By BOB DAW

I am afraid of losing one of the things I care about most, know and love so well, and that is Blounts Creek.
Martin Marietta Materials is requesting a permit to dump 12 million gallons of stormwater and water from the ground into the swamp at the beginning of Blounts Creek. That much water will push increased dirt, leaves and other debris into the creek, changing the acid level of the creek.
Our creek needs the right amount of acid in the water to be healthy, just as our bodies need the right amount of acid in our blood to be healthy. If our blood has too much acid, we become sick, and if we have too little acid, we become sick as well. The upper creek needs to be more acidic. Dumping fresh water into the upper creek will create swamp water that does not have enough acid and will harm all the fish and plants that are living there. When the water is diseased in this way, the creek will cease to function as nature intended.
At present, the creek is healthy, which allows it to function as a nursery area for many types of fish, plants and other critters that they feed on. Ruin the water and we ruin its ability to let little fish grow into big fish. I lose my chance to enjoy catching fish and watching all the fish, birds and animals the creek attracts. We will lose a source of small fish that grow into big fish that support a billion-dollar-a-year commercial fishing industry in North Carolina and significantly change recreational fishing in the creek.
I am not against Martin Marietta Materials taking limestone from Beaufort County. I am against allowing it to have a discharge permit that will change Blounts Creek forever. The company has other ways to manage the discharge water. Let the North Carolina Division of Water Quality know that you, too, oppose this mining discharge and you want the permit denied. Please attend the public meeting March 14 at Beaufort County Community College, Building 8’s auditorium, and tell DWQ no to the dumping of mining water into upper Blounts Creek.
Join hundreds of us who are fighting the potential destruction of a pristine and valuable resource that promotes our economy and health. I do not want to live the nightmare of losing this creek and wondering where have all the fish gone.
Bob Daw is a Beaufort County resident who fishes in Blounts Creek and wants to preserve its water quality.