Murder Creek lake project advances
Monday, April 09, 2007
By CONNIE BAGGETTStaff Reporter
EVERGREEN -- A decades-old controversial proposal to build a lake on Murder Creek in Conecuh County has received preliminary approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will seek public comment on the issue through the end of April.
Over the years, proponents have changed the stated purpose of the lake in an effort to get the project approved.
One push two years ago said the lake was needed as a source of drinking water, then for recreation. The project stalled when studies showed no reservoir was needed for drinking water, and damage to the environment was too severe of a tradeoff to make it a recreational lake.
Still, proponents have not abandoned the idea. The application now lists the requested use as a reservoir for agricultural irrigation and industrial purposes.
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We are further ahead on this project than we have ever been," said former state Rep. Greg Albritton, who was hired last year by the county to head up the project. "Our application has been submitted, approved and public commentary notices have been sent by the corps. We are headed in a really positive direction at the present."
ReplyDeleteCorps spokesman Pat Robbins said Friday the information gathered during the public comment period would help determine what areas the county needs to study to address concerns.
Next, he said, the county will have to conduct an environmental impact study and will eventually have to show that a water supply is needed in the area. Still, he said, lake projects like the proposal under consideration are rare.
"I don't know that we've had one like this in many many years," Robbins said. "The last one would be in north Alabama, up near Cullman where they built a reservoir."
Some environmentalists have been critical of the plan, saying it would endanger mussels and the Gulf sturgeon along with flooding hundreds of acres of forests.
Leaders with the Alabama Rivers Alliance and Conecuh Sepulga Watershed have expressed concerns about the impact on water flows downstream as well as how any changes could damage spawning habitat for the protected Gulf sturgeon. The sturgeon has been studied for years in the Conecuh River very near the mouth of Murder Creek.
Those concerns and other environmental issues should be better defined, Albritton said, once the environmental impact studies are conducted.
Conecuh County commissioners voted six months ago to approve spending $178,000 to pay for the permitting process and for Albritton's salary for a half year to see if the project could be moved forward. Three years ago, the project came to a dead end after studies showed the lake was not needed as a reservoir or to help control flooding downstream in Brewton.
The project was reborn months later when county leaders wanted to try to gain approval for a recreational lake and economic development project.
Once the process was under way, however, Albritton said they learned it would be easier to justify any environmental costs if the lake were for use as an agricultural water source for the region.
Corps spokesman Pat Robbins said it would be more difficult to gain final approval for the project if the 1,453 acres of wetlands and some 20 miles of streams that stand to be flooded were lost due to a recreational lake.
The current application lists agricultural and industrial needs as the reasons the lake is needed. But most proponents say the project would be an economic boon to the chronically financially depressed county no matter what is listed on the application.
Albritton said the lake could cost the county from $45 million to $50 million to build, including property purchases from some 44 landowners. No houses or barns would be flooded by the proposed lake, Albritton said. Some property owners have vowed to fight the project in court should it gain final approval from the federal government.
Scott Salter, who lives near the proposed lake site, said he favors the project. He said his property values would drastically increase if a lake were to be built.
"I like the idea," Salter said. "I'd have lakeside property, so I say bring it on."
Others in the area aren't so fond of the idea -- some because they hate to think that neighbors might be forced to sell land that has been in families for generations.
"We don't want it," said Jackie Salter, who lives in the Seven Bridges area smack in the middle of the lake's proposed site.
"We would like to know where the agricultural land is they are going to irrigate," Salter said. "The only farmland left here has been planted down in pine trees. And the biodiesel plant we got here, that's the industry they name, never panned out. I've lived here 32 years, and the land belonged to my husband's grandfather. It means a lot to us."
In May 2004, county officials said the proposed 2,700-acre lake could increase property values in the area by $100 million. That would translate to millions over several years in property taxes and even more in tourism dollars.
Albritton said the county has begun looking for ways to raise the money to build the lake, from a new tax that would support a bond issue, to private investors. He said as project director, he must consider all possible sources of revenue, though he would not publicly say if officials have been offered money from developers of a proposed landfill near Repton, less than 10 miles from the site for the lake.
"We've got to have money to build it," Albritton said. "The next step, the environmental impact study will cost between $400,000 and $1 million. It can take up to 30 months to complete."
Officials said letters from the corps were sent out last week to advise property owners about the proposed lake seeking their input.
Any public comment must be sent in writing to the corps within the 30-day period set out in the notices. Commissioners said last year they would not be in favor of condemning property for the lake, but did not say the issue would not arise should some land owners refuse to sell their property if the project proceeds.
"Everything looks really positive at this point," Albritton said. "When the county agreed to do this, the people voted overwhelmingly to pursue it in 2004, and six months ago they set up a budget. They gave me six months. We brought this part of the project in ahead of time and under budget.
"We are now at an exciting stage, a critical stage and the study we are about to start is the biggest hurdle left. Once we have the environmental impact study complete, we will have our yes/no answer. I think things are looking very positive."
TO COMMENT
To comment on the project or to seek information:
Call the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 251-690-2658, and refer to Public Notice Number SAM-2207-0289-MNS.
Write to the District Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District, Mobile, P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, AL, 36628-0001.
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