Demolition delayed by lack of permit

State transportation department failed to obtain stormwater management permit

Houses destroyed by the April 27, 2011, tornado are cleared along Crescent Ridge Road and Iris Drive in Holt on May 24. Demolition was stopped Tuesday because the Alabama Department of Transportation failed to obtain a necessary permit.
Michelle Lepianka Carter | The Tuscaloosa News

By Jason Morton
Staff Writer

Published: Friday, May 31, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 10:36 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Less than a week after it began, the Alabama Department of Transportation has halted demolition of a series of homes damaged in the April 27, 2011, tornado.

The work stoppage was blamed on ALDOT's failure to obtain a stormwater management permit through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

“Previously, we believed no permit was necessary,” said ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris in a news release announcing the stoppage. “However, after examination by ALDOT personnel in Tuscaloosa and Montgomery, a permit is needed and work was placed on hold until that permit is issued.”

The work began May 22 and was stopped on Tuesday. In that span, 11 of about 30 homes had been cleared.

Harris said the permitting process through ADEM is expected to take about three weeks.

Once the proper environmental permits are in hand, Cahaba Disaster Recovery of Mobile will resume the $193,000 job.

The demolition and cleanup are expected to be complete by the end of September.

Tuscaloosa environmental activist and Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen alerted ALDOT to the permitting infraction.

Wathen has been critical of ALDOT's delay in clearing the homes that the agency purchased soon after the storm, saying last week that he was “disappointed” by the two-year delay. Wathen said Thursday that ALDOT should follow the same rules as other developers.

“The permit is a way for citizens to monitor the work plan and insure that proper environmental restraints are in place,” he said. “Every other developer is required to do so. ALDOT is not and should never be held above the laws everyone else has to obey.”

ALDOT spent almost $4 million to buy the properties in order to make way for the proposed Eastern Bypass highway that, if constructed, would connect Interstate 20/59 to U.S. Highway 82 in Northport.

The proposed four-lane divided highway, first suggested in 1988, now carries an estimated $250 million price tag. There is no set date for construction to begin on the bypass because of uncertain funding, according to ALDOT.

Meanwhile, the damaged homes — some still with trees across them and others since inhabited by animals and

vagrants — sat seemingly untouched for more than two years and became what nearby residents called eyesores and safety hazards.

Some of the about 37 properties contained only foundations, mobile home pads or underground septic tanks and grease traps that also will be demolished once the work resumes.

Kevin Skelton, who lives with his wife and son near several of the damaged properties, said last week that he and his wife, Judy, were glad to see some action being taken, but that they were concerned about the future upkeep of the sites.

“Yes, this takes care of the current issues, but what about the long haul?” Judy Skelton said. “They're our neighbors now, and as a community, we want them to maintain their land the same way that we do.

“We've seen what they've done, or not done, in the past.”

Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.

--
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?

Anyone who notices

ALDOT Begins Crescent Ridge Demolition

 

ALDOT begins Crescent Ridge demolition 

Houses destroyed by the April 27, 2011, tornado are cleared along Crescent Ridge Road and Iris Drive in Holt on Friday

Michelle Lepianka Carter | Tuscaloosa News

By Stephanie Taylor

Staff Writer

Published: Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 24, 2013 at 10:57 p.m.

State removing homes damaged by 2011 tornado

Some of the last remaining tornado-damaged structures along Crescent Ridge Road are being demolished.

The Alabama Department of Transportation bought nearly 70 tracts of land that were in the path of the April 27, 2011, tornado that damaged large swaths of Tuscaloosa and eastern Tuscaloosa County. Nearly 30 damaged structures sat seemingly untouched for more than two years and became what nearby residents called eyesores and safety hazards.

ALDOT spent nearly $4 million to buy the property to make way for a proposed highway that would connect Interstate 20/59 to U.S. Highway 82 in Northport.

As recently as last week, trees still sat atop shells of houses that were missing roofs and walls. Stray animals and some people had made homes in the dilapidated structures. Open septic tanks were scattered about the area.

Crews started to demolish the structures on Tuesday. It should be about three months until all demolition is complete, said Dee Rowe, ALDOT 5th Division engineer.

Approximately 30 structures and approximately 37 properties with only foundations, mobile home pads or underground septic tanks and grease traps will be demolished, Rowe said.

ALDOT paid a contractor $192,993 to complete the job.

“It’s long overdue,” said Kevin Skelton, who lives with his wife and son near several of the damaged properties. He and his wife Judy were glad to see some action being taken this week, but they’re concerned about future upkeep.

“Yes, this takes care of the current issues, but what about the long haul?” Judy Skelton said. “They’re our neighbors now, and as a community, we want them to maintain their land the same way that we do. We’ve seen what they’ve done, or not done, in the past.”

