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Alexandria Gazette Packet 25 Cents Serving Alexandria for over 200 years • A Connection Newspaper July 25, 2013 Wasteful Spending Cleaning sewage out of Pet Gazette Packet Hunting Creek could cost $100 million to $200 million. By Michael Lee Pope anywhere from $100 million to Gazette Packet $300 million. “It’s not like we need $300 mil- very year, Alexandria lion next year,” said Bill Skraback, dumps 10 million gal- deputy director of the Department E lons of raw sewage into of Transportation and Environ- Hunting Creek. mental Services. “This is some- Now regulatory officials at the thing that is going to be funded Virginia Department of Environ- over decades.” mental Quality are pressing city The problem dates back to the leaders to figure out how to clean 1890s, when Alexandria installed up the mess. Since the last time its first sewer system — a high- Alexandria received a permit for tech innovation for the time that its sewer system, the Virginia De- has now become a legacy problem partment of Environmental Qual- for city leaders. About 540 acres ity adopted new rules for Hunting of Old Town have a “combined” Creek. Now state regulators want sewer system that mixes rainwa- to see an action plan for the city ter and raw sewage. About twice to reduce the amount of bacteria a month, during heavy rain events, it dumps into the creek by 80 per- hundreds of thousands of gallons cent to 99 percent. of raw sewage are dumped into Fortunately for the city, the Hunting Creek at three separate deadline from Richmond is 2035. Unfortunately, the cost could be See Sewage, Page 3 Broadway Barks at LTA “Avenue Q” musical to benefit local animal charities. By Jeanne Theismann performance will serve as a Gazette Packet fundraiser for several local animal charities. ith an abundant use of “Cast member Charlene Sloan is Wprofanity and episodes a close friend of Bernadette Peters, of “full puppet nudity,” who founded the organization the Tony Award-winning musical Broadway Barks,” said “Avenue Q” “Avenue Q” is not the usual fare producer Margaret Evens-Joyce. from The Little Theatre of Alexan- “Broadway Barks helps animals in dria. But when the storied theater need of assistance so Charlene company debuts the Sesame Street-style show July 27, each See LTA, Page 6 Alexandria, VA 22314 VA Alexandria, To: 1604 King St., King 1604 To: Laura Mae Sudder ted Address Service Reques Service Address material. Time-sensitive Postmaster: Photo by Photo HC rests on a garden bench after traveling through town in her backpack. Attention Permit #482 Permit Alexandria, VA Alexandria, More pet photos, pages 14, 18 and19. PAID U.S. Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ July 25-31, 2013 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ July 25-31, 2013 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com News Week in Alexandria Justice for Trayvon? The murder trial of Florida neighborhood watch volunteer Separating Sewage George Zimmerman may be hundreds of miles away, but emotions are running raw in Alexandria. Last weekend, Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille organized a fo- rum for people to talk about the high-profile murder trail that from Stormwater ended with the acquittal of Zimmerman for shooting unarmed teenager Travyon Martin. From Page 1 The case has dominated cable news and created new racial divisions in America, a phenomenon similar to the murder trial “outfall” points. The En- of former sports superstar O.J. Simpson almost 20 years ago. vironmental Protection This time, though, the roles were reversed, as prosecutors were Agency has already de- fighting on behalf of the slain black teenager. Euille said he called manded that the District the forum after hearing from many Alexandria citizens that they of Columbia reduce the wanted to talk about the case but weren’t sure how. So the mayor total maximum daily load called leaders of Alexandria branch of the NAACP and organized of nutrients, which will a forum at the Charles Houston Recreation Center. cost billions of dollars. “It allowed folks to come together and reflect and have a dia- “That’s the sword of logue,” said Euille. “And it led to a desire to want to continue to Damocles hanging over have conversation and talk about others issues such as afford- the head of Alexandria,” able housing and education.” said Peter Pennington, The forum included Alfred Street Baptist Church pastor former chairman of the Howard-John Wesley and Alexandria NAACP president Environmental Policy LaDonna Sanders as well as a handful of Alexandria lawyers Commission. “Everyone is and community leaders. Although the murder trail had no con- wondering when the EPA nections to the city, Euille said, it was important to give people is going to make the same Alexandria Department of Transportation and