To:
EPA Region 4
Mr. Jim Giattina,
Director, Water Division

Mr. Giattina,
I am sending this complaint to you for dissemination since you signed the Administrative Order dated 05/04/10, now in violation.

The order gave Jamestown Villas (JTV) 30 days to meet certain requirements

The inspection report was dated 12/08/09. This was what the site looked like then.


(previous e-mail)

This is the site on 01/17/10




And these are from yesterday 08/09/10



BMP violations exist throughout the development. Silt fences that had holes and deficiencies during the 12/08/09 inspection still exist today. Conditions have in fact grown worse.

No attempt has been made to mitigate offsite impacts or remove sediment from the receiving stream. The lake below JTV known as Whitley Lake is still filling in with every rain event due to the large amount of soil loss at JTV. The fold plane and wetlands that used to exist along Stone Creek are now covered with sediment from JTV. BMP attempts are littered throughout the Stone Creek bank covering brush piles. Large holes in the fabric and poorly placed material has been discharging sediment since it was installed. Now that it is rotted away and buried in sediment it is doing nothing at all.

A new drop inlet was installed but did not hold. It is badly underscored now and leaning. To fix it Burns filled it with concrete debris.

 

The sediment in the head of the lake now extends well above the surface as seen in this comparison.

09/17/09

08/07/10

Jamestown Villas has not only allowed the conditions to degrade onsite and surrounding slopes but now is also filling in land outside the permit boundaries. The two houses next to Jamestown Villas along 6th street allowed Burns to fill their land to facilitate his development with the understanding that Burns was going to culvert the stream and fill the entire valley. While I can appreciate their wanting their land filled, there was nothing in the city plan or the approved ADEM plan for such fills outside the permit boundaries. Now he has left them with the burden of repairing their newly created and unwanted slopes on their property.
(The property owners land ends where the red pole is, all to the right is off the ADEM and city permitted area and filled by Burns)

 Burns has also undertaken a landfill operation across the street from the site behind a house located there. It is rumored that he intends to fill both valleys offsite of the ADEM and city approved permitted area. Concrete debris hauled in by Burns was used along with plastic pipe to create an overflow from the new fill. These offsite fills are not permitted and need immediate attention.

Dirt piles throughout the site are not stabilized and are eroding badly. Burns has been warned before about this.

Slopes throughout the development exceed the 3:1 grade cited in the plan and by Joe Robinson, City of Tuscaloosa Engineer. These steep grades are covered in grass that died last year in many places. The grades overlooking Stone Creek were measured at 3:2+. It actually measured 26 inches rise in 36 inches, over twice the permitted slopes. They are eroding in places into badly failing BMPs that haven’t been repaired / replaced since the EPA inspection on 12/08/09. It is my belief that the slopes are too steep to ever maintain over time. The back fill was done over trees, stumps, limbs, and other degradable material making them unstable. Chad Christian, of the city erosion control department said in 09/09 that the woody debris would have to be removed. To date it remains rotting under slopes of 3:1.5 up to over 3:2.

The entire back side of the development along the Stone Creek / Whitley property corner flows into Stone Creek with no retention pond. Slopes in that area are eroding badly and flowing into the creek. Grass on these slopes is dead and sparse where it is present at all. Attempted BMPs along the Stone Creek banks are useless at this time. The tree debris was piled directly in the flood plane for Stone Creek then covered with fabric that was never secured in the ground. Silt laden water has been escaping for the entire length of the property that slopes into the creek.

All drainage from the Vassie Drive entrance flow to culverts that empty directly into Stone Creek as approved by City plan. No retention ponds are in use here. The slopes on both sides of the Vassie entrance are eroded and flowing into failing BMPs.

The overall conditions of the Jamestown Villas has not improved since the inspection or subsequent EPA Administrative Order. Burns made a half measured attempt to get the woody debris out of the creek as ordered but much of the debris was allowed to was downstream and is not in the wetland. I spoke with inspector Don Joe today and was told that Burns had submitted the necessary paperwork to EPA. Those two are the only two points in the Administrative Order that I can see have been fulfilled. We respectfully ask EPA to take more drastic measures to bring this developer into compliance at all due haste. It is obvious from the deteriorating conditions that neither the city inspectors or ADEM have been diligent in their inspections. We respectfully ask for Mr. Don Joe to return for a personal inspection.

Respectfully,


John L. Wathen
Hurricane Creekkeeper,
Friends of Hurricane Creek

Members of
WATERKEEPER Alliance
http://www.waterkeeper.org

Who has the authority to say someone else
is not being a good steward of the environment?