An ALDOT engineer told The Tuscaloosa News in March that crews had inspected and maintained the properties.

“We never saw anyone out there. If they did inspect it, they did no follow up,” Kevin Skelton said.

Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen said he was glad to see the demolition underway, but he voiced concerns as well.

“I am still disappointed that it has taken years to complete what ALDOT has demonstrated only takes a few weeks when the job is done according to the laws every other citizen had to comply with much quicker,” he said. “ALDOT should never be allowed to hold themselves above those laws everyone else has to follow.”

Wathen, a longtime vocal opponent of the bypass, told The Tuscaloosa News in March that he suspected that property was being neglected in hopes that residents who stayed or rebuilt in the area would be encouraged to sell.

The proposed four-lane divided highway known as the Eastern Bypass was first proposed in 1988 and now carries an estimated $250 million price tag. There is no set date for the bypass construction because of uncertain funding, according to ALDOT. The proposed route crosses over the “M Bend” of Hurricane Creek, a popular part of the creek noted for rare wildlife and unique rock formations, and several residential areas, including the upscale growing Townes of North River neighborhood.

Judy Skelton suggested that residents of the Holt area would be better served by a new high school on the Crescent Ridge Road area property than a bypass.

Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0210.

Malfeasance by ALDOT

Malfeasance by ALDOT

Should never be accepted as the norm

5th division Alabama Dep. of Transportation has to be one of the most inept state departments I have ever encountered. Time after time ALDOT has misquoted the truth or just not told it at all.

This recent string of malfeasance is the limit. 5th Division ALDOT needs to be completely reseated with competent people at the head.

As far back as I can remember there has been a communications problem with L. Dee Rowe, division chief ALDOT 5th division. I sincerely believe she is incapable of performing transparently or truthfully. She obviously doesn't have the skills to keep her employees on task to complete jobs under her command.

After the tornado of April 27th, 2011, ALDOT purchased over 30 homes damaged or destroyed by the storm. Rules were passed at the city and county level demanding that ALL houses and structures left by the tornado MUST be demolished within a specifies time frame. ALDOT made some closed door meetings to allow the houses to remain after the deadline. Why? It is my sincere opinion that this has been done intentionally to reduce the land values here to accommodate purchase of properties for the Eastern Bypass.

The house above was in the process of being torn down by FEMA and the county I was told. The minute ALDOT got the landowner to sign the sale papers the crews were told to stop demolition at once and the house still stands as it was that day. WHY?

There is no other reason I can come up with except that it was intentional.

In June of last year, I asked why the houses were left in this deplorable condition and was met with "misquotes". ALDOT claimed that the houses had already been placed on a list for bids. They also told Isaiah Harper of 33/40 news the same thing.

After this story ran, it was weeks before ALDOT responded to the problem by boarding up some of the houses but leaving more than a dozen crushed septic tanks open to the public to fall in or be made sick from the gasses and mosquitoes created by the open tanks. The houses were boarded up at the request of the Sheriffs office after an attempted abduction there.

Nearly a year later we had to get 33/40 to come back out as well as the T'News to run stories about why ALDOT had still not honored the promise to fix the problems left by their  premature purchases of dilapidated houses for the Eastern Boondoggle.

33/40 ran this piece recently... 

A lot of information was left out of the first stories so I ran a piece in this blog to cover the "rest of the story" as Paul Harvey used to say.

Stephanie Taylor, Tuscaloosa News also ran this story.

ALDOT came and filled in only the holes I sent pictures of but once again claimed the entire area was made safe and secure by David Kemp of ALDOT 5th division. He later recanted saying "I must have quoted it wrong" That was after 33/40 put him on the spot about past "misinformation" he spread about is failure to perform his job.

That wasn't the end of it.
After the story ran on 33/40 and T'News, I got a couple of calls asking if I had seen Cherrywood Circle? Rumors of open septic tanks and foul odors were enough for me to go and look. In about 30 minuted on the ground, I had located at least 9 more open septic tanks right in the middle of survivors who were trying to rebuild their neighborhood. All were open and full of putrid water and most were visible from Google Earth!

No excuses for not knowing the locations of the tanks

Once again, I called in the media since ALDOT 5th division was consistently quoting it wrong as David Kemp claimed. This time I sent the photos to Montgomery ALDOT headquarters. Within less than an hour of a phone call with ALDOT in Montgomery, an army of trucks, heavy equipment, subcontractors, and ALDOT 5th division leaders (or should I say lack of leadership) all showed up as if the Bryant bridge was falling! A huge effort was made to close the tanks before the media showed up but it didn't work.

ALDOT showed up just before 5 P.M. at the wrong location.

