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Shoals Environmental Alliance
SEA is an environmental activities and watch-dog alliance established to promote the preservation of the natural resources, scenic beauty, and recreational opportunities of the Shoals area of northwest Alabama. .Our mailing address is:
Shoals Environmental Alliance
P.O. Box 699
Sheffield, AL 35660
SEA meets monthly on the last Tuesday of each month at Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, 350 N. Wood Ave., Florence, AL. 5:30-7:00pm preceded by a social at 5:00pm.
TVA Reservation Redevelopment Click
here for more information.
River Front
Development - Elk River
Click
here for more information.
Shoals Environmental Alliance (SEA) discussion group. Click here for more news and information about SEA and the projects we are working on. To subscribe to email updates send an email to S-E-A-subscribe@yahoogroups.com with "subscribe" as the subject and an empty body.
Selected TVA News Items
Rep. Schuler's TVA land swap deal eyed by Ethics committee
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103001399.html
TVA lacks funds to restore historic building
TVA is financially stressed - the $1 billion cleanup of the coal ash pond at
Kingston and the $1 billion payment to the retirement system are among other
bills to be paid.
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20091009/ARTICLES/910095040/1011/NEWS?Title=Animal-house
And lets not forget the tens of millions of dollars in executive bonuses paid to
TVA "management" annually.
TEPPCO to re-file fuel depot plan
Rep. Griffith against project, says proposed facility could pose danger to
Decatur’s drinking water
http://www.decaturdaily.com/detail/43280.html
Lakefront land missing from Shuler report
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20090921/SERVICES03/909211023/1042/NEWS?Title=Shuler-under-scrutiny
Editorial: Data on ash bolsters environmentalists' case
Knoxville News Sentinel
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/sep/10/data-on-ash-bolsters-environmentalists-case
TVA Turns Perry County, Ala. into an "Ash Hole"
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2009/09/tva_turns_perry_county_ala_int.php
Agency withholds report on deal with ties to Shuler
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/aug/19/agency-withholds-report-on-deal-with-ties-to/
Report: TVA gave preferential treatment to [REDACTED]
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/aug/19/no-headline---081909tva/
Nov. 19 --- Shoals Environmental Alliance
(SEA) today formally announced its opposition to the proposed expansion of the
Florence Landfill.
On Tuesday, November 24, SEA will host a public meeting to inform the
public about some of the issues involved and to discuss strategies for stopping
the proposed expansion.
The meeting will be at the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library , in the
conference room.
5:00pm : refreshments, informal discussion & informational tables.
5:30-7:00pm : meeting, including a presentation and a group discussion for
formulating an action plan.
For more details about the meeting, call Charles Rose at (256) 366-1937.
SEA members were among the many who protested the landfill expansion at the Nov.
17 Florence City Council meeting. Despite the large turnout in opposition, the
council approved the city's purchase of the Florence Golf & Country Club
property for the proposed expansion.
Florence Golf & Country Club is situated on 157 rolling acres along Cypress
Creek, a popular destination for canoeing, kayaking, tube floating, swimming,
birding and fly fishing. The Florence landfill lies just to the south of the
country club property.
David Cope, a University of North Alabama math professor, Charles Rose ,
president of Shoals Environmental Alliance, and John Crowder , an environmental
consultant, have recently called attention to what they think are serious
problems with both the present landfill and the old landfill in West Florence.
They say the limestone karst terrain in this area is a poor choice for a
landfill site.
Storm water runoff from the landfill has silted Cypress Creek, creating a large
gravel bar.
Cope and Rose have evidence that leachate from the landfill is entering the
groundwater and polluting seven springs along a 1,000 ft. stretch of Cypress
Creek.
Cope, Rose and Crowder say that expanding the landfill will just compound these
already existing problems. They fear that pollution from the landfill could
despoil the creek and harm aquatic species.
There is another polluted spring flowing into Cypress Creek at the site of the
old West Florence landfill.
Residents along the creek are concerned that property values will decline if the
landfill expansion takes place.
Scott Ruffrage and other residents near the present landfill already complain
about offensive smells and noise.
A grassroots group, Save Cypress Creek , was formed Nov. 15 when about 80
people, mostly Florence residents, met to organize opposition to the landfill
expansion. The meeting, organized by Scott Ruffrage and Adrienne Freebairn, was
also attended by Elizabeth Salter , Watershed Organizer with Alabama Rivers
Alliance, and Barbara Evans , Organizing Coordinator with Wild Law, an
environmental law firm in Montgomery .
Save Cypress Creek members, who made up the majority of the landfill opponents
at Tuesday’s council meeting, are currently circulating petitions in opposition
to the landfill expansion. They will be in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. They
say they are determined to put a stop to what they think is a disaster in the
making.