Anyone who notices.

Woodlands Flooding, not and Act of God

Joe Robinson made the statement below. He is referring to the rain on the 26th. What about the other 3 flooding events that were NOT excessive rain?
"We cannot design for the really heavy rain events," Robinson said, "just like we can't design McFarland Boulevard to handle (University of Alabama football) game-day traffic. Sometimes, you're just going to have that flooding regardless." (Tuscaloosa News)

Joe also said:"Joe Robinson, head of the Office of the City Engineer, said his office has documented three occasions of flooding on Hargrove Road in the past three months. He said he thinks they're all linked to the Woodlands development. Until the development was built, Robinson said the last time he recalled flooding across Hargrove Road near Snow Hinton Park was in 1979." (Tuscaloosa News)


"Frederick, in 1979, dumped heavy rainfall across much of the eastern United States: 8 to 12 inches"
4 floods in 4 months is just BAD PLANNING!

While Maddox and others have expressed concern about the effect The Woodlands has had on the Hargrove Road drainage basin — concerns that have kept the city from issuing a certificate of occupancy for the 350-unit complex — they take issue with the claim that poor city oversight allowed the problem. (Tuscaloosa News)

The mayor and council have "taken issue" with almost everything I have ever said. You decide who is right. Do you really want this to continue? Tell the city you want a watershed management expert on the planners and or council and an independent wetland and stream assessment. (Not from a local engineer who caters to developers) We have paved far too much of our headwater streams for profit while not protecting downstream residents. Change politics or change politicians (That's my opinion.)

Residents struggle with flood recovery

Dusty Compton | Tuscaloosa News

Buy photo

Betty Jones walks around fans in the kitchen of her home on Sierra Gardens Drive on Tuesday. All of Jones’ carpet and flooring had to be removed because of water damage. Her home is not covered by flood insurance and was originally deemed not in a flood plain. Jones and several neighbors in the Ashbrook subdivision have had their homes flooded recently by rain, all since construction of The Woodlands apartment complex.

By Jason Morton Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 11:36 p.m.

( page 1 of 2 )

TUSCALOOSA | It's been a week since flash flooding damaged Betty Jones' home.

FLOOD DAMAGE HOTLINE

City officials on Tuesday announced efforts to obtain federal financial aid for flood victims. Part of the aid requirements is a total of $5.8 million in damage and a large number of damaged homes. For more information, or to report flood damage caused by recent rain storms, call the city's non-emergency hotline at 311.

Related Links:

• City identifies 16 new flood-prone areas

Click to enlarge

The 72-year-old retiree said she still cries when she thinks of the damage caused by the rush of water that flooded Sierra Gardens Drive and rose inside the house she's lived in for 16 years.

“It came all the way up to the top of my front doorstep,” she said as she walked over a stripped concrete slab floor littered with furniture and belongings.

Industrial fans line the inside of

her house as well as that of her neighbor, Pat Formby. They are among six to eight residents in the Ashbrook subdivision off Veterans Memorial Parkway whose garden homes were damaged by stormwater during the July 26 downpour.

And while neighbors, relatives and fellow churchgoers have pitched in to help the residents — one is even allowing them to live rent-free in his nearby vacant home — they say they're still overwhelmed by the cost of repairing what's been destroyed.

Jones said pleas for help to city leaders have, so far, gone unheeded. City officials said Tuesday that the Office of the City Attorney is still reviewing the flood damage claims to determine if the elements of city liability are present, adding that it's possible the city could be liable for some claims and not for others.

Their insurance companies won't help because they say the damage came from water that originated outside the homes and isn't covered under their homeowners insurance.

“I've been told that when it's a flood, they do nothing,” Formby said. “None of us had flood insurance because we're not in a flood zone.”

FLOOD DAMAGE HOTLINE

City officials on Tuesday announced efforts to obtain federal financial aid for flood victims. Part of the aid requirements is a total of $5.8 million in damage and a large number of damaged homes. For more information, or to report flood damage caused by recent rain storms, call the city's non-emergency hotline at 311.

Related Links:

• City identifies 16 new flood-prone areas

Click to enlarge

Buy photo

STAFF GRAPHIC | Anthony Bratina

The 72-year-old retiree said she still cries when she thinks of the damage caused by the rush of water that flooded Sierra Gardens Drive and rose inside the house she's lived in for 16 years.

“It came all the way up to the top of my front doorstep,” she said as she walked over a stripped concrete slab floor littered with furniture and belongings.

