September 24, 2002

#187

1) Cahaba Supersewer to End, Decision Where To End Pending
2) Groups Sue TVA on Colbert Plant
3) Mobile Bay Watch To Hold INEOS Phenol Explosion In Mobile Public Meeting
4) Lowe's Home Improvement Joins TVA's Green Power Program
5) BEN Notes : Coastal Foundation To Hold Annual Meeting,
New Book: Discovering Alabama Wetlands, The 2nd Annual Tree Summit, www.911Environment.org Water Pollution Reporting Website, Valley Creek Cleanup This Weekend, BAS 38th Annual Fall Bird Count, Cahaba River Society's Cajun Feast
6) BEN Clarification

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1. Cahaba Supersewer to End, Decision Where To End Pending - According to the Birmingham News, the Jefferson County Commission unanimously voted last week to halt the Cahaba supersewer project. Project plans called for the county to spend $141 million on the 15 mile sewer trunk line, which was to cross under the Cahaba River 12 to 15 times. The unfinished project has cost the county more than $60 million.

Environmental and community activists applauded the vote terminating the supersewer, but warned the county not to tunnel under the river to remove the tunnel boring machine out of the 12 foot tunnel. Commissioner Steve Small, who oversees the county's environmental services department and its sewer program, has said the county could pay $5 million to $8 million to back the tunnel boring machine out of the tunnel. The other option, which is preferred by the county, would direct workers to dig forward an additional 250 feet, pass under the river, and terminate the project on the other side for about $2 million.

Moving forward would require approval from Birmingham Water Works officials. Earlier this year, Water Works officials persuaded county officials to temporarily stop the sewer project because rock at the first river crossing was not deep or stable enough to continue drilling.

2) Groups Sue TVA on Colbert Plant - Last week, the Sierra Club and the Alabama Environmental Council sued the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) over allegations that the agency's Colbert Plant has violated air pollution laws nearly 9000 times in the past 5 years.

The lawsuit stated that from 1997 to the 2nd quarter of 2002, plume opacity went over the 20% limit at least 8,933 times at the plant. Excessive discharges of pollutants from power plants have been accused of contributing to the area's haze problems. Gil Francis, a TVA spokesman said the agency is in compliance of health based standards.

3) Mobile Bay Watch To Hold INEOS Phenol Explosion In Mobile Public Meeting - On the morning of September 9th, there was a chemical explosion at the INEOS Phenol Inc. plant near Mobile, Alabama. On Sunday September 22nd, the Mobile Register released an investigative story titled "Is Mobile Prepared For A Chemical Disaster?" pointing out potential flaws in the region's emergency response to a chemical accident.

To help the community address this serious issue, Mobile Bay Watch/Mobile BayKeeper will be hosting a community meeting on Tuesday, September 24th, at 7: 00 at St. Phillip NERI Church in Theodore to discuss the September 9th explosion at INEOS Phenol. Panel members will include representatives from INEOS Phenol, the local Emergency Management Agency, ADEM, the EPA and other related agencies. The groups will participate in a question and answer session to address concerns regarding why the explosion occurred, how similar occurrences can be prevented in the future, and what precautions can and should be designed to handle these kinds of potentially dangerous situations.

For more information about the meeting, contact Mobile Bay Watch at
251- 476-0328.

4. Lowe's Home Improvement Joins TVA's Green Power Program - Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, the nation's 13th largest retailer, has joined TVA's Green Switch Program. Thirty-two (32) Lowe's stores will be able to participate in the program region-wide.

TVA's Green Switch program uses renewable electricity produced from solar and landfill gas sources. Participants in the Green Switch Program pay an additional $4 for each 150 kilowatt-hour block it purchases from the program.

Programs such as TVA's Green Switch are encouraging companies and the general public to invest in green power/renewable energy sources. Currently, TVA green energy sources include a windmill farm, a landfill gas power plant, a methane gas fossil plant and 12 solar generators. Valleywide there are 283 commercial and more than 5,800 residential customers enrolled in the program.

