A pollution lawsuit against the Birmingham Airport Authority was closed on February 16, signifying that the airport has fulfilled the requirements established in a court settlement with the Black Warrior Riverkeeper environmental watchdog group.

The airport has spent more than $1.7 million implementing erosion and sediment controls at their runway extension construction site, contracting with several local businesses to participate in the project over the past 12 months, according to a press release in the case,

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper group filed a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act on April 3, 2007, alleging that muddy water from much of the airport’s runway extension project had been inadequately contained or treated. The construction storm water runoff polluted Village Creek, a tributary of the Black Warrior River’s Locust Fork.

Sedimentation from storm water runoff is one of the leading causes of impairment in Alabama’s streams and rivers.

“This case highlights the value of the Clean Water Act’s citizen lawsuit
provisions,” said Charles Scribner, executive director of Black Warrior
Riverkeeper. “Our Riverkeeper, Nelson Brooke, collected pollution evidence at the airport for years while the Alabama Department of Environmental Management failed to solve the problem. We are pleased that the Birmingham Airport Authority improved their site as a result of our action.”

Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the airport reached settlement on February 17, 2009 in U.S. District Court. Judge Inge P. Johnson approved the settlement, which included injunctive relief (a court order requiring steps to curtail pollution), and a Supplemental Environmental Project, which includes a $60,000 payment to fund conservation work in Jefferson County’s Village Creek watershed.

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper chose the Freshwater Land Trust, an Alabama non-profit land conservation organization, to receive the payment.

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Tags: Birmingham Airport Authority, Pollution, Sedimentation

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 11:37 am and is filed under Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Environment News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.