Industrial fans line the inside of

her house as well as that of her neighbor, Pat Formby. They are among six to eight residents in the Ashbrook subdivision off Veterans Memorial Parkway whose garden homes were damaged by stormwater during the July 26 downpour.

And while neighbors, relatives and fellow churchgoers have pitched in to help the residents — one is even allowing them to live rent-free in his nearby vacant home — they say they're still overwhelmed by the cost of repairing what's been destroyed.

Jones said pleas for help to city leaders have, so far, gone unheeded. City officials said Tuesday that the Office of the City Attorney is still reviewing the flood damage claims to determine if the elements of city liability are present, adding that it's possible the city could be liable for some claims and not for others.

Their insurance companies won't help because they say the damage came from water that originated outside the homes and isn't covered under their homeowners insurance.

“I've been told that when it's a flood, they do nothing,” Formby said. “None of us had flood insurance because we're not in a flood zone.”

City Hall has said city leaders are in “recovery mode” and that the top priorities are finding the cause of the July 26 damage and a solution.

Mayor Walt Maddox said he is meeting with various departments almost daily to find answers.

While areas of Tuscaloosa — most notably, the area of Hargrove Road near Snow Hinton Park and the new apartment complex The Woodlands of Tuscaloosa — have flooded four times since May, the July 26 storm may have been the most damaging.

“According to information we've gathered, we had 4.2 inches of rain in less than an hour — that was the average,” Maddox said. “This appears to be more severe than the other three incidents before this.”

Much of the attention on the city's recent flooding issues has centered on The Woodlands, but those in the Ashbrook subdivision said they aren't certain that the new development is to blame.

Formby said water had come close to entering their homes but never had until the July 26 rainstorm. In fact, after heavy rains in May, she called the Office of the City Engineer to alert city officials and ask for help.

She said workers came and looked, but did not perform any major work, as far as she can tell.

“If they had done something when we called in May,” Formby said, “this would not have happened.”

Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.

City identifies 16 new flood-prone areas

 Joe Robinson made the statement below. He is referring to the rain on the 26th. What about the other 3 flooding events that were NOT excessive rain?

“We cannot design for the really heavy rain events,” Robinson said, “just like we can't design McFarland Boulevard to handle (University of Alabama football) game-day traffic.

“Sometimes, you're just going to have that flooding regardless.”

 

City identifies 16 new flood-prone areas

Dusty Compton | Tuscaloosa News

Anne McNeff sits among stacked furniture and bare concrete floors in the home of Betty Jones on Sierra Gardens Dr. in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010. All of Jones carpet and flooring had to be removed due to the water and her home is not covered by flood insurance and was originally deemed a "safe-zone" and not in a flood plane. Jones, along with several of her neighbors in the Ashbrook subdivision, have had their homes flooded by recent rain and all since the construction of The Woodlands apartment complex. McNeff also had her garage flooded.

By Jason Morton Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 11:30 p.m.

( page 1 of 3 )

In 2006, the city of Tuscaloosa embarked on an ambitious, multimillion-dollar program to overhaul the city's stormwater drainage system.

Related Links:

• Residents struggle with flood recovery

Click to enlarge

Called “Noah's Ark,” the program focused on 13 sites across the city where flooding had become a problem. City leaders said at the time that the plan was to correct problems in these areas to curb flooding throughout the rest of the city.

The city has committed $22 million to the program and expanded it to include projects in six other flood-prone areas. Thirteen of the 19 projects have been completed or nearly completed, according to the Office of the City Engineer.

But they may be only the beginning.

A rainstorm on July 26 dumped massive amounts of water across the region, so much that between 15 and 20 more sites across the city have seen floodwaters cover streets and damage homes. In some places, the water reached a depth of 4 feet.

“We've had flooding where we've not seen flooding before,” said Mayor Walt Maddox.

In the days after the rain, Maddox initiated the city's incident response plan and appointed Robin Edgeworth, the legal affairs administrator for the Office of the City Attorney, and Assistant Chief John Brook of the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service as commanders.

Their role was to coordinate the gathering of information about the various flood-hit areas and maintain an organized log of responses.

On Tuesday, Edgeworth updated the City Council's Projects Committee on the response effort's current progress. She said that among these findings, the city engineer's office had identified at least 16 new flood-prone areas “that require continued assessment, evaluation and possible improvements.”

Maddox also has hinted that correcting the new problem spots could require a similar, Noah's Ark-style approach, in particular at the homes and areas across Hargrove Road from The Woodlands of Tuscaloosa, a large, new apartment complex that some believe is causing the new flood problems in that part of the city.