Environmental Services an opportunity to express their feelings about the national dia- demand to Alexandria logue the case has launched. City Hall.” “There’s obviously an environmental benefit to “I would say it was a great success,” he said. separating the combined sewer system,” said Poul SO FAR, FEDERAL OFFICIALS have focused their Hertel, former president of the Old Town Civic Asso- Pertpetually Public? attention on major cities with legacy sewer systems ciation. “But the costs are astronomical and the im- such as Philadelphia or New York. The pollution cre- pact on the community would be substantial.” The project to transform a public park into a private sports ated by Alexandria, by contrast, is much smaller. So A more likely option for city officials is building complex may have hit a new snag — history. city leaders feel they have time to come up with a some kind of storage for the mix of wastewater and This week, Alexandria Historical Society President Bill strategy while federal officials work their way down stormwater that collect during heavy rain events. This Dickinson suggested that the history of Hensley Park may pre- the list. Meanwhile, state regulators are forcing city is the option that officials in the District of Columbia vent the public land from being used for private gain. leaders to confront the issue as they try to renew are currently seeking, constructive massive under- Dickinson says the park is probably constructed on top of fill their permit allowing the combined sewer system. ground tanks to store the mix until it can be treated. land owned by the city in the 1970s as part of the Eisenhower City officials are encouraging members of the pub- But city officials expect that would cost anywhere development project. lic to comment on the permit from $100 million to $200 mil- That means it’s likely the case that some portion of the funds through Aug. 12. lion, which means Alexandria received by the city from the Land and Water Conservation Fund “This is a major step in the city’s “We may have an all- leaders will be looking for ways Act in 1977 were probably used for the development of the park. work to ensure continued to finance efforts to clean up “This requires the land must remain in public recreational use progress toward improving water of-the-above solution Hunting Creek. in perpetuity unless the Secretary of Interior approves of a con- quality in the Potomac River, “Fixing the combined sewer sys- version and replacement lands are substituted,” Dickinson wrote Chesapeake Bay and Hunting where it’s some new tems certainly helps the commu- in a letter to Judy Noritake, chairwoman of the Alexandria Creek,” said Mayor Bill Euille in nity in question, but it also helps Parks and Recreation Commission. “While conversions have been a written statement. “It is vital to separation, some the entire state in the sense that approved for these grants, they have been both rare and diffi- our environmental sustainability green initiatives and we have cleaner waterways that cult.” efforts and critical to improving benefit our fisheries and every- City Attorney Jim Banks said he is conducting a title search, and strengthening Alexandria’s thing else,” said Del. Rob which he said should take about a week. some storage.” water quality infrastructure.” — Councilman Tim Lovain Krupicka (D-45). For the last decade, city lead- Hot Air in Washington ers have been trying to encour- HUNTING CREEK includes age environmentally sustainable redevelopment in three separate “outfall” sites where raw sewage and What’s the solution to America’s energy needs? U.S. Rep. Jim the hope that it will mitigate some of the damage stormwater runoff spill out into the water. One is at Moran (D-8) says the answer may be blowing in the wind. created by the combined sewer system. For example, the foot of Royal Street, near a boardwalk at the This week, the United States Department of the Interior an- the redevelopment of Samuel Madden Homes in- western edge of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The nounced its second competitive wind energy lease sale. The lease cludes separating wastewater from stormwater run- other two are on Duke Street, just north of Alexan- means more than 100,000 acres off of Virginia’s coast will be off as construction moves forward on several blocks dria National Cemetery. City officials are quick to made available for commercial wind energy leasing. in the Parker Gray neighborhood. Plans for construc- point out that the raw sewage is heavily diluted when “The commonwealth is poised to be a leader in wind energy tion of a new Jefferson-Houston School also include it enters the creek. production and this brings us one step closer to realizing that separating the sewer system there as well. “It’s heavily diluted,” said Srakback. “It’s almost all goal,” said Moran in a written statement.