New Tools for Monitoring Sewage and Hurricane Creek

Spring has Sprung!

Spring came early this year along Hurricane Creek.

Some of you may remember that I had a pretty significant surgery to repair my Achilles tendon back in November. Before that I was in some pretty serious pain so I didn't get out in the canoe much. Thanks to Dr. Norman Waldrop at Andrews Sports Medicine and the fine folks at ATI physical Therapy in Tuscaloosa I have recovered and can now patrol the creek without pain!

Thanks to Vic, Diamond, Jennifer, and Mike for pushing my limits and helping me walk upright, without PAIN!

 So now I'm Back to work and glad of it.

Photo, courtesy of Angie LaNell

I normally see the Wild Azaleas about now and Mountain Laurel up into May. I was surprised to see the Azaleas were almost gone except some of the higher elevations. 










These were taken in my yard, about 70 feet above the creek. The ones in the creek bottom were already brown and flagging.









My Native Alabamens (Rhododendron alabamense) was still in bloom but beginning to shed its flowers. Normally I do not see them even begin to bloom until late April and early May.

Rhododendron alabamens

It is possibly the most fragrant native azalea of them all. It has a lemony smell that fills my entire yard. Spring certainly snuck up on me this year.

Spirit Dancers, 2009

A dear friend had been wanting to paddle to the mouth of the creek for some time now so we decided to get in the creek before daylight and check it out. I was a bit disappointed because it was a bit more windy than I like for photos. When it's still there's a mist that rises above the water like Spirit Dancers.The wind blew all of the fog away. The photo above was taken a few years ago on just such a morning.



My friend Angie LaNell and I decided to go anyway. I'm sure glad we did. We kept our distance as prescribed by using 2 boats and keeping a space between us but Boy Howdy, what a morning. The first thing that hit me was the amount of bank erosion and the number of huge boulders that had flipped or moved significantly in the recent flood waters.


This section of the bank moved significantly washing boulders out like this one. About 100 feet long and that big boulder that has turned upside down is the size of two pickup trucks. Sitting on the bank during the highest flood, I could hear boulders in the creek banking into each other. Now I can see why it was so audible.


All in all it was a pleasant paddle trip with just enough water. The Mountain Laurel was really starting to pop in the lower section near the river. This doesn't normally happen for a few more weeks. I'll be going back one day this week to catch the full bloom. I expect it to be in about a week.

Mountain Laurel.

I love these. They have several shades of red, pink and white. The pink seem to be the first out this year.

Along the way we passed the Marshall Falls. This was originally a pond built by Jack Marshal years ago to create a pond for fish. Now I knew Jack and found him to be quite a character but an altogether honest character. He told me this story himself. Jack and Elvis Presley were friends, That was well known. Elvis stayed at Jacks place on the creek at times when he was touring nearby. Elvis was there while this spillway was being built and actually lent a hand in stacking some of the rocks. There's no way I can research it for proof but as I said, Jack was an honest character. Elvis and Jack are prominently mentioned in this Tuscaloosa News article.  "Holt native, renowned musician and businessman dies at 88"

Every rock formation you pass is a separate living Eco-systen with mosses, Lichens, wild flowers and assorted flora you can't see without getting out in nature.

Taking time to get out in the woods and waterways is the best therapy for the  soul. Taking pictures is great. Remember this. A canoe across the water leaves no trail. Keep your food wrappers and other trash with you and take it to the can when you get out.

As you get closer to the river, you pass the ruins of the old GM&O Railroad bridges. The first one is built in the 1800s of hand-milled stone using a technique first thought to have been used by early Egyptians.

Up close you can see the drill marks where they would drill small holes then insert wood pegs. I was told they used Cherry because it swelled better when wet and was harder than most. After inserting the pegs, they would keep them wet until they swelled up and cracked the stone. Then using a wide masons chisel the boulder was cleaved. This process was repeated until they had a usable sized, fairly square stone for construction.

The larger holes that seem randomly drilled are where the huge tongs were inserted to lift and place the stones.

I'm not sure what this mark is. It's square and has some sort of symbol carved in the center. I wonder if it was the master Masons signing mark? Very interesting. I'd sure like to learn more about it.




Just downstream from this one is the newer bridge that was built in the 1900s to replace the stone pier bridge. It was built with concrete and riveted steel.

That's the Black Warrior River you see in the distance.

Arriving at the mouth of the creek was sort of an anticlimax. It was gorgeous but it was also the end of the trip. 

Photo Courtesy of Angie LaNell

Time for a quick cup of coffee and head back to the takeout. One cool feature about the mouth of the creek is little known to many. Due to the proximity to the Holt Hydro-generating dam there is a bit of a reversal of the current in the creek. Whenever they turn on the generators and let water out of the pool above, it creates a back-surge of water that can run for 1 to 15 minutes sometimes. If you catch it when it starts, you can go upstream to the landing without paddling at times.

