To the editor:

Today’s front page article on “Wrack may be polluting Holmes Harbor” is mainly fiction. It is non-science. So my question is: Is the Record trying to report useful information, or use scare tactics to distract the public from doing something useful?

The article states wrack is organic and that wrack may be one of the sources of fecal coliform bacteria. Wrong. Fecal coliform only is generated by warm-blooded mammals, according to the Island County’s Keith Higman. Wrack has zero fecal coliform.

The dog mess that is found in wrack comes from dogs and owners of dogs who don’t clean up after their dog. So the real source of fecal coliform is dogs and other warm-blooded mammals.

For the last year, informed local citizens in Freeland placed under the spotlight the 2011 Freeland Water and Sewer District claim that “suspect leaking septic tanks” were to blame for pollution in Holmes Harbor. That claim was false, but was the single most supported argument for a $40 million sewage treatment plant promoted by the FWSD and county. Millions of dollars were poorly spent because of this claim, and thousands of hours were wasted by the county, FWSD and public due to this false claim.

I request that the Record get its facts straight. Writing an article that leads off with a woman walking two dogs and quoting her “full of yuck” comment about wrack is scraping the bottom of the dog poop barrel for publishing. It would be much better, and more of a public service, to drop the scare tactics and run with the facts.

Finally, if I am wrong here, then let’s start clear cutting the vitally important eel grass to remove the source of wrack. Remove the vital resource herring use to deposit their eggs. That would fit one of the “common sense” conclusions the Record stated as well.

Let’s use science to tackle our environmental concerns. Not scare tactics on the front page that blur the real issues.

Richard Delmonte, P.E.

Freeland