“We're taking a systematic approach to this issue,” the mayor said. “The flooding from (July 26) demonstrated a lot of issues in our drainage system that we need to evaluate.”

If additional large drainage projects are needed, city leaders are likely to use the success of the Noah's Ark program as a reason they need to continue such projects.

The 13 Noah's Ark drainage improvement projects completed so far have eliminated flooding problems for “tens of thousands” of residents, according to the city engineer's office.

“I think one of the most telling things is, we didn't really have many flooding problems at all in the Noah's Ark areas with the latest rainfall events,” said City Engineer Joe Robinson. “The flooding has been in areas other than the Noah's Ark areas.”

Of the areas that saw heavy flooding during the July 26 storm, most, if not all, were outside the Noah's Ark project zones.

But the idea of investing millions of additional dollars to correct new drainage problems is not welcome to all.

John Wathen, a local environmentalist who has long criticized the city's approach to stormwater control, blamed the need for Noah's Ark on the city's previous bad decisions.

“With Noah's Ark, we are spending millions to fix flood problems that (are) the result of bad planning,” Wathen said. “In my opinion, it has in no way fixed the problem. With Noah's Ark, we've sent accelerated runoff further downstream ... (and) pushed the flooding problems outside the city's jurisdictions, where the people have no voice.”

Wathen, who heads Friends of Hurricane Creek and is creekkeeper for the environmentally sensitive waterway, said the Hargrove Road problems are directly attributable to the construction of The Woodlands.

He also blames city officials for approving the runoff and stormwater control plans designed by the developers.

“It's time to change politics,” Wathen said. “Or it's time to change politicians who are rubber-stamping these projects that are detrimental to our communities.”

While Maddox and others have expressed concern about the effect The Woodlands has had on the Hargrove Road drainage basin — concerns that have kept the city from issuing a certificate of occupancy for the 350-unit complex — they take issue with the claim that poor city oversight allowed the problem.

For now, Robinson is blaming the rain. He said the city's most modern stormwater drainage systems are designed to handle a 25-year level flood. The July 26 storm fell between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's standards for a 50- to 100-year flood.

“We cannot design for the really heavy rain events,” Robinson said, “just like we can't design McFarland Boulevard to handle (University of Alabama football) game-day traffic.

“Sometimes, you're just going to have that flooding regardless.”

An Evening with Your Tuscaloosa WATERKEEPERS

An Evening with Your Tuscaloosa WATERKEEPERS

Postby creekkeeper » Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:21 am
Tuscaloosa's Waterkeepers Unite:
Thursday August 12 at Alabama Museum of Natural History
Image

Thursday, August 12, from 5 to 8pm, Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the Friends of Hurricane Creek (Hurricane Creekkeeper) present a free public event at the Alabama Museum of Natural History: “An Evening with Tuscaloosa's Waterkeepers”. Mercedes-Benz U.S. International., Inc is the lead sponsor.

The event will feature watershed presentations and new photography exhibits by the two Waterkeepers protecting Tuscaloosa-area waterways: Nelson Brooke (Black Warrior Riverkeeper) and John Wathen (Hurricane Creekkeeper). Dr. Doug Phillips of Discovering Alabama will deliver a special introduction. Both nonprofit Waterkeeper organizations will accept optional donations. Free admission, parking, food (Snow’s Bend Farm and Zoёs Kitchen), wine (JohnnyGreenSeeds), and beer (SweetWater) provided.

The Alabama Museum of Natural History (http://www.amnh.ua.edu) is located in Smith Hall on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Capstone Drive at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. To reach the Museum from Highway 82 (McFarland Boulevard), take the University Boulevard exit and follow the signs leading west to Hackberry Lane. If you are arriving on I-59, exit onto I-359 and take the University Boulevard exit traveling east to Hackberry Lane. Plenty of free parking will be available August 12. For more information, contact Charles Scribner, Executive Director, Black Warrior Riverkeeper: cscribner@blackwarriorriver.org or 205-458-0095.

Photos from Hargrove Flooding 07/26/10

Damage video from Hargrove Road, via YouTube

Submitted video to You Tube concerning flooding on Hargrove Road.

More Flooding in Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa Engineers, Planners, and City Council approved this development.
Cynthia Almond and Lee Garrison were the only ones who voted against it.

Joe Robinson had this to say about the flooding issue on Hargrove Road...

