Bird Dogging Hurricane Creek

It's Spring and time for another report from the air about creek conditions and other points of interest. 

My good friend and SouthWings pilot Tom Kahlert picked me up in his replica of a vintage Bird Dog surveillance plane for the mission. The Bird Dog is an excellent platform for photography. Two seats are aligned front to back with all windows capable of opening. From his seat in the front, the pilot can see every target I am looking at. With a pilot as experienced as Tom there's very little need for correction.

Bama Belle

Leaving Bama Air we flew north along the Black Warrior River through town. First up was the Bama Belle parked at the city pier.

Cotton Blossom

Right above the Bama Belle was the newest addition to Tuscaloosa's stern wheel fleet, the Cotton Blossom. William and Fonda Sherrill of Tuscaloosa County purchased the historic showboat the Cotton Blossom in Manderson, La., and traveled the Intracoastal Waterway for 12 days to get to Tuscaloosa. Built in 1928, the Cotton Blossom was the boat featured in the film "Show Boat" in 1951, based on the Broadway musical, which takes place on the Mississippi River. I'll write more on this one later.

Over the years I have seen seen the University of Alabama grow along the river. Many new buildings and landscaping that was not always done using the most protective measures for the river.

This sediment bar has grown exponentially with the University. New people are using newer techniques to contain the run-off with pretty good results but the signs of the past are still visible from the air.




 The work on the new entrance to the University is a measure of the new containment. Not much run-off could be seen at all. I returned later with Black Warrior Riverkeeper to check it out from his boat and it looked to be in good shape.

 

On a heading from town to the mouth of Hurricane Creek I spotted smoke in the vicinity of an unpermitted landfill that has been known to catch fire so we flew over the area. Directly across from Holt High School we found a house on fire.

At first it was just smoking but after a couple of passes we saw a house just beginning to burn. No fire trucks were visible so we called the tower and had them report it. Within minutes Tuscaloosa Fire Dep. showed up and we left to finish the flight. I found out later that no one was hurt.

We were already over Holt so it made sense to shoot over to the Eagle Bluff Landfill or as my dear friend Nancy Callahan refers to it... "Buzzards Roost"

I like to call it Mount Trashkaloosa. 

It is, in my opinion the nastiest scar on the horizon. The bright red mounds of dirt covering metric tons of debris with more coming every day. It has been impossible to get the state or even EPA to enforce the rules set in place to protect our community or Hurricane Creek.

 It towers above the hills and what trees are left after the tornado of 2011. In the summer when it's dry clouds of dust can be seen rising from the trash mountain blowing across the hills and people.In winter rainy season it stays wet for the most part. Huge trucks enter and leave with mud caked on their tires spreading it through the streets where it dries into micro fine dust that people have to breathe. I have visited residents who have to change air conditioner filters far more frequently because of the dust in the home. Furniture and plants stay covered with dust outside making it almost impossible to enjoy the outdoors.

 Even going to the mailbox is a dangerous adventure for some residents as this photo demonstrates. The pavement is 12 feet from this lady's home and only 15 feet from her living room, kitchen and dining room table. She says the noise and dust are very bad inside her home.
I have witnessed it and agree.




Just up the street is the local cemetery. What I have, and continue see the landfill traffic do to this community should be considered criminal. According to Title 6 of the Clean Water Act dealing with disproportionate impact to communities of poverty, race, or ethnicity is not allowed, however the overwhelming numbers of landfills like this one are in just such communities.

 From the air you can see the mud caked street. The side of the road has built up a foot in places from all the mud creating rivulets and rills where it pours off the road heading to Hurricane Creek.

The truck tires pass within 3 feet of family graves. I have witnessed whole funeral processions stopped in total gridlock with trash truck drivers arrogantly gesturing and cursing people who are grieving.

 No community should have to endure such treatment.