It's almost like a tidal stream.

Advanced Disposal Landfill Citizen Complaint

Please accept the following complaint on behalf of Hurricane Creekkeeper and Friends of Hurricane Creek concerning Advanced Disposal Landfill, Eagle Bluff, (ADLF).

Land permit# 63-26, Water division permit # ALG160090.

Both divisions have received my complaint of Feb. 26, 2020. In that complaint I proved that the so-called tire-wash was NOT being used. On Jan. 23, 2020 the engineering firm Hodges, Harbin,Newberry & Tribble submitted documentation that stated the tire-wash was operational and in service as of January. This is a false statement. The “birdbath” tire-washing basin might have been complete but it was not put in service until the week of March 8^th, after channel 33/40 showed up with camera crews. Brian Pia was told when he interviewed Mr. Rogers on or about that day that he had activated the truck wash on Monday after the film crew was there. Either HHNT was mistaken or the landfill intentionally circumvented the consent order by not using it. That comes to at least 68 days of willful non-compliance with a consent order and the permit requirement to contain the mud onsite. Here’s a link to the story Brian ran on the subject. He said he’d be happy to speak with ADEM and in fact already has.

https://abc3340.com/news/abc-3340-news-iteam/residents-say-a-smelly-landfill-in-tuscaloosa-county-is-polluting-their-neighborhood

Over a time period starting on 03/11/20, just after the 33/40 story ran until this complaint 03/31/20, I have been monitoring the progress after rain events. I am not impressed.

The ADLF described “Birdbath” tire wash is a complete joke and waste of their money. It works to a very small degree but not well enough to keep the trash and mud paste from being tracked out of the landfill onto 12^th street.

Usually the mornings are cleaner since the mud spreader goes about sweeping the previous days mud onto the right of way and onto private property. In some cases he sweeps mud and rocks directly onto people’s graves. Within 2 hours after opening and after a rain, it looks like it did before the birdbath. I like that term. Maybe they can get the buzzards to use it.

One of the major problems they keep facing is the muddy haul road. Sat. of last week they spread some rock down the center of the road but did not spread it. What a waste of money. After a ¾ inch rain it was no use at all. Trucks simply ground it together with mud and tracked it out. The entire road needs a deep layer of rock and replenished more often. That is expensive but as Mr. Rogers told 33/40, “That’s just some of the stuff with running a landfill”. His statement says to me that he knows he can’t control it. Maybe he is part of the problem.

Neither I nor any of the community impacted care about their costs. Our health and safety are more important. This is not just mud. It comes off the tires and undercarriages of trucks, which go into the waste to dump, spin their tires in wet conditions. That packs the trash and mud between the tires and coats the undercarriages. If it is too expensive to operate within the permit parameters they could move on. This facility has completely outgrown its footprint in our community.

Every day they sweep more and more mud onto the right of way that should be contained within their boundary. What is running from the roadside through the intentionally dug ditches to Hurricane Creek is strictly prohibited. ADEM is fully aware of the situation with complaints and news interviews about it lately yet I don’t find any recent files in the records indicating any action has been taken. ADEM P.R. people told Brian Pia, 33/40 News that an investigation would be ordered. I understand the new threat from Covid-19 and the need for social distance but ADEM inspectors can come sit in the cemetery, as I do and observe all they need to see with no human contact.

On 03/23/20 I documented an ADLF employee intentionally digging a trench to drain the mud and water off of 12^th street before operating the mud spreader. The tributary that it leads directly to is an unnamed trib to Hurricane Creek, which passes through a small private pond. The sediment stops at the pond but the turbid water passes through to Hurricane Creek, TMDL listed for turbidity. Today’s turbidity reading at HC was 067 NTU downstream and 013 NTU upstream. That is barely a violation elevation but it a clear indicator that whatever they have done, regardless of cost, it is not enough.

What is going on now has been continuous since the increase in traffic was approved by ADEM and our County Commission. It is time to rethink that decision and or 1. Reduce their traffic again to 1,000 Yds. daily, 2. Issue a cease and desist until this can be adequately remedied, 3. Enforce the consent order and permit requirements by penalizing this facility to the maximum extent allowable.

In another message to ADEM, dated 03/11/20 from Michael B. Stowe, he stated he would replay to my Feb complaint within a week. It is now 20 days since that email but it is not in the E-file. I’d like to see it as soon as it arrives. Should be interesting. I have submitted hard evidence of my claims. 33/40 has also documented some of it and the record is full of violations at this facility.  

John L. Wathen,
Hurricane Creekkeeper
Friends of Hurricane Creek

Creekkeeper is a member of
Waterkeeper Alliance
www.waterkeeper.org

Who has the authority to say someone else
 is not being a good steward of the environment?