On Thursday, August 19, the Alabama Surface Mining Commission hosted a public hearing on an application for a coal mine called the Shepherd Bend Mine along the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River northwest of Birmingham and southwest of Dora and Sumiton. The commission has 60 days from August 19 to rule on the permit.

If issued, this permit will authorize strip mining for coal on Shepherd Bend, right across the river from the Birmingham Water Works Board’s Mulberry Fork drinking water intake, would likely result in mining-related pollutants traveling directly to the intake and to Birmingham’s water treatment facilities, according the Black Warrior Riverkeeper non-profit, public advocacy group.

“Not only will this mine pose a threat to Birmingham’s drinking water supply, but it will also threaten water quality, wildlife habitat recreation, aesthetics, and the peaceful way of life residents aim to have along the river,” Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke said in a statement today.

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the Southern Environmental Law Center are challenging ADEM’s permit in court, according to the statement.

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Guest Column
by Wesley Vaughn

On its website, in large, bold typeface, the University of Alabama asserts itself as “an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.”

If that is truly the case, then I trust the University will decide not to lease the land it owns near Cordova in Walker County for the purpose of a 1,773-acre coal strip mine.

The land, called Shepherd Bend for its river-crafted crook shape, is situated on the Mulberry Fork of the Warrior River. All of 800 feet away sits a Birmingham Water Works drinking water intake that already copes with the discharge of one mine further upriver.

The peculiar story all started in 2007.

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The Black Warrior Riverkeeper environmental group is asking concerned citizens to take a stand for the river and Birmingham’s drinking water by attending a public hearing Thursday August 19 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Bevill State Community College, Sumiton Campus, Building 1400. The Sumiton Campus is located in Walker County on Highway 78.

This Alabama Surface Mining Commission public hearing is an opportunity for citizens to express their concerns with the proposed Shepherd Bend Mine permit. The ASMC is no longer accepting comments sent directly to them, but will accept your comments –- whether technical or simple, lengthy or one-line –- that we will print and hand deliver to them for you at the public hearing on Thursday.

If issued by the ASMC, this permit will authorize the initial phase of strip mining for coal on Shepherd Bend along the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River (northwest of Birmingham and southwest of Dora and Sumiton in Walker County).

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The Gulf Oil Spill of 2010, otherwise known as the British Petroleum-Transocean-Halliburton Gusher of Death to the Gulf, presents a stark reality to those who have been willing to outsource natural resources in this land to foreign profiteers.

The upcoming Alabama Governor’s race and the race for Attorney General also present stark contrasts to investigate on who possess the leadership necessary to bring this state back from one of the worst economic and environmental calamities in our short but storied history. We will have more to say about that in the months ahead.

Politics aside, a group of non-profit organizations in this state are united in new proactive agenda and evaluation plan for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and its new director Lance LeFleur, who only recently came aboard after several tumultuous administrations.

We, as a new media news organization with an authoritative voice, are not sure this plan covers everything that needs to be done. We will have also have more to say about that in the months ahead.

But we run this statement in its entirety here today, for it represents a lot of hard work from some of the best minds thinking about the future of this state, and some of the best hearts in people who truly love this place.

Organizations Present Environmental Priorities to ADEM’s New Director

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How You Can Help

Coal ash is hazardous waste, and must be regulated under the most protective provisions of America’s hazardous waste laws now, according to David Whiteside and Mark Martin of the newly formed Tennessee Riverkeeper, featured in the video above.

Below you can learn more and take action like signing an online petition or writing your local representatives on the group’s Website at TennesseeRiver.Org.

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the Friends of Hurricane Creek present a free public event at the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa on Thursday, August 12, from 5 to 8 p.m.

“An Evening with Tuscaloosa’s Waterkeepers” 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. The show is working on a new documentary on BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The admission, parking and food will be provided for free, although both nonprofit Waterkeeper Alliance organizations will accept and encourage optional donations.

Directions Below
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Glynn Wilson

A yellow-crowned night heron feeding on the section of Village Creek that intersects the Roebuck Golf Course, just down stream from the destroyed dam.

by Glynn Wilson

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Notice of Violations to the City of Birmingham Thursday for killing 11,760 watercress darters, an endangered species protected by the Endangered Species Act, and also for injuries to some 8,900 additional darters killed when a city park manager ordered a beaver dam removed on Village Creek in Roebuck Springs.

The Service is seeking a civil penalty totaling $2,975,000.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources also has a claim against the City for $1,062,786.21 for the death of watercress darters, plus the deaths of more than two million individuals of a protected species of snail.

The ADCNR is contemplating a lawsuit against the City to collect that claim, according to a press release.

The Service’s action stems from an incident that happened September 19, 2008, when a City maintenance crew removed a beaver dam from the Roebuck Springs pool in Hawkins Park. The crew also breached an underlying earthen dam that formed the spring pool where more than 20,000 of the small endangered fish lived.

Breaching the dam quickly drained the spring pool and stranded and killed thousands of watercress darters among a mass of drying aquatic plants.

“The massive fish kill resulted in the loss of more than half of the largest known population of this species,” said Cynthia K. Dohner, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southeast regional director.

Watercress darters are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and are a trust resource protected by Alabama law. The only populations in the world are found in five spring pools and spring brooks in Jefferson County, Alabama, within the metropolitan area of Birmingham.

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Silverock Cove, a residential development on Smith Lake, is hosting “Dock on the Rock,” a day at Smith Lake featuring a number of lake-themed activities on Saturday, May 22 from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. The event is open to the public and there will be live music all day long.

Activities will highlight the range of recreational opportunities on the lake as well as a shrimp boil courtesy of Birmingham’s Little Savannah restaurant.

“We are excited to welcome everyone down for a great day at the lake,” says Carter Hughes, developer of Silverock Cove.

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On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Black Warrior Riverkeeper is launching a three-minute video to help promote awareness about their mission of protecting and restoring the Black Warrior River and its tributaries.

The first Earth Day in April 1970 struck a chord with policymakers across the nation and helped set into motion the development of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Legislation such as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act emerged in the wake of 1970 Earth Day.

The video launching today, produced by Lewis Communications, shows how Black Warrior Riverkeeper puts legislation to work for the sake of water quality, public health, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Black Warrior Riverkeeper is one of over 190 autonomous organizations around the world that make up the Waterkeeper Alliance. Riverkeeper staff patrol waterways, educate the public, and hold polluters accountable in an effort to keep our waterways clean.

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