According to the permit this facility must control litter, cover ALL waste must be completely covered by the close of business on Fri., maintain vegetative cover on all closed slopes, and regular cleaning of facility entrance to control off-site sediment tracking. (ADEM permit #ALR160090 section 4, storm water control measures, paragraph 4.2)

Landfill from Creek Road 01/04/14

 The last time this slope was covered by my photo records was in Jan of 2014.  Even then it wasn't completely covered and some of the same trash can still be seen sticking out of the slope.

Landfill from Creek Road 03/12/16

 This photo taken 03/12/16 shows the trash pile higher but not covered and trash flagging out of the eroded slopes. ADEM inspector Janna McIndoe has repeatedly since early 2014 made comments to the effect that the erosion rills and trash should be covered. This photo was taken on a Sunday indicating a lack of cover violation.




  She states on May 14, 2015 "Continue working to correct seeps and repair erosion rills"
The seeps can be seen here with the deep and dark green patches of grass right next to the huge erosion rills! Taken 03/13/16.

This one was taken 12/01/15. Not much has been done to correct anything from what I see since 05/14/15.
It's time for ADEM to start taking enforcement seriously. The new structure of funding whereby ADEM is financed through the permits issued it is unlikely that we will see anything different any time soon. ADEM claims their job is not to enforce the Clean Water Act but to issue permits. Is it any wonder why landfills like this one get away with such chronic non compliance? I could go on for pages about this polluter but I'll save it for another post.

Onward and upward to the mouth of Hurricane Creek. It was somewhat turbid but nowhere as bad as I have seen it in the past. I'm not sure exactly why but I'd like to think the presence of Friends of Hurricane Creek had a lot to do with the decrease over the years.

Upstream we came upon the WATCO RR bridge over the creek. A vast section of it was blown down during the tornado on Apr 27, 2011. Scott Bridge Co. did an exceptional job of replacing the bridge while having "0" upsets or bad discharges into Hurricane Creek. Even today almost 5 years later the best management practices including check dams, silt fences and all stone work area can be seen in place. They proved that good stewardship can also be profitable.

This is the parking lot at the PARA Hurricane Creek Park 

We could see from the air the impacts of using what is basically mine waste for aggregate under the pavement for roads and parking areas. I have been very concerned with the practice of mines selling rock associated with coal excavation. It is not a very stable material as it contains shale, clay, silicates, and even coal. Anywhere I have seen it used it breaks down in sunlight even without traffic. When used to under-pave streets and parking lots it breaks down causing holes which lead to chronic repair issues. 
It this case it was made worse by using it for a french drain to channel a spring through the waste to the creek.
Due to planning errors the contractor decided to build this.
The trench was filled with 24 inches of mine waste. It is approved for aggregate by DOT specs but an ALDOT (Alabama Dep of Transportation) representative told me recently they don't use it anymore due to suspected environmental issues and it doesn't hold up. (( I was recently informed by ALDOT that the pit where this came from is NOT on the approved list of suppliers of aggregate. Comment added 06/22/16)) You can look in the ditches along the edge of Hwy 216 and see where it is crumbling even with no traffic on it. The rock brought in to fill this had coal visible in the loads. I commented to the contractor that it wasn't very stable. He said it was approved and cheap so he was using it anyway.

We went from this on 12/18/15

To this on 03/28/16.

 I am going to do a series about this as time goes by but here is a look at where the rock comes from...

This is the Howton Mine, just off Hwy 216. 

It also is a source of mine rock that is not much better than waste. The tiny black pile between the rock pile and the active mine is all the coal visible. It looked pretty obvious that more rock was being sold than coal.

Looking straight into the working face you can see the bright orange stain of iron which indicated potential acid mine drainage issues. But look further where the rock is being excavated. That is being sold as aggregate and used for parking lots like the one at Hurricane Creek Park.

TRI was another source of the rock / waste. 

Here is it's discharge into a tributary of Hurricane Creek.

