Published Wednesday, June 20, 2007,
Law center’s help could push study of
Hurricane Creek
The Alabama
Department of Transportation needs to get on the ball and fund a long overdue
study on Hurricane Creek.
ALDOT — which has become an expert at procrastinating on this issue — has said
that any study of Hurricane Creek and the effects on it by the proposed Eastern
Bypass would be too costly.
But what price can you put on history and preserving the habitat of rare plant
and animal species?
They cannot be replaced once they are gone, a fact that seems to escape some of
the folks at ALDOT.
Maybe it will help that the Virginia-based Southern Environmental Law Center
threw its weight behind the cause this week, with the support of the Friends of
Hurricane Creek and The Sierra Club.
But it shouldn’t take outsiders to encourage the state of
Hurricane Creek Keeper John Wathen has led a crusade
for years to have another study funded.
A $227 million bypass that would connect Interstate 20/59 to U.S. Highway 82
will pass through the bend of Hurricane Creek, home to rare plant and animal
species.
Although an environmental study was done in 1999, it did not address everything
required by federal guidelines, such as the effect of increased pollution, silt
deposits and erosion from secondary development on the creek’s environmental
health.
A giant bypass — one that will cross the creek with five different bridges —
isn’t something that can be undone once the construction is complete.
So a study — one that was federally mandated in the first place — shouldn’t be
too much to ask for the state Department of Transportation to fund.
The natural assets of Hurricane Creek should not be a casualty of those who
would construct a highway bypass without thoroughly considering the long-term
consequences.
Sites of historic and archeological interest also can be found along the creek.
They include Indian habitations and several century-old “belly mines.”
The Southern Environmental Law Center has taken on ALDOT before and with good
cause.
In some cases, ALDOT has gone back and done studies over, but it appears in
many cases the motivation is the threat of a lawsuit, at least when it comes to
environmental issues.
A study is a small price to pay to make sure that
ALDOT has persistently ignored the comments and pleas of local community
members who have asked for a complete study to be done on the creek.
We hope that this latest plea for help from both local and nonlocal
groups will be cause for a wake-up call.
A comprehensive study that follows federal guidelines is long overdue.