Update 1 p.m.: Michael McGill on the behalf of the Town of Belville has responded to the statement from Brunswick County with another press release to clarify its intentions with the previous statement.
“There has been a misunderstanding about a line in yesterday’s press release. The sentence, “Levels of GenX and other contaminants have been severely under reported,” was not meant to infer that local water utilities are withholding test results from their customers. Instead, it was meant to state our concern about the lack of information that has been relayed to the public over the years about the contaminants being found in the Cape Fear River. Yesterday, we learned tests are underway to gather data on Nafion 1 and 2, contaminants where there is little known about their health effects. As the StarNews reported, its levels in the Cape Fear River do not appear to be dropping,” the statement reads.
BELVILLE — Brunswick County has rebuffed claims by the Town of Belville regarding the transfer of H2Go’s assets to the Town of Belville.
The action has caused a number of complaints, questions, and legal action from the Town of Leland as well as Brunswick County.
The transfer of the water authority’s assets came as a last-minute move by outgoing H2Go Commissioner Carl Antos to try and prevent newly elected commissioner Bill Beer from fulling his campaign promises.
Belville released a statement claiming its desire to make this a smooth transition and easy for customers as well as a claim that, “Levels of GenX and other contaminants have been severely under reported,” a claim Brunswick County has labeled as “baseless.”
“we ask that our municipal partners refrain from releasing this type of inaccurate and sensationalistic information to citizens”
“The recent claim from the Town of Belville that “levels of GenX and other contaminants have been severely under reported” is completely baseless. This type of unfounded speculation has no place in public discourse, and it only serves to confuse citizens,” according to a Brunswick County press release.
Brunswick County went on to claim all testing results have been released in a timely manner, and the actions have been fully transparent.
“The reality is that the County and the State have tested the water supply regularly, and we have released the results of those tests immediately. At no time have these results been altered, minimized or editorialized. As we continue to look forward to a solution that protects the water supply for our entire county, we ask that our municipal partners refrain from releasing this type of inaccurate and sensationalistic information to citizens,” according to the release from Brunswick County.
The Town of Leland voted in an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to retain the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend to initiate civil action to prevent the transfer of H2Go to the Town of Belville, Town Attorney John Wessel said.
News Release Water and Sewer Transition Belville by Michael James on Scribd