Black Warrior Minerals coal mine was the first mine given a waiver to change post mine land use from reclaimed forest land to a rock quarry selling the very material needed to reclaim according to the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation act of 1977. It states that mines must be reclaimed to their "approximate original contour"

Here's the discharge into Hurricane Creek on 02/07/08 and again on 03/28/16

02/07/08

03/28/16

It has been bleeding orange as long as it has been here. Once this acidic drainage starts it can almost never be stopped. Lower grades of coal bear more Sulfur than the higher grades but it all contains it in varying degrees. Once it is exposed to water and oxygen it becomes Sulfuric acid and begins to dissolve the rocks around it, releasing heavy metals and other substances toxic to fish and wildlife. 

I will be working with several federal agencies as well as Black Warrior Riverkeeper to address this and try to keep this from continuing. 

In just a few short months you can see the signatory yellow / orange staining at the Hurricane Creek Park where the french drain discharges over the rocks.

It has become very slick so be careful when walking across it. 

Above I mentioned TRI (Tuscaloosa Resources Inc.) They were a source of litigation for us years ago.
It also had a waiver for rock / mine waste sales but as an addition to that it was allowed to become a slurry pond where water is being discharged from a slurry dredge operating in the old Drummond pit along 216. Due to some bad business decision by Walter Energy they wound up closing the mine that supplied both slurry and water to the dredge so it sits high and dry.

 

Water from here was pumped into the TRI abandoned pit where it discharges through seeps in the blast fractured terrain and discharges to Weldon Creek, a tributary of Hurricane Creek.

It wasn't all about gloom and doom. The return over the "M" Bend showed Spring was just around the corner and that's always something to behold on Hurricane Creek. Watch for my Spring 

2016 floral collection of photos coming soon to a PC near you.

Fall 2015 Aerial Recon

Thomas Kahlert, SouthWings Pilot and Hurricane Creekkeeper

Dec. 18, 2015...
It was a bit chilly on the ground but down right cold at 2,000 feet with the window open. That's what it takes get the dirt on polluters and show the real view of why it is so important to protect places like Hurricane Creek.

Tuscaloosa County straddles the Fall Line of Appalachia which makes Hurricane Creek is the southernmost free flowing stream in the Appalachian Mountain Chain. That gives us an ecosystem so diverse you have to go all the way around the world to find a diversity as rich as we have here in the temperate zone according to Dr. E.O. Wilson. So, that's why I am so passionate about protecting this crown jewel of Tuscaloosa County.   

 

Just as we were preparing to take off this guy showed up and left before us. It was great seeing these two old birds on the tarmac together. A real blast from the past. 

On takeoff we made a turn to the East over the old railroad bridge and the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. (The Amp) The bridge has been a source of recent controversy due to it's age and cargo crossing the river so close to the Amp and other public use areas.

                                                 

The rail yard located under 15th street and in a congested area had several trains in staging. The one in the center is made up of all DOT-111 rail cars said to be the most dangerous on the tracks today when it comes to puncture rating. Even though the standards for tank cars has been slightly increased they still are only 12 MPH side impact and 20 MPH head on. No one has ever tested them by dropping them 30 feet from a worn out bridge but I would bet they would not hold up.

 Hurricane Creek and Black Warrior River

Leaving the rail yard we flew next to the mouth of Hurricane Creek. It is located just below the Holt Lock and dam. We now have access to a piece of land known as Spradling Bottoms. It serves as a final take-out for members who paddle but also a place for me to put in for patrol of the lower end of the creek. Many thanks to Dr's Angelia and Doug Woodward for this privilege.

The creek surrounds Spradling Bottoms

From this location I can be at the mouth of the creek for inspection and patrol in about 15 minutes as opposed to an hour prior to this.

I love it in Winter because the air is so clear. Cold but clear!

Holt Lock and Dam

Leaving the river it was easy to see the next target of investigation... 

Mount Trashaloosa!