On August 11 of this year runoff from the landfill created a huge silt plume in
Cypress Creek. The runoff also created a huge unnatural-looking gravel and silt
bar in the creek.
Excessive silting means death for many aquatic species, including snails and
mussels.
A species of special concern, the Warty Rocksnail, is known to inhabit Cypress
Creek and has been found right at the point of the landfill runoff.
The state has given this snail its highest rating of “S-1”, meaning “Critically
imperiled in Alabama because of extreme rarity…….especially vulnerable to
extirpation from Alabama .”
There are also reports that the Eastern Hellbender salamander has been observed
in the creek. It is a species of high conservation concern, listed as
“Endangered” in many states, and “Threatened” in many other states.
Landfill expansion opponents are hopeful that Cypress Creek can be protected,
for the conservation of these species and for the enjoyment of Shoals area
residents, their children and grandchildren.
Wild South Hikes
The last Saturday of every month, Wild South staff and volunteers lead hikes in the Bankhead National Forest in addition to other hikes throughout the month. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the incredibly beautiful places and important cultural heritage sites on our public lands, and why Wild South is dedicated to their protection. We are pleased to offer our hikes for no charge. To become a Wild South member (free) sign up at www.wildsouth.org . Wild South is a non-profit organization that operates on the generosity of donors, for whom we are sincerely grateful. Getting on our e-mail list for hikers is the best way to stay informed about our hikes and other events. Just e-mail janice@wildsouth.org and ask to be added to our list.
Note from Charles Rose: Call me at 366-1937 if you're interested in carpooling down for this from the Shoals.
Janice Barrett
Outreach Coordinator
Wild South
11312 Alabama Highway 33, Suite 1
Moulton, Alabama 35650
256-974-6166
janice@wildsouth.org
SEA is partnering with TVA and other local groups to
enhance the recreational and educational values of TVA’s Muscle
Shoals
Reservation. Our first major project is the establishment of a Native
Plant Garden, located by the handicap-accessible trail in the TVA
Nature
Trails Area. The Native Plant Garden is a cooperative effort by
TVA, Shoals Environmental Alliance, Alabama Wildflower Society of the
Shoals, Shoals Master Gardeners and Men's Garden Club of the Shoals.
Other goals of the SEA partnership with TVA include removing invasive
pest species such as privet and kudzu that crowd out native plants,
sowing wildflower seed, picking up litter, helping maintain walking
trails and producing trail maps and brochures.
SEA also works to encourage responsible economic growth that preserves
the public green spaces, recreational opportunities, and wildlife
habitat
of the Shoals area. Other SEA programs will include the monitoring of
water quality in local waterways, historic preservation, and group
outings such as bird watching, camping, canoeing, and hiking
OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST
Alabama Hiking Trails Society
http://hikealabama.org/
Audubon Society - Shoals
http://www.shoalsaudubon.com/
Fresh Air Family
http://www.freshairfamily.org/home.html
Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama
http://landtrust-hsv.org
Wildflower Society - Shoals http://home.hiwaay.net/~oliver/shoalswildflowersociety.htm
Wild South http://www.wildsouth.org/
Charles L. Rose
President
Shoals Environmental Alliance
1206 N. Montgomery Ave.
Sheffield, AL 35660
H. (256) 381-2826
C. (256) 366-1937
chuckrivers@comcast.net
Click here for a
Acrobat .pfd map
of the TVA walking trails from the Scenic Shoals page on
TheCatfishWrapper website. The page also contains photos of the Hall
Memorial Native Plant Garden at TVA, Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve,
and wildflowers at
Whippoorwill Hollow in Sheffield.
Click here
to visit the Shoals Chapter of the Alabama Wildflower Society.
They have some great photos of local wildflowers.
We are currently attempting to schedule our speakers and programs for
next year's SEA meetings. If you have any suggestions for speakers or
topics, or any ideas about outings or other events, please contact me.
Charles Rose
(256) 366-1937 cell
(256) 381-2826 home
(256) 381-0801 fax
Click the logo at left to visit WildSouth.org
If you are not on WildSouth’s e-mail list to receive
information about their September through May monthly hikes and would
like to be, contact
Janice at janice@wildsouth.org or 256-974-6166. For additional
information about WildSouth, please visit us at
www.wildsouth.org
Hikes: Warrior Mountains
Trading
Company in Wren, Alabama is an
excellent
source of information about trails in the Bankhead Forest and Sipsey
Wilderness. If you prefer to hike with a group, we suggest you
connect with The Nature Wanderers, another local group. Call Ted
Kuzma at 256-974-7771.
SEA Literature: SEA Membership Form Native Plant Garden General
Information Brochure
If you have any questions, wish to receive e-mail notification of
SEA activities and environmental issues, or if you would like a
membership form mailed to you, contact Charles L. Rose at chuckrivers@comcast.net or
(256) 381-2826.
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