Different experience with RUSS

March 5, 2012

Richmond, Iowa

To the Editor:

As a member of Residents for a Better Richmond (RBR), I would like to reply to the letter of Feb. 29, 2012, by Crystal Gingerich of Kinross.

It is clear that she has been misinformed in a number of ways about the Richmond lagoon sewer project and RBR?s opposition to it. It also appears that her experience with RUSS has been quite different from ours.

Ms. Gingerich mentions RUSS? ability to obtain grants. We, however, do not consider federal grants to be ?manna from Heaven,? but tax money, which should be spent wisely. We oppose this project because a lagoon system is unnecessary, ill suited to Richmond, destructive to our community, and a waste of $1.8 million taxpayer dollars.

The ?no-cost? hookup RUSS offers is misleading. Running the pipe to the house is free, if you sign away legal rights; the expensive plumbing work is paid for by the homeowners. Moreover, each house requires a pump/grinder with a finite lifetime. Repairs and replacement, along with monthly fees, will cost homeowners a lot over the years.

However, important matters of principle are at stake. This project will be physically destructive to our little village. With its multiple pumping stations and high- pressure sewer lines it may well cause more sanitary problems than exist now.

Ms. Gingerich claims that RUSS? involvement in Richmond was instigated by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In fact, DNR only wants some essentially unknown wastewater problems addressed. They are NOT mandating a lagoon system, and we know that there are cheaper alternatives available, which are much better suited to a hilly community like Richmond.

She mentions RUSS? use of engineers. What we object to is using private firms which have a vested interest in building the most expensive project to decide what kind of project is ?needed.?

RBR wants any actually existing wastewater problems fixed. What is needed is independent, disinterested expertise to determine exactly what problems exist, and to weigh all available options. This was never done!

Regarding some residents giving permission for a sewer system, my understanding is that a few new homes were built within the last decade or so, and those homeowners were granted permits for new septic systems only after signing legally questionable agreements to connect when a sewer system became available.

When we criticize Supervisor Wes Rich, Ms. Gingerich calls us ?Pharisees? in the historically inaccurate sense of ?hypocrites? and then accuses us of ?name calling.? I would remind her that citizens of a democracy have not only the right, but the responsibility to be critical of their elected officials. Wes Rich is, by choice, a public official making public statements, so he should not be surprised when he feels some heat from RBR.

Finally, she objects to a reference to ?serving two masters,? which to us seems a very apt parable to illustrate one man serving the sharply conflicting interests of both RUSS and Washington County?s citizens.

Bette Brant

Member, RBR