"Joe Robinson, head of the Office of the City Engineer, said his office has documented three occasions of flooding on Hargrove Road in the past three months. He said he thinks they’re all linked to the Woodlands development.

Until the development was built, Robinson said the last time he recalled flooding across Hargrove Road near Snow Hinton Park was in 1979.

"Frederic, in 1979, dumped heavy rainfall across much of the eastern United States: 8 to 12 inches (.3 m) of rain fell from Pascagoula to Mobile, and 2-4 inches fell along the hurricane's path as far as New England. Over a dozen tornadoes were also reported in Frederic's wake. However, these had minimal impact.^[8]

“We’re going to withhold a certificate of occupancy from the building until we feel they have this problem resolved ... (and) I am satisfied,” Robinson said."

Joe Robinson was satisfied when he signed the plans against MANY resident objections and comments about future flooding and traffic. The City Planners and City engineer need to be replaced ASAP. They are the biggest flooding and erosion control problem we have in Tuscaloosa.

Remember Jamestown Villas?

Tuscaloosa has some serious problems. Most of them work in City Hall!

New complex on hold until flooding issue resolved

Residents on Hargrove Road say street washouts are causing hassles

Michelle Lepianka Carter | Tuscaloosa News

Tuscaloosa Police block off part of Hargrove Road in front of The Woodlands of Tuscaloosa development near Snow Hinton Park on May 20 as water rushes over the road during a storm.

By Jason Morton Staff Writer

Published: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, July 19, 2010 at 11:08 p.m.

( page of 2 )

TUSCALOOSA | The Woodlands of Tuscaloosa on Hargrove Road is being built as an upscale, 209-unit apartment complex for college students.

Flooding

In the past three months, there were three occasions of flooding in the Hargrove Road area. Office of the City Engineer head Joe Robinson said he thinks the flooding is linked to The Woodlands student apartment complex.
Until the problem is resolved, Robinson said he will withhold a certificate of occupancy from the complex, barring anyone from moving in.

But the development won’t be able to house a single student until its builders figure out how to stop thousands of gallons of storm water from gushing across Hargrove Road during heavy rains.

The city of Tuscaloosa’s Office of the City Engineer said Monday, after an emergency meeting with officials with the Dovetail Companies, the company building the 39-acre development next to Snow Hinton Park, it intended to withhold a certificate of occupancy until the flood problems are fixed.

Joe Robinson, head of the Office of the City Engineer, said his office has documented three occasions of flooding on Hargrove Road in the past three months. He said he thinks they’re all linked to the Woodlands development.

Until the development was built, Robinson said the last time he recalled flooding across Hargrove Road near Snow Hinton Park was in 1979.

“We’re going to withhold a certificate of occupancy from the building until we feel they have this problem resolved ... (and) I am satisfied,” Robinson said.

Messages left with the CEO and media relations contact for the Athens, Ga.-based Dovetail Companies on Monday afternoon went unreturned.

The most recent of the washouts occurred Friday afternoon, when more than 2 inches of rain fell across Tuscaloosa, according to the National Weather Service.

Barry Ragland lives in a red brick house on Elmira Drive, less than 100 yards from the entrance to The Woodlands development.

While Friday’s flooding didn’t cause serious problems to his property, a similar flood event from about a month ago washed limbs and debris through two fences in his backyard. The water rose high enough to overrun his storage unit, ruining clothes and other items.

“I grew up in this area,” said Ragland, 53, “and I’ve never seen it flood like that.”

He said his neighbors also have incurred property damage from flooding on Hargrove Road.

The property, which was previously an open field, was rezoned in 2008 to accommodate the residential development, the first hurdle the developers needed to clear before the project could proceed, despite concerns from officials with the Office of the City Engineer regarding increases in flooding and traffic. The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-1 in favor of rezoning the land.

Robinson said the development’s design that was presented to the Office of the City Engineer before construction took the floodway into account.

“Now we’re just asking them to review the construction to ensure it was constructed as designed,” he said.

Loop Road resident Heather Hastings said she has been re-routed during each flood while trying to get home.

“It’s just a wall of water,” she said of the flooding. “You go through the light (at Snow Hinton Park) thinking you’re going to get home and the next thing you see is police cars.”

Tuscaloosa Police officers have routed motorists trying to head east on Hargrove Road into Snow Hinton Park, then onto 10th Avenue East and back out onto McFarland Boulevard.

Hastings said she then has to drive up to Kicker Road, which on Friday was also backed up as a result of the detour.

“This is causing a problem for a lot of people,” she said.

Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-020

Alabama Department of Transportation ordered to comply with Clean Water Act 

 

John L. Wathen

http://www.hurricanecreek.us/?page_id=15

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(ATLANTA June 14, 2010) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Administrative Orders (AOs) against the Alabama Department of Transportation, for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) at the Buttermilk Road Project construction site in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

"By taking these enforcement actions, we are sending a strong message about the importance of protecting rivers, lakes and streams across the Southeast," said Stan Meiburg, EPA Region 4 Acting Regional Administrator. "To protect our regions waters, these regulated entities must comply with the Clean Water Act and promptly take the steps needed to resolve the violations noted in our inspections."

EPA issued AOs requiring the violators to revise and implement their Construction Pollution Prevention Plans, install and maintain Best Management Practices, conduct adequate self-inspections, cease discharging and address areas where sediment had been discharged.

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/fc734e0b6e731e5f8525774200583326?OpenDocument

Governor Bob Riley appointed Joe McInnes to serve as Alabama's Transportation Director. He assumed his responsibilities in January 2003. Mr. McInnes comes to the Department of Transportation from the private sector. He worked for Blount International for 25 years and retired as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.

http://www.dot.state.al.us/Docs/Bureaus/Media+and+Community+Relations/ALDOT+Director+-+Joe+McInnes.htm

Contractors for the Alabama Department of Transportation are working on the 2.27-mile project to widen Buttermilk Road to five lanes from between Bradford Boulevard and Interstate 20/59.Earlier this month, Tuscaloosa environmental activist John Wathen  photographed what he claimed were violations of erosion control regulations, among other offenses.

Officials for ALDOT said that while sediment and soil did escape the confines of the silt fences along the construction area, it was not the result of poor planning or lack of concern, it was because of the storm.

ALDOT’s inability to control erosion on Buttermilk Road, which he said allowed dirt and mud to wash into tributaries that feed Hurricane Creek, is a sign that the M-bend could be harmed if plans for the four-lane highway go unchanged.

Fagan said that he and ALDOT are aware of the environmental significance of Hurricane Creek and although he stopped short of guaranteeing that the creek will not be disturbed in any way, he said that ALDOT is sensitive to the issue.
"We recognize, and have recognized for several years, that were going into a sensitive area," Fagan said. "We understand that its supersensitive and were recognizing that early enough in the process that we will take extraordinary efforts to minimize the damage to that area.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20091124/NEWS/911239891/1007

ADEM nor the ALDOT made any substantial effort to address this problem. Now they have to spend dwindling state tax revenue to do so.

This action is typical of the present state administraion’s true level of concern for the environment.

An EPA takeover of ADEM is imminent and this action is directed as a wake up call to a lame duck administration that had no concern for this or any other environmental problem in Alabama.
The heir apparent to the governor’s position is unlikely to be any different.

New storm drainage rules to cost city nearly $250,000

 

Staff photo | Robert Sutton

Stormwater rushes through a culvert and into a creek that feeds into the Black Warrior River after heavy rain Wednesday morning. The culvert is behind the ABC Store on 21st Avenue, between Jack Warner Parkway and University Boulevard.

By Robert DeWitt Senior Writer

Published: Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 10:24 p.m.

( page of 3 )

TUSCALOOSA | The city of Tuscaloosa must soon find an estimated $200,000 to $250,000 to implement new storm drainage regulations.

The regulations are intended to prevent pollutants from washing into the Black Warrior River, Lake Tuscaloosa and other public waters, but they also are an unexpected blow to the city’s budget.

“We’re all on the same page for implementing better practices to safeguard our environment,” Mayor Walt Maddox said. “However, this is a prime example of an unfunded mandate, where Washington passes down to Montgomery and Montgomery passes to the cities regulations they can’t afford to enforce.”

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management is imposing the regulations, which originated with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. So a state law that prohibits the state from placing unfunded mandates on local governments does not apply in this case.

“There’s no new money being allocated and there’s no more money being generated by the economy, so we’ll have to take away from some city department,” Maddox said. “My complaint is having to find $250,000 in what is already one of the most difficult budget years we’ve seen. And it’s not like we’ve had an opportunity to plan for it.”

The mandate will change in two significant ways how the city regulates stormwater:

The city will take on the primary responsibility for enforcing stormwater runoff regulations at construction sites during and after construction.

That responsibility has belonged to ADEM. 

The city also must do some water quality testing, something it does not do now.

The regulations are intended to prevent pollutants from washing into the Black Warrior River, Lake Tuscaloosa and other public waters, but they also are an unexpected blow to the city’s budget.