5. BEN Notes : Coastal Foundation To Hold Annual Meeting, New Book: Discovering Alabama Wetlands, The 2nd Annual Tree Summit, New Water Pollution Reporting Website - www.911Environment.org, Valley Creek Cleanup This Weekend, BAS 38th Annual Fall Bird Count, Cahaba River Society's Cajun Feast

Coastal Foundation To Hold Annual Meeting - The Alabama Coastal Foundation (ACF) will be holding its 2002 Annual Meeting, Sunday, October 6th at 3:00 pm. to 6:00 pm. at the Marriot's Grand Hotel. This year's keynote speaker will be Mike DeGruy, Emmy winning cinematographer for the Discovery Channel's "The Blue Planet".

Make plans to hear Mr. DeGruy give a presentation on Alabama's Mobile Tensaw Delta. Seats are filling up fast, so make your reservations today. ACF members can attend the meeting for free, individual tickets are $35 and couples-$50. Call the ACF office at 251-990-6002 for more information.

New Book: Discovering Alabama Wetlands - The University of Alabama's Alabama Museum of Natural History with the University of Alabama Press will host a book signing and reception celebrating the publication of "Discovering Alabama Wetlands," Sunday, September 29th, 2-4 pm. at Smith Hall on the University of Alabama campus. The book's author, Dr. Doug Phillips and photographer Robert Falls will autograph copies of "Discovering Alabama Wetlands," a visually stunning portrait of Alabama's diverse wetland environments and the plants and animal they sustain.

The 2nd Annual Tree Summit - Trees for Alabama will be holding their 2nd Annual Tree Summit, October 3rd, 8:00 am. to 2:00 pm. at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This year's agenda includes a report from Steve McKinney about Birmingham's Tree Canopy Analysis. There will also be discussions about tree planting events and community tree ordinances. To register for this event call Trees for Alabama at 877-633-TREE or email treesforAlabama@hotmail.com

New Water Pollution Reporting Website - The Alabama Rivers Alliance, Alabama Environmental Council and World Wildlife Fund have created a new website http://www.911Environment.org geared toward helping citizens report water pollution problems. Here is how the new website and program works. The groups will receive the information from all reports received by the public, and forward them to the appropriate environmental agencies as well as to other environmental and watershed groups with an interest in the reported area. The groups will then do follow up work with the appropriate environmental protection agencies to ensure water quality laws are enforced. For more information about this new environmental "watchdog" program, contact the Alabama Rivers Alliance at 205-322-6395.

Valley Creek Cleanup This Weekend - Facing one of Jefferson County's dirtiest urban streams with little more than waders, concern for water quality and a deep commitment, volunteers organized by Project ROW are scheduled to converge at 8:00 am., September 28th to remove litter from Valley Creek. The clean-up effort will coincide with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' National Public Lands Day and the 30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Volunteers are needed. Please contact Kellie Johnston at 205-251-8139 ext. 124 or Ronnie Tew at 436-4345 to get involved.

BAS 38th Annual Fall Bird Count - The Birmingham Audubon Society (BAS) will be conducting their 38th Annual BAS Bird Count, Saturday, September 28th. The group will cover as much of Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair and southern Blount counties as possible. If you are interested in participating in this fun and memorable event, call Paul Franklin at 205-823-0438 or Greg Harber at 251- 2133.

Cahaba River Society's Cajun Feast - The Cahaba River Society will be holding their 12th Annual Cahaba Cajun Feast this year on Friday, September 27th,
7: 00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at WorkPlay in Birmingham. There will be an auction hosted by Ken Jackson, zydeco music, cajun dancing and of course cajun cuisine. Tickets are $75. To learn more about this event call 205-32-CLEAN or visit the CRS website at http://www.cahabariversociety.org/CAJUNINVITE.htm

6. BEN Clarification - In BEN #186, we wrote a story about ozone pollution problems in Jefferson and Shelby counties. In the story we stated - "According to EPA/Clean Air Act rules, the Birmingham area will now have to start over the three year monitoring cycle." It has since been pointed out to BEN from the Jefferson County Department of Health and ADEM that the Jefferson/Shelby County regions may come into "attainment" of the one-hour standard next year if the Helena ozone monitor does not register more than one exceedance next summer. Of course, the other monitors will also be carefully watched for exceedances.