Photo Courtesy of David Butler
This photo shows the impact of rain on the South Bend subdivision development on Feb. 12, 2019, when the city received 1.2 inches of rain.
On Monday, April 29, the Cahaba Riverkeeper, along with the Coosa Riverkeeper, announced plans to sue two Birmingham-area developers if they did not clean up what the environmental groups are calling a violation of permit requirements.
The Cahaba Riverkeeper, led by David Butler, sent their notice to the Taylor Burton Company in regards to the South Bend subdivision in Vestavia Hills, while the Coosa Riverkeeper, led by Frank Chitwood, sent their notice to Doug Eddleman in regards to the Village at Highland Lakes Development in Shelby County. Butler’s notice was sent April 4 and Chitwood’s on April 16.
“Stormwater runoff, and the sediment that comes with it, affects recreational opportunities, damages public and private property, and increases water treatment costs,” Butler said in a press release. “We are hoping that this campaign will bring developers who fail to comply with the requirements of their permit back into compliance.”
Butler, who lives on Wisteria Drive, which is adjacent to the South Bend development, said he’s been monitoring activity since the project started, and said sediment is being washed away into the Cahaba River, bringing pollution to the river and damaging both wildlife and water quality.
Butler said it will end up costing money to fix the subsequent problems that come as a result of the runoff down the road, and that while there has been some improvement, developers have not been prepared for any sort of rain event.
In his letter to the Taylor Burton Company, Butler alleges that silt fencing and other appropriate sediment control measures have not been implemented, installed or maintained since September 26, 2018, that exposed soils have not been temporarily stabilized, that discharge from the site caused an increase in turbidity [the degree to which water loses its transparency due to foreign substances] in Little Shades Creek and a failure to maintain best management practices.
Taylor Burton refuted Butler’s allegations.
“We’re proud of South Bend,” Burton said. “... We pay attention to [the applicable laws] a lot.”
In the past, developers didn’t care as much about protecting the environment, Burton said, but he said he and his team have worked hard to protect the nearby rivers, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect streams.
“It’s a new world, and we protect the environment and work hard to do it,” Burton said.
After every rainfall event, Burton said an engineer studies the site and determines what, if anything, went wrong or needs improvement, and any site, he said, will show some deficiencies. However, Burton said those deficiencies are corrected immediately.
Burton said Butler’s allegations that the turbidity of the creek has increased as a result of construction is false, and that soils are always covered. Heavy rain events, he said, make it hard to deal with runoff at the site, and Vestavia has seen a great deal of rain in the past year.
“We won’t let that site go,” Burton said. “David can see all of that … he can find a problem anywhere.”
While the company has been fined, Burton said they have corrected every finding issued by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.
“We don’t shortcut the system to try and beat the system,” Burton said. “... Best management practices means best, not perfect.”
The city of Vestavia Hills’ chief engineer, Christopher Brady, said the city has performed periodic inspections on a monthly basis and found several issues related to best management practices maintenance and other general issues, such as stabilizing slopes to gravel and dirt within roadways. However, each notice has been responded to within a “short duration” and met with corrective action, Brady said.
VILLAGE AT HIGHLAND LAKES
The Village at Highland Lakes development is causing similar problems, Butler said, with stormwater runoff and sediment causing problems for Fowler Lake, Yellow Leaf Creek and Lay Lake of the Coosa River.
A private lake in the area is also being filled in with sediment, Butler said.
Eddleman did not return a call for comment.
The press release from the groups state each company has 60 days to respond to and comply with the requirements of the permit before a lawsuit is filed.
