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I am writing to oppose the Cliffs Mountain Park developer’s plans to destroy the North Saluda River in northern Greenville County South Carolina and it’s fish population. This development will disrupt over eight square miles of this pristine trout stream and adjacent wildlife habitat. Plans call for dumping over 175,000 gallons of sewage a day into the trout stream. They also plan to pipe or dam several of its’ tributaries. This entire area is at the head waters of a trout stream. There are only 200 miles of trout stream left in the entire state
I feel that developer Jim Anthony has not dealt in good faith with the citizens of South Carolina about this development. The underhanded way in which he posted the only so called “Public Notice” inconspicuously on a piece of 81/2” x 11” plain printer paper placed high on a tree facing away from the road should not be counted as meeting the requirements for Public Notice. He has deliberately tried to conceal his plans until it is too late for the unsuspecting citizens of South Carolina to launch a public outcry against his plans to pillage and plunder our mountains and streams for his own enrichment.
The damage his development will do to the environment of our state will be irreversible. Once these mountains and streams are destroyed they will be lost to future generations forever. I don’t see how destroying one of the last pristine areas of our state just so a very few wealthy individuals can have their own private playground is the best use of our rapidly vanishing wilderness. I don’t see why another golf course is even needed in this area. There is already a fine golf course at Cliffs Valley next to US 25 no more than 5 miles away. When I ride past it, it usually looks fairly much empty to me.
This is the same wealthy developer that “accidentally” built a road ( that’s only purpose was to allow the wealthy residents of The Cliffs to get to the golf course without having to get out on US 25) on Greenville Water System’s watershed property. I personally find it hard to believe that a developer with the resources of Jim Anthony, couldn’t figure out where his property line ends.
Everything I have seen, read and heard about this development convinces me that it is wrong for South Carolina and Greenville County. After talking with friends and neighbors who live in this area, it is becoming increasingly obvious that people have had enough of the underhanded and overreaching tactics of this developer and his plans to line his pockets at the expense of destroying our mountains and streams.
This developer wants to use Greenville Water System water to water this golf course instead of using the effluent that he plans to discharge into our river. This indicates to me that the discharge will be unsuitable for irrigation. The major problem with this is that Beechwood Farms, which is downstream from this development uses water from the North Saluda River to irrigate crops. If the discharge is unsuitable for watering a golf course, it is certainly unsuitable for watering food crops.
I realize that with all of the wealth and influence of this developer, that the working class people who have lived and hiked and fished these mountains for generations have little or no chance of stopping this atrocity against nature. This mountain river basin is much too fragile to allow this type of development so close to the banks of this pristine trout stream. The damming and piping of this river’s tributaries so close to the headwaters will irreparably damage this precious natural resource. We desperately need legislation that will protect this and other nearby rivers and streams from this kind of development.
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Posted by dbduncan on 2008-01-16 16:39:45 | Rating: | Views: 60
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