks when biosolids are managed and monitored appropriately. Human health allegations associated with biosolids usually lack evidence of biological absorption, medically determined human health effects, and/or do not meet the biological plausibility test.” In 2014, this study was updated to review the literature after 2008. In a memo to the director of the DEQ, the director of the Office of Epidemiology in the Virginia Department of Health reported that the updated review of scientific literature “…did not find any causal associations between exposure and adverse effects.”

Scientists continue assessing biosolids risk today. In fact, under the Clean Water Act, the EPA is required to conduct a review of the 40 CFR Part 503 standards for biosolids not less than every two years for purposes of regulating new pollutants where sufficient data exist.

As a farmer I care a great deal about the sustainability of my farm. In my experience, farmers as a whole regard themselves as stewards of their land, and have a practical commitment to protecting an environment that has provided sustenance for generations. Many of the farms here in Virginia have been sustainably farmed for hundreds of years.  And yes, many of these historic farms and the farmers who manage those lands choose to use biosolids.

Harrison Moody

Farmer, Dinwiddie County

President, Virginia
Biosolids Council

Send your letters to
editor@southsidemessenger.com. Please include your name and town; we do not print anonymous letters. It is not the responsibility of the newspaper to fact-check for accuracy; we run letters as-is. We reserve the right to reject any letter for any reason. Opinions expressed in letters are not necessarily that of the Southside Messenger.

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