Edgar Miller, Yadkin Riverkeeper
Yadkin Riverkeeper continues to be the leading advocacy voice on issues impacting water quality in the River, its lakes and tributaries. Please see below for an update on YRK’s most pressing advocacy priorities:
Alcoa Badin Business Park NPDES permit up for renewal. YRK calling for more stringent permit limits and elimination of outfalls in swimming area and boat ramps at Badin Lake – On November 16, YRK will hold a citizen hearing on the renewal of Alcoa’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit to highlight our recommendations for the new permit and ongoing concerns that Alcoa’s hazardous waste disposal sites are still leaching harmful pollutants (cyanide, fluoride, and aluminum) into Badin Lake and Little Mountain Creek. The hearing will be held from 6-8 PM at the Atrium Health Stanly conference room in Albemarle. It will feature presentations by advocates, attorneys, scientists, and community leaders making the case for the state to require Alcoa to excavate the most dangerous of its hazardous waste sites. The goals of the hearing are to convince the NC Division of Water Resources (NCDWR) to include more protective permit requirements and eliminate direct discharges into Badin Lake, and to provide the public with information it needs to effectively participate in the official state public hearing on the permit after the draft permit is issued later this year.
High Rock Lake Nutrient Management Strategy (HRL NMS) under development by NC DWR. YRK staff will participate on steering and technical committees –Yadkin Riverkeeper staff attended the initial HRL Nutrient Management Strategy stakeholders’ meeting on September 29 at the Yadkin County Agricultural Center in Yadkinville. The meeting was the kickoff for a multi-year process to establish a regulatory framework for reducing sediments and nutrients going into HRL that are causing an increase in harmful algal blooms (HABs) and other water quality issues. Riverkeeper Edgar Miller has been appointed to the stakeholder steering committee and will serve on technical committees on Agriculture and Riparian Buffers. Riverkeeper assistant Grace Fuchs will participate in the Stormwater Committee and environmental justice advocate Bailey Hill will serve on the Equity Committee. The development of this strategy is an historic opportunity to finally address long standing pollution issues impacting HRL and other lakes downstream, including agricultural runoff associated with large scale poultry operations and dairy concentrated animal feeding operations or “CAFOs”, particularly on the South Yadkin. WFDD’s Keri Brown did a brief story on the process earlier this month.
State issues draft permit for Colonial Pipeline groundwater treatment facility. Southern Environmental Law Center submits comments on behalf of YRK and the Catawba Riverkeeper calling for more stringent effluent limits and PFAS monitoring and treatment. – The NC Division of Water Resources (DWR) has proposed to issue an NPDES permit to allow Colonial Pipeline to pump and treat groundwater contaminated by the largest gasoline pipeline spill in the state’s history (2 M gallons) that occurred in August 2020. Since that time, Colonial has been pumping contaminated groundwater, treating it on site and shipping it to an offsite treatment/disposal facility. The permit would allow them to build a larger on-site treatment facility that would discharge treated wastewater into the North Prong of Clark Creek, which flows into the Rocky River and eventually the Pee Dee River. Colonial officials briefed the Catawba Riverkeeper, NC Senator Natasha Marcus, who represents the area, and YRK on Tuesday, Oct. 18, to learn more about the details of the new permit and proposed treatment. It appears the permit limits proposed by DWR are NOT based on the best available technology standard required by the federal Clean Water Act. YRK submitted comments and signed onto detailed comments submitted by our partners at the Southern Environmental Law Center, both of which highlighted the need for technology-based effluent limits for carcinogens like benzene and toluene, disclosure, monitoring and treatment of PFAS know to be in the groundwater and called for a public hearing to make the public more aware of what is being proposed and its potential impact on the community and Yadkin Pee Dee watershed. Unfortunately, this appears to be the only feasible approach to deal with the ever-spreading plume of petroleum product that has contaminated the groundwater and threatens surface waters in the area.
Idols Road Rezoning moves forward despite YRK objections and outdated floodplain data. – The Forsyth County Commissioners voted 7-0 to approve a rezoning request for land between Tanglewood Park and the River off Idols Road in southwestern Forsyth Co. Yadkin Riverkeeper testified at the Commissioners meeting on August 25, but was too late to the table to have much of an impact. The rezoning will allow up to 540 single unit homes in what was previously zone as Yadkin Conservation District and Agricultural Land. The case illustrates the threat posed to intact river buffers by ill-advised development. While there will be no construction in the 100-year floodplain, homes will be within 30-40 feet in elevation above the floodplain, which is based on outdated maps and does not reflect increased precipitation projections and increased storm intensity caused by climate change. Winston Salem Journal environmental reporter, John Deem, did several stories on the rezoning, including these two articles.
Smith Reynolds Airport land clearing continues to impact Bushy Fork Creek and the Barkwood neighborhood. YRK calls for immediate stream restoration funding and homeowner compensation for damages. – YRK has re-engaged with residents of the Barkwood community near the Smith Reynolds Airport in efforts to hold the Airport Commission and Forsyth County accountable for severe erosion caused by past land clearing activities at the airport that do not appear to have been properly permitted. This includes land clearing of more than 200 acres several years ago that did not have an approved Erosion Control and Sedimentation Plan as required by state law. The current focus is on asking the county to fund stream restoration projects to prevent and repair the damage that has been done to Brushy Fork Creek and nearby neighbor’s properties, including reimbursements for the damage caused by the erosion. Winston-Salem Journal reporter John Deem has also done a recent story on that issue. Yadkin Riverkeeper Edgar Miller testified at the County Commissioners October 27 meeting encouraging them to fund the stream restoration work on Brushy Fork Creek immediately.
"Unacceptable or Appropriate: Forsyth Airport's Erosion Solutions Falls Short, Critics Say"