183 



DONALD J. BENSON 

 organisais. 



In other studies the FWPCA report attempts 

 to establish a correlation between various parameters of 

 adult and juvenile oysters and distance from the mill 

 outfall. 



Only the Bellinghara area was included in 

 these studies. The FWPCA report claims an adverse re- 

 action at Station A, less than three miles from the out- 

 fall. The South Bellingham-Samish Bay area, where oysters 

 are cultivated, is 10 to 12 miles from the outfall and is 

 situated outside of the general pattern of waste dis- 

 tribution. The following observations raise serious 

 questions regarding the FWPCA report. 



1. Station A lies in the path of the 

 Nooksack River discharge where effects of reduced salinity 

 may have produced the results noted. The mortality rate 

 at A was about 15 percent against about 4 percent to 



8 percent at the other stations. A mortality of 10 percent 

 is not unusual on producing beds. 



2. An analysis of the data collected at 

 the remaining stations shows that the FWPCA hypothesis of 

 mortality increasing toward the mill is not substantiated. 



3. Water quality data was collected only 

 once each month. Even these infrequent samplings revealed 



