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Headlines from around the state
Up one levelNew Report From WWF Projects Stressed Water Resources
As Region Grapples With Second Consecutive Year Of Drought, New Findings Illustrate Significant Climate Vulnerability
Tempest over sewage plant slows Bayou project
BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. - Bayou La Batre officials say a new wastewater treatment plant in this Alabama fishing village is needed now to handle sewage from post-Hurricane Katrina growth and seafood industry waste. Opponents of the plant site agree about replacing an aging treatment plant whose poor environmental record goes back before Katrina flooded the village in 2005.
Glenn, Chapman ethics probes continue
Two high profile ethics investigations may be coming to a head in the coming weeks. A very reliable source tells The Independent that the state Ethics Commission's findings against state environmental chief Trey Glenn may soon be presented to a Montgomery County grand jury. Meanwhile, the Ethics Commission staff may be nearing completion of its investigation into allegations against Secretary of State Beth Chapman and could present her case to the commission at its next meeting in August.
Wanted: New water sources
The Birmingham Water Works Board believes it needs a new water source that can provide an additional 50 million gallons of water per day, and it plans to decide this fall where it will go to get it.
Alabama's Water Uses
The most common uses of Alabama's water
Opposition remains for state reservoirs
As much water as Alabama has flowing through it, the state has only one natural lake within its borders, the 500-acre Lake Jackson in Florala that was formed by a sinkhole.
Just another wild (cat)fish story
Scuba divers inspecting a nearby dam emerge from the water terrified. In the dark waters below, they had spotted catfish as large as a Volkswagen. They refused to go back into the water for fear they might get swallowed whole. That urban legend dates back to the 1950s. More than half-a-century later, fishery biologists in Alabama say they still hear the giant-catfish-below-a-dam story dozens of times a year. It's not just an Alabama story. A search on the Internet finds the same story told about dams all across the United States. The question, though, is could there really be a catfish in Alabama big enough to eat a human?
What are the biggest threats to Alabama's rivers?
A list of the six biggest threats to Alabama's rivers and what you can do to help.
Aquatic life flourishes in Cahaba with dam gone
Alabama's first dam removal to save aquatic life has succeeded at restoring populations of various species, scientists say. Once a year, biologists sit on the shoals of the Cahaba River 40 miles south of Birmingham, peering through masks or plastic-bottomed buckets to count every snail or mussel within an assigned plot. A concrete dam once used as a bridge by trucks was removed in October 2004. Scientists saw changes immediately, but this year's survey, which will conclude Thursday, has been especially eventful.
Public Views New Plans For Prichard Racetrack
People had a chance Thursday night to look at revised plans for the construction of the Alabama Motorsports Park in Prichard. The park is set to be built on 2400 acres of land off Interstate 65 near Industrial Parkway and Kali-Oka Road. Developers submitted a new plan after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found the original one would have changed three miles of Chickasabogue Creek and affected over 170 acres of wetlands. The Corps must issue a permit before the park is built. Former Mobile Mayor Mike Dow is president of the park. He says developers have made a number of changes, including working to stay off wetland areas and reducing the size of the oval track by 30 percent.
Legislative panel working on water policy
A group of Alabama legislators on Monday began preparing to draft a plan to manage and conserve the state's water resources. The Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy and Management met at Auburn University in its first meeting since being formed this spring. The committee is made up of seven members each from the House and Senate. Its members at the meeting chose State Sen. Kim Benefield, D-Woodland, chairman and Rep. Greg Canfield, R-Vestavia Hills vice chairman. The pair sponsored the legislation that created the committee. "The drought of the last two years has just really affected our state and I think emphasized the need for a statewide water management plan," Benefield said.
Solution to water woes isn't close
MONTGOMERY — A panel of lawmakers is gathering for the first time today to discuss water issues, but Alabama remains years away from putting in place a comprehensive water management plan, despite nearly three years of drought-like conditions and an ongoing fight with other Southern states over water supplies.
Black Warrior Riverkeeper settles pollution lawsuit with Alabama Biodiesel
Settlement will restore habitat for two endangered species found only in the Black Warrior basin
Wastewater hearing draws hundreds of residents
KILLEN - Hundreds of concerned residents showed up at a public hearing tonight to voice their concern and disgust over a proposed wastewater treatment plant near Mill and Bluewater creeks.
City moves to police erosion at new home developments
TUSCALOOSA | City officials hope changes to an ordinance regulating erosion, along with voluntary help from homebuilders, will help prevent siltation problems around the city.
60 day notice of intent to sue filed against local developer by Friends of Hurricane Creek
Thursday, 05/29/08, John Wathen, Hurricane Creekkeeper, and Friends of Hurricane Creek, with the assistance of attorney David Ludder, filed a 60 day notice of intent to sue SDW, Inc., for repeated and ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act at the company's Williamsburg subdivision construction site.
Tom's of Maine runs video contest on YouTube
Tom’s of Maine is running a video contest on YouTube this year. We are asking folks to tell us their stories of how they are making a difference for rivers and watersheds, and the grand prize is a Toyota Prius Hybrid.
Critical habitat designated for endangered Alabama Sturgeon
On Tuesday, May 27, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will announce a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the Alabama sturgeon, a species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Plan to open dams could restore migrations of fish
Alabama's great fish migrations ended the year man first walked on the moon. When the gates closed on the new Alabama River dam at Millers Ferry in 1969, an ancient connection between the Cahaba River and the Gulf of Mexico was severed, and a multitude of fish and mussel species began a long, slow spiral that could mean extinction for some. Now, on the heels of a similar effort in Georgia, federal and state regulators and a coalition of environmental groups are working on a plan to restore Alabama's lost migrations by helping the fish get around dams. They hope to reconnect the Cahaba to the Gulf by next year, pushed into action by declines for some species so severe that there is concern those populations may never rebound.
Victory for Public Health and Public Participation!
Today the Environmental Management Commission passed a rule change that will reduce the allowable cancer risk levels in Alabama’s waterways from 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 1 million!
New Report From WWF Projects Stressed Water Resources
Second Annual Bailey Thomson Awards Luncheon