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Show Decker Defends Sewer District Over Pollution Issue by Matthew Madscn "The accusations that the Snyderville Basin Sewer Improvement District is responsible re-sponsible for downgrading East Canyon Creek and East Canyon Reservoir are 180 degrees from the truth", said Bruce Decker, director of the Sewer District, Monday. Decker was prompted to make that statement on KPCW this Concern was expressed during a recent Park City Planning Commission meeting meet-ing regarding the Snyderville sewage treatment plant's daily sewage capacity. Bruce Decker has acknowledged that the plant has on occasion exceeded those limits, however, not to the max "peak" limitations, he said. That concern led to thoughts about a possible building moritorium in the Snyderville basin area as some of the commission members felt a need not to overrun the plant's limitations. limitat-ions. In a letter to the city planning office, Decker said it was his belief the number of new dwelling units in 1982 will not keep up the same pace as in 1981 and that a building moritorium possibly need not occur. week following statements made by officials of Weber basin water district and others appearing in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Ogden Statesman examiner this week referring to a downgrading down-grading of pollution control of Silver Creek and East Canyon Creek in Summit County. The whirlwind of protest came after Decker sent a letter asking the State Water Quality Pollution Control Committee to re-examine Silver Creek's designation as a cold water game fishery. The portion of the stream in question is a seven mile stretch from Silver Creek Junction to Wanship. Decker said, "The Weber Basin water officials are confused about which stream they're talking about. We're not asking for a re-classification for either East Canyon Creek or the existing sewage plant, but only for Silver Creek, which is the proposed site for a future sewage treatment plant to be constructed jpossibly by 1984. The sewer district presently present-ly serves the Park City and Snyderville Basin area with a plant located on the East Canyon Creek near Kimball's Kim-ball's Junction, but because of plans for developing an . industrial park and additional addition-al homes in the adjacent Silver Creek Basin, the district is proposing a second treatment plant be built in Silver Creek just east of Silver Creek Junction. In that letter to the committee, Decker asked to change the aquatic wildlife classification of Silver Creek from 3-A to 3-C in an effort to keep down the cost of the proposed new plant contending contend-ing several hundred thousand thou-sand dollars could be saved if it were unnecessary to build an add-on facility to remove ammonia from the stream. "The amount of ammonia we're talking about would not affect the quality of drinking water, Decker said, adding, "is it worth spending spend-ing hundreds of thousands of dollars on a stream that periodically dries up anyway?" any-way?" "We have increased the water quality in East Canyon Creek quite greatly, noting the Snyderville Sewer Basin district has the most strict discharge permit in the state," said Decker. |