Mount Trashaloosa, AKA, Buzzards Roost, ADLF Eagle Bluff

Advanced Disposal Landfill (ADLF) is the highest man made landmark in the county. It towers above all of the surrounding terrain and is made of trash. 

Landfill entrance on right, Chambers Cemetery on left

As usual you can see a mud trail leaving the landfill and leading up 12th street causing neighbors to breathe dust and diesel fumes from the hundreds of industrial waste hauling trucks. I later went to the site for ground truthing. It was just as bad on the ground as from the air. 

Advanced Disposal truck kicks up dust

Chambers Cemetery on right

Trucks numbering in the hundreds travel the length of 12th street to enter the landfill. Most are huge industrial sized trucks not just little pickup trucks.

They haul everything from asbestos, roofing material, adhesives, solvents, old tires and lots of things we don't need to be breathing. Nothing stops the roaring of trucks and machinery, even funerals. Many times the funeral procession has been completely gridlocked by these behemoth trash haulers. You would never see this in affluent white neighborhoods. Landfills and environmental justice is a topic for a whole new post.




On the other side of the landfill It was still obvious where the 2011 tornado path is. Wide swaths of empty land where trees are scarce and almost no rebuilding. The still gray looking path runs right through the photo on the left.

 

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Another target for this flight was to check on reclamation progress at Black Warrior Minerals coal strip mine. (BWM) has recently requested a 100% bond release for this site claiming they have met all requirements for phase 3 bond release. According to the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA)  "On eastern coal lands, the final portion of the bond cannot be released until five years after successful revegetation and natural regeneration.  During the five year period, the operator may not seed, fertilize, irrigate, or perform other work designed to artificially enhance the vegetation.[4] 

 

This site hardly meets those requirements. I saw bare ground where total vegetation was supposed to be established and some pretty serious discharge issues at a couple of the ponds. 

This one shows a bright red streak covering the discharge overflow. That indicates heavy metal discharge potential. I've seen it for years associated with other parts of this mine. The banks of the pond look to be discolored and armored with the same red sludge seen in the spillway.

According to the rules the area must have successful revegetation and natural regeneration for five years. This mine was in active status just a year ago. It is my most honest opinion that the request is to make them unaccountable to the recent lawsuit by Black Warrior Riverkeeper and your Hurricane Creekkeeper / Friends of Hurricane Creek.


I've seen this before on the same mine earlier on in the permit. If they get a full release then the state can no longer hold them responsible for ongoing pollution.These photos do not show revegetation and natural regeneration.




We turned north a bit and out of the watershed to another mine in Adger Alabama. The coal waste pile at Shannon mine can be seen for miles around and a visible landmark from 5 miles away on Hwy 216.

A dragline named Mr. Tom sits there idled by low coal prices and terrible business decisions by it's owners. 

It used to sit idle in Hurricane Creek watershed until a few years ago when Drummond thought it would be a good investment to refurbish it and go back to mountain top removal type mining. It made one trip to the Shannon mine and hasn't dug a single bucket of dirt since.

 

After spending millions to get it back to operational status the prices fell off on coal making it unfeasible to operate. At least it isn't cluttering the skyline in Hurricane Creek any more.

Hurricane Creek lies on the Fall Line of Appalachia. According to Office of Surface Mining we are not in Appalachia nor do we have mountain top removal (MTR) mining. False on both counts. This is MTR just as it is in West Virginia. Our mountains are smaller but it is still chops off the tops of mountains for temporary profits and leaves a desolate, worthless landscape behind.

Flying back we cut across the new PARA park on Hwy 216. It reminded me that if we want public access to clean spaces in nature it is up to us all to take pride and ownership of our environment and do all we can to protect it.

I love Hurricane Creek with a passion which is obvious to all who know me. I am that way because I see the potential and need for such places in our children and grand children's future.

 As always I want to thank SouthWings for making these aerial recon flights possible. We got a lot of good data to use in holding polluters accountable.