“We’re all on the same page for implementing better practices to safeguard our environment,” Mayor Walt Maddox said. “However, this is a prime example of an unfunded mandate, where Washington passes down to Montgomery and Montgomery passes to the cities regulations they can’t afford to enforce.”

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management is imposing the regulations, which originated with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. So a state law that prohibits the state from placing unfunded mandates on local governments does not apply in this case.

“There’s no new money being allocated and there’s no more money being generated by the economy, so we’ll have to take away from some city department,” Maddox said. “My complaint is having to find $250,000 in what is already one of the most difficult budget years we’ve seen. And it’s not like we’ve had an opportunity to plan for it.”

The mandate will change in two significant ways how the city regulates stormwater:

n The city will take on the primary responsibility for enforcing stormwater runoff regulations at construction sites during and after construction.

That responsibility has belonged to ADEM.

n The city also must do some water quality testing, something it does not do now.

A committee of city staff members is forming recommendations on implementing the new regulations. That task should be completed in two to three months, with implementation expected about six months later, said Chad Christian, the city’s stormwater drainage engineer.

Although the city has been involved in enforcing regulations concerning runoff from construction sites, it does not have the manpower to assume primary responsibility, Christian said. The city might need as many as eight to nine more employees to do that.

“It would take a lot more staff,” Christian said.

Until now, the city has been primarily involved in educating the public about ways to reduce pollution in stormwater drainage and minimize pollution created by municipal operations, spending about $50,000 on those efforts. The changes will increase its annual spending on stormwater pollution control to between $250,000 and $300,000, according to estimates provided by the EPA.

The regulations stem from the Clean Water Act, passed by Congress in 1971. It first targeted “point source” pollution, which includes things like a wastewater treatment plant discharge or an industrial discharge, Christian said.

When regulating point source pollution did not completely clean up pollution problems, the EPA turned to non-point source pollution. That comes from things like runoff from old mines or city stormwater.

“Rain washes everything off of the rooftops and streets into the water,” Christian said.

Oil, radiator fluid and other pollutants collect on the streets, along with dirt and trash like cigarette butts, plastic bottles and paper cups. It all washes into the river when it rains.

Much of the storm drainage on the south side of Tuscaloosa washes out through Moody Swamp. That helps cut down on pollution.

“You get a tremendous water quality benefit from a natural wetland,” Christian said. “It filters a lot of things out.”

But the northern areas of the city are hilly, resulting in pollution and sediment washing directly into the river or tributaries of the river, since there is little to filter the runoff.

Sediment creates two problems: Pollutants like oil, grease, pesticides, chemicals and heavy metals attach to the grit and are carried by it into the stream, Christian said. And sediment builds up in waterways, posing a serious problem in places like Lake Tuscaloosa, the city’s primary source of drinking water, which has lost a significant portion of its capacity to siltation.

“Our raw drinking water source has to be protected,” Christian said.

Along Tuscaloosa’s riverfront, much of the stormwater is now being filtered. There is a filtration device in the inlet at the riverboat landing next to the Hugh Thomas Bridge, and the new Bank of Tuscaloosa office complex included a filtration system for stormwater generated on the site. The new Riverwalk Place development and the amphitheater will have similar systems, Christian said.

Christian does not believe stormwater will ever be channeled to a filtration plant and treated like sewage, because it would not be practical, he said. For example, as much stormwater comes through the outlet off 21st Avenue near the Alcoholics Anonymous building in one day during a major rain as would come into the city’s wastewater treatment plant. And there are outlets all over the city.

As standards increase, however, stormwater management will become more expensive. While the city will have to find the money to deal with it, Tuscaloosa does want to protect the waters in and around the city.

“It’s true that we have to do it,” Christian said. “But we want to do it, if for no other reason than to protect Lake Tuscaloosa.”

Williamsburg Citizen Complaint

 To: Mr. Jim Giattina, EPA Region 4

 Mr. Giattina,

I am writing this complaint and addressing it to you due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the permit. ADEM claims the permit terminated but no reclamation has occurred and active construction is on-going. Turbid water and sedimentation are still being discharged with every rain event. It should be noted here that this is a site that has been pointed out in the petition to remove ADEM from authority. SDW is a prime example of ADEM failure to adequately enforce.  We respectfully ask EPA Region 4 to require completion of reclamation by SDW and registration of McKinney Pruden.

 From the Petition to Withdraw NPDES Program Approval ...

