LINCOLN, Del. - The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) says that, after a month-long investigation into reports of illegal wastewater discharge, they have issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) for wastewater violations to the property owner of Blue Beach Bungalows DE, LLC and parent company Blue Water Development Corp. of Ocean City, Md.
The NOV was issued for Pine Haven Campground Community, which is located near Lincoln in Sussex County, says DNREC, and they failed to get the appropriate on-site wastewater and disposal system permits as required by Delaware regulations.
They say they cited violations starting on December 9th of last year for untreated wastewater surfacing above septic tanks and cesspool disposal areas within the campground community.
Kathy Barr who lives in Pine Haven said, "This problem wasn't as bad as it is now but we had the problems before of the water and the... they don't call them 'septics', they call them 'cesspools' and that's contaminated and that's going into water I understand Cedar Creek."
According to DNREC, their Division of Water began watching the situation in early December, asking the property owner at the time to take fix the issues, which included frequent pump-outs of onsite systems to help stop surfacing, and to submit a plan that addressed ongoing violations.Â
DNREC says that the NOV memorializes the immediate actions they want the campground to take that the department communicated to them, and includes other actions such as fencing off impacted areas to prevent public contact with untreated wastewater; daily inspections and reporting of data to DNREC, and establishing a timetable for developing a permanent wastewater solution for Pine Haven residents.
A lawyer for Blue Beach Bungalows DE LLC said, "DNREC’s violation notice does not address anything that my client has not already been working on, and instead, it gives my client extra avenues to address the issues it has been dealing with since its purchase. My client is happy to work with DNREC as it completes the repairs and upgrades within the seasonal campground. We want the residents to know that Blue Beach Bungalow DE, LLC is not going to be like the hands-off, former owner."
James Smith, who lives in Pine Haven, said he's hesitant to drink the water in their homes, "We're drinking out of bottles.. I have to go, in order for my wife to cook, I have to go to my cousins and get fresh water but other than that we're drinking out of bottles."