I sat in my truck across the field and watched them assemble. All of this happened within minutes of the call to Montgomery but Rowe and Kemp had been "missing" the tanks in their "weekly inspections" where Kemp was quoted as saying “ALDOT has been maintaining property and making weekly inspection throughout the acquisition process,” Kemp wrote in an email to The Tuscaloosa News. “Structures have been secured and maintenance forces have removed non-structural debris from the area."He must have "quoted it wrong" again!

L. Dee Rowe refused to be interviewed but told 33/40 off camera that she had only been told of these last week. Neighbors in the area state that they have been calling about the stench for over a year now. Maybe Dee "quoted it wrong" too!

L. Dee Rowe, ALDOT 5th Division Chief

 It did my heart good to see all of the ALDOT 5th division leaders stomping around the tall grass looking for liabilities they should have closed almost 2 years ago now.

L. Dee Rowe, ALDOT 5th division chief (center) finally does her job.

They worked until about 9:45 that night with beepers, diesel engines, clanging of equipment and even hammers 1/4 mile away were heard banging nails into houses Kemp claimed were "secure"

Isaiah ran this story...

ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

Now you might think that would be enough to get ALDOT to do a comprehensive search of all of their properties to see f anymore liabilities remained. They looked all around where I was parked on the Right of Way. They carefully avoiding close contact with me or my cameras. In doing so, they left another open septic tank for several days more. Isaiah Harper and I went back to the site on Mon. 3 days later and it was still open. On inspection, I found a dead cat bloated and decomposing in the tank. I bet someone was wondering "now why doesn't that darned cat come home?"

I sent pictures of the tank to Montgomery again but this time something really happened.  A crew of ALDOT workers showed up with tiny orange flags to walk out the entire area over a couple of days.

It looked like about 10 people in all which should have pointed out any remaining problems. After they left, I went back and the open septic tank was still there and open to the public! Once again, I notified Montgomery and copied the news along with 33/40. THE TANK WAS COVERED THAT DAY!

If 5th division was run by competent leaders, none of this would have been necessary! 

 

It's time for Governor Bentley to take action here since it is evident ALDOT leaders are not. We need truthful and transparent leaders at ALDOT, not the current L. Dee Rowe T and company!

Enough is enough!

Friends of Hurricane Creek Cleanup

Friends of Hurricane Creek

2013 cleanup

May 04, 2013

Starting @ 9 A.M.

Friends of Hurricane Creek would like to invite you to the 2013 Hurricane Creek Cleanup

HC Cleanup 2011

 This year we will host the cleanup at Watson's Bend as usual but with a twist.

We have been diligently working to clean up the Apr. 27th, 2011 tornado. Most of the campground has been cleared of the large trees and what's left is limbs that will be chipped into mulch for use in the community and our trails.

This year we will be partnering with Mercedes Benz for the first time. We would like to send a big round of thanks to them for being good neighbors over the years in Hurricane Creek Basin.

There will be a BBQ lunch for volunteers and lots of fun on the creek for all!

For more information contact Your Hurricane Creekkeeper hccreekkekeper@gmail.com or leave a message @ 205/507/0867  

Contact us on Facebook

5th Divison ALDOT Needs to Come Clean

5th Divison ALDOT Needs to Come Clean

OPEN SEPTIC TANKS, UNSECURED TRAPS

Time after time ALDOT 5th Division has made statements that simply do not add up to the truth. Starting years ago when the Eastern Bypass was first introduced to the present, ALDOT has low-balled the price and made claims of total compliance. What I have seen and documented over the same span has been quite a different scenario. There's no room here to go into all of the details but here is a link to my comments to ALDOT at the last "hearing". 

What I want to expose today is the latest string of ALDOT "misquotes". 

Isaiah Harper, 3340 News ran a story nearly a year ago concerning the houses along Crescent Ridge Road and why they were still standing. ALDOT's David Kemp told Harper then that the bids had been let out and all the houses would be torn down soon.

Flash forward to March 15, 2013. ALDOT once again said the bids had been let out and the houses would be torn down by April. When Harper asked David Kemp why it hadn't been done his response was mostly double talk and the line "Du, we must have quoted it wrong." 

How do you quote something wrong when you didn't post the bids at all? Once, I could believe this but the exact same thing was told to the Skelton family years ago when they bought the family home under a "hardship purchase". Months after the purchase the family asked why the house was still standing and the response was "we have let the bid our and we are waiting for the contractors to respond".

It doesn't take years to get a bid.

SUNDAY March 24th, 2013, Stephanie Taylor of the Tuscaloosa News wrote a feature piece on the latest issue where ALDOT's David Kemp must have "must have quoted it wrong".

"ALDOT Fifth Division Chief Engineer David Kemp said that non-structural debris has been removed from the area and that plans have been made to demolish the structures this spring" David Kemp.