 "15.       The State of Alabama has failed to ensure that construction stormwater (CSW) dischargers who are engaged in construction disturbance activities or who have not completed reclamation of disturbed areas renew their expired registrations.  For example:

 ALR165846   SDW, Inc.

SDW, Inc. was initially granted NPDES Registration ALR165846 on September 1, 2004 for construction disturbance within the Williamsburg subdivision.  This registration expired on August 31, 2005.  (Exhibit B-2).  NPDES Registration ALR165846 was reissued to SDW, Inc. on August 4, 2005 for construction disturbance on 14.5 acres within the Williamsburg subdivision.  This registration expired on August 31, 2006.  (Exhibit B-3).  A Warning Letter was issued by ADEM on July 9, 2007.  (Exhibit B-4).  A Notice of Violation was issued by ADEM on January 18, 2008.  (Exhibit B-5).  NPDES Registration ALR165846 was granted to SDW, Inc. on January 28, 2008 for construction disturbance on 4.9 acres within the Williamsburg subdivision.  This registration expired on August 31, 2008.  (Exhibit B-6).  Order 08-203-MNPS was issued by ADEM on September 5, 2008 citing failure to maintain a valid registration on one day.  (Exhibit B-7).  NPDES Registration ALR165846 was granted to SDW, Inc. on June 10, 2009 for construction disturbance on 4.9 acres within the Williamsburg subdivision.  This acreage included Lots 1, 18, 19, 23, 28, 30, 31, 46 and 47.  This registration expired on August 31, 2009.  (Exhibit B-8).  SDW, Inc. engaged in construction disturbance activity without a valid registration from September 1, 2006 to January 27, 2008 (514 days) and from September 1, 2008 to June 9, 2009 (282 days).  (Exhibit B-9).  Despite that construction disturbance activity was continuing on-site after August 31, 2009 (Exhibit B-10) and that reclamation remained incomplete (Exhibits B-11 and B-12), the State of Alabama affirmatively released SDW, Inc. from any requirement to maintain a valid registration or to complete reclamation.  (Exhibit B-13)."

SDW Inc. ALR 165846 has been the source of many complaints, enforcement, and law suit for non-compliant activities at the site. A consent order required that SDW remove a certain amount of sediment from Camden Lake. It should be noted that since the deposition of sediment has never stopped, the required amount of sediment to be removed should be increased to include the time from the consent order to the current date of the removal.


In Nov., 2009 William Donald, attorney for SDW, entered a letter certifying that all reclamation had occurred with the exception of one lot belonging to McKinney Pruden Contractors.

At that time I inspected the site 0n 11/03 and 11/10/09. I took photographs of multiple violations and areas lacking reclamation and sediment entering the street and drains leaving multiple locations within the SDW permit boundaries. A ditch was cut in the top section of the property turning sediment-laden run-off to enter Abbey Trace subdivision down-grade.




According to Mr. Steve Jenkins, ADEM, he inspected the site and found it to be in total reclamation with the exception of the lot mentioned above. Mr. Jenkins seems to have worked very hard to allow this permit to be terminated without proper reclamation or permit transfer to Pruden McKinney.

SDW permitted the entire area of disturbance included in the Williamsburg Subdivision, permit ALR 165846. No permit transfer to Pruden McKinney ever took place. Therefore, SDW maintained responsibility for the site until completion and release or complete reclamation and closure of open disturbance. This is obviously not the case today and has always been in a disturbed condition.

On Aug 31 2009 the permit expired. No complete reclamation had occurred on disturbance created by SDW in the excavation of NPDES "SDW Inc. ALR 165846".



On 03/10/10 I took the following photos and wish to register the following complaint.



 ADEM has allowed SDW to terminate the NPDES permit without proper permit transfer of disturbed acreage.

ADEM has allowed the termination of the NPDES without proper reclamation.

SDW has allowed insufficient ground cover to cause erosion and deposition of sediment off-site.

SDW failed to install and maintain proper BMPs.

SDW failed to provide adequate ground cover.

SDW failed to provide adequate slope cover.

SDW allowed erosion gullies to become established through lack of adequate reclamation along the Abbey Trace / Williamsburg property boundaries..

SDW allowed turbid, silt laden water to enter the Camden Lake, located in the unnamed tributary of Cottondale Creek.

John L. Wathen

Hurricane Creekkeeper,
Friends of Hurricane Creek

Members of
WATERKEEPER Alliance
http://www.waterkeeper.org

Who has the authority to say someone else
is not being a good steward of the environment?

Anyone who notices.