The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, August 17, 1972, Image 4
PAGE 4—The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C. Thursday, August 17, 1972
Soil types
be cataloged
A state-wide project to map
and catalog the various types
of soil in South Carolina is
underway, according to the
State Board of Health’s Bureau
of Environmental Engineering.
When the survey is complet
ed, district engineers will be
able to look at a map, read
the code for a particular piece
of ground and tell if it will
support a septic tank, according
to Henry Duffy, Upper Savan
nah Health District engineer.
Duffy instigated the project in
the fall of 1971.
Working with the Department
of Agriculture’s soil conserva
tion service and soil scientists
throughout the state, the dis
trict engineers are running tests
to determine the rate at which
the earth will allow water to
infiltrate.
“Wp dig a hole about 36 in
ches 'deep and put two inches
of gravel in the bottom,” Duffy
said, explaining one way of test
ing the absorption ability of soil.
‘‘Then we pour water in it and
allow it to stand overnight. The
next morning the hole is filled
again and we start the read
ings. It is usually reported in
inches per minute. A good rate
is an inch every 20 minutes.
Duffy said that between 30 to
50 percent of the land in some
areas of South Carolina will not
support a septic tank, particu
larly in Greenwood, Saluda,
Laurens and McCormick Coun
ties where there is a lot of
Carolina slate.
‘‘An individual or developer
should have the soil checked
before building on a tract of
land,” Duffy emphasized. “It
will save him money in a long
run because if it is unsuitable
for a septic tank, we cannot
approve it.
“Soils that will not let the
water penetrate rapidly are
very poor for septic tanks be
cause the sewage will come up,
causing a failure of the tank,”
Duffy said. “Ordinarily, a good
sandy soil is the best type.”
He further explained that
while some soils absorb at a
slow rate, others will take it
much faster.
“If the water penetrates too
fast it will go deeper before it
is diluted or filtered to any ex
tent and may pollute a well or
an underground stream,” he
added. “We find that penetrating
too fast is as severe as too slow.
Duffy said that each lot in
a sub-division must be evaluat
ed before it is approved for a
septic tank. Normally, this is
done by an engineer associated
with the builder who verifies
that the soil will support a tank
“But if an individual buys a
lot not in a sub-division he can
come to us and we will check
the soil and give him an idea
of its suitability,” the engineer
said. “But, we are not soil
scientists. It would be best to
contact the soil conservation
service.
“Not all of the soils in the
state have been mapped,” he
concluded. “But if it has been
mapped, we can look in the
book and tell the prospective
builder the soil condition.”
Rifle Association
faults gun law
Wash. D. C. — MGEN Max
well Rich, executive vice pres
ident of the National Rifle As
sociation today voiced strong op
position to the Senate approved
handgun control bill sponsored
by Sen. Birch Bayh of Indiana.
“This bill has been widely
misrepresented as a proposal
to prohibit the sale of poor qual
ity, crudely-made and unsafe
handguns usually called ‘Satur
day Night Specials’, a meaning
less catch-phrase never success
fully defined” he stated.
“Actually,” Gen. Rich contin
ued, “The Bayh bill goes far
beyond its stated purpose. It
would immediately restrict the
sale or delivery of handguns to
those approved by the Secretary
of Treasury, and would elimi
nate the sale or delivery of one-
third of all handgun models
now made in the U. S. without
reference to quality or price.”
In addition the NRA executive
officer commented the bill as
passed would discriminate
against handguns of high quality
which would not fit into the
vague and undefined category of
“sporting purpose” or suitable
for self-defense. The lawmakers
reiterated the Congressional po
licy that self-defense is a legi
timate reason for owning a
handgun.
“If this bill passes the House
of Representatives as now writ
ten,” Gen. Rich pointed out, “it
would disqualify many millions
of dollars of annual production
of high quality handguns made
for legitimate use and require
the government to purchase ex
isting stocks of banned handguns
at an enormous cost to the Am
erican taxpayer without assur
ing that criminals Would be
without firearms.”
The NRA official noted that
the Association favored certain
amendments to the Bayh bill
including those which remove
.22 caliber ammunition from
record keeping requirements,
that allows for personal impor
tation of long guns by private
citizens without going through a
dealer and further allows trans
fer of long guns between non
resident family members with
out involving a licensed dealer.
General Rich concluded by
stating that with the exception
of these few amendments the
NRS must strongly oppose the
so-called “Saturday Night Spec
ial” bill as misleading and as
meaningless as a crime control
measure.
A new California state law
prohibits the authorizing of any
tule elk hunts until the total
population reaches 2000 an
imals.—SPORTS AFIELD
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