My first clean-water-related job was with a metro agency looking to win public acceptance for its biosolids land application program, which had run into opposition in some outlying communities where farmers were using the material.
When the agency embarked on a public participation program to get citizens’ feedback and suggestions on the program, the local newspaper responded with an editorial cartoon showing a sewer pipe labeled as the agency’s “public relations campaign,” dumping black goo on a hapless man labeled “taxpayers.” The caption read: “The sweet smell of boondoggle.”
The accompanying editorial went on about how the agency shouldn’t be spending tax