Mr. Kemp was further quoted as saying... “ALDOT has been maintaining property and making weekly inspection throughout the acquisition process,” Kemp wrote in an email to The Tuscaloosa News. “Structures have been secured and maintenance forces have removed non-structural debris from the area." Take a look for yourself at photos taken the same day the story ran. You will see doors broken in, windows open, no doors at all, beds made with sheets were people have been sleeping (or other things) in there. 

 Trees still lay on houses that were there April 27th 2011.

 “ALDOT has been maintaining property and making weekly inspection throughout the acquisition process,” David Kemp. He must have quoted it wrong again.

“It looks like a war zone,” said Holt resident John Wathen, a longtime vocal opponent of the bypass and, as Hurricane Creekkeeper, an advocate for the protection, preservation and restoration of the Hurricane Creek watershed. “We deserve better.”

Far more alarming than the open houses was the open septic tanks! I found at least 4 septic tanks broken open for months. If ALDOT has been inspecting for the last year then I have to assume that these were known to ALDOT and they consider this to be "secure" and "maintained".

He must have quoted it wrong again!

Many out here have become accustomed to the war zone like appearance and consider it a warped sort of normal now. That is a sad statement of our times. It is especially hard for some of the elders left here to drive by the houses owned by ALDOT that still bear the body count and search numbers along the streets. It creates a sort of stress related PTSD not known to anyone else in the county because it has been cleaned up everywhere else but the Eastern Boondoggle corridor!

Empty prescription bottles on the ground

These so-called "secured" houses have become havens for drug and other criminal activity. It makes our community unsafe and undesirable to anyone wanting to build anything new here. Empty pill bottles and alcohol containers litter the floors inside houses that are still dry enough to get some sleep or party. Sheets have been placed on one of the beds dragged up close to a broken out window.

Bed semi made with books and bottles all around

 Whether ALDOT ever demolishes the houses or gets to build the Eastern Boondoggle, we the tax paying citizens of Tuscaloosa County (and in fact the nation since this is a federally funded project) deserve truthful and transparent officials at the state departments. If the people at 5th Division ALDOT can't be forthright and honest in their comments then let them be gone.

(All comments, opinions, and photos by John L. Wathen)

ALDOT misquoted?

Did ALDOT (Alabama Dep. of Transportation) misquote the truth or just not tell it the first time?

After the tornado of Apr 27, 2011, Holt was left in shambles. The city of Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa County both passed ordinances declaring that all damaged homes not repaired within a specified time must be torn down. ALDOT, however seems to be held to a lower level of accountability.

About 30 of those homes were purchased by ALDOT because they lie in the projected path of the Eastern Bypass. As of this writing, Mar.16, 2013, those houses are still standing. Many still have the same trees laying on them for nearly two years.

Last year, ALDOT told 3340 news that they had let the bids and were awaiting prices to come in (paraphrasing) They also told another landowner who sold to them years ago the same thing over 5 years ago. It doesn't take years to get contractors to make a bid on making money!

Below is a video of the 3340 news report from this year.


This next video is from a year ago. Why is ALDOT held to a lesser level of accountability. As a state department they should be held to a much higher level of accountability since it is our tax dollars that pays their wages.

Truth or not, you decide and then let your elected officials know what you think about this state agency that refuses to be transparent.

Spring is on the way!

Spring is springing on Hurricane Creek

If I don't post something pretty once and a while, 

I forget why I became a photographer in the first place. Hurricane Creek is a wonderful place to see all of the Spring colors of the region. It's location on the "Fall Line" gives it a floral diversity known only along the Tibetan Plateau according to Dr. E.O.Wilson, Harvard U.

Last week I started noticing that the wild flowers are coming up much earlier than usual so I took the Canon EOS 5 D for a walk. Below is some of what I caught. Many of these are very tiny and close to the ground so they are easily missed unless you take time to smell the flowers (so to speak)

Please enjoy the reasons I do this job of protecting what I consider to be Tuscaloosa's Crown Jewel.

I was inspired by my photo mentor, Beth Maynor Young some years back to shoot Hurricane Creek and use the photos to tell the story of this wonderful treasure. Since then I have been taken to some of the worlds largest man-made disasters of this era.

Kingston Coal ash disaster

Kingston coal ash disaster

BP Oil disaster

Gulf of Mexico 05/07/10

I have to keep an eye on the beauty that surrounds me in the crazy world or I can't do the job as Your Hurricane Creekkeeper.

Huckleberries, Blueberries, Wildflowers of all descriptions are popping to open. 

Huckleberries

 

 

Wild Blueberries

Red Maple

Silver Maple

Trillium (top) and Ginger (bottom)

Wild Azaleas

Many other species of wildflowers can be seen that I don't have names for.

Phew! Thanks for indulging me. I have to have a shot of beauty to deal with all the ugly!