Watershed Update, Winter/Spring 2008

Stekoa Creek Report

Fountains of raw sewage flowing out of a manhole, then directly in to Scott Creek (top right) near its confluence with Stekoa Creek; March 2008.

Click here to see a larger version. The Chattooga Conservancy was on the scene to discover another major sewage spill in the Stekoa Creek watershed that occurred during a recent rainy day in March. The site was at Scott Creek, at a troublesome area of numerous sewer line crossings and low-lying manholes that are in the stream bed, behind the Rabun County Civic Center and about 1/4 mile before Scott Creek flows into Stekoa Creek. This particular sewage spill was caused by rain water infiltrating the sewage collection system by way of various breaks in the lines, thus causing the sewer lines to fill beyond capacity and explode out of the collection system through a manhole cover. The fountain of raw sewage continued flowing for hours, subsiding as the rain run-off diminished.

Is this sewage spill just another travesty for Stekoa Creek-business as usual for over 30 years in this dirty waterway, that is also infamous as a polluted, major tributary to the National Wild & Scenic Chattooga River? Perhaps not, as times might be changing. Hear this: in response to the contemporary water quality data assembled by the Chattooga Conservancy's water sampling program in Stekoa Creek, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division's (EPD) compliance and enforcement division recently stated that they are going to "get back on track" with their agency's charge to help improve Stekoa's water quality. At the same time, the EPD has categorized this most recent sewage incident as a "major spill," which means that in excess of 10,000 gallons of raw sewage was leaked. This will, in turn, prompt a "notice of violation," issued from the EPD to the City of Clayton. Further, the EPD says they expect to see a response from the City of Clayton that will include a corrective action plan for fixing the sewage collection infrastructure, and a time line for implementing this plan. There has also been talk in the EPD about issuing a new "consent order" for cleaning up Stekoa Creek, which would spell out specific action steps that the City of Clayton would have to implement under deadlines as well as threat of fines.

Meanwhile, on the bright side, there is growing support at Clayton City Hall for starting the process of cleaning up Stekoa Creek. For instance, the city worked in cooperation with the Chattooga Conservancy to apply for a 319(h) program grant to help work on several issues that could improve water quality authority in the areas of soil and erosion control inspections, and code compliance for ground disturbing activities. Concerning the latter, the Clayton City Council also recently approved a moratorium on building in the Stekoa Creek floodplain, that is in effect until the city abides by the requirements of their own flood plain ordinance. In addition, the Clayton City Council is seeking resources and has applied for help in addressing erosion and sedimentation, flood plain encroachment, municipal water loss, and the failing sewer infrastructure. So while Stekoa Creek is just as dirty as ever, there are some new attitudes at city hall that call for acknowledging the significance of Stekoa Creek's polluted waters, and moving forward right now with solutions.

Beginning this spring the Chattooga Conservancy, in cooperation with the U. S. Forest Service, will start collecting water samples at the confluence of Stekoa Creek and the Chattooga River, and at several more points on the river. The purpose here is to update water quality data while determining pollution levels in the Chattooga River that can be attributed to Stekoa Creek. We will also continue weekly water sampling at numerous sites in the Stekoa Creek watershed within or near Clayton city limits, and keep the work of improving Stekoa's water quality at the forefront of our programs.

Focus on Flood Plain Management

With Stekoa Creek at flood stage in the foreground, this image shows the as yet unexplained flood plain filling project on Highway 441 in Rabun County known as the "Duvall site."

Click here to see a larger version. The Chattooga Conservancy recently organized a meeting in Clayton, GA, that included representatives from Georgia Environmental Protection Division, officials from Rabun County and the City of Clayton, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Rabun County Chapter of Trout Unlimited, to explore a plan for restoring the ecological integrity of Stekoa Creek. Flood plain management was a major item on the agenda, since much of the sediment in Stekoa Creek has been a direct result of filling in the creek's flood plain, and we expected additional flood plain filling to begin in the near future.

One or two quick looks at Stekoa Creek's flood plain reveals a sorry state of affairs, ranging from concrete embankments on areas of the creek proper, to piles of debris, fill dirt, and rocks in other places, to mountains of packed dirt upon which sit developments. Just how did Stekoa's flood plain get to be so abused?

In the early 1980s the City of Clayton withdrew from the National Flood Plain Insurance Program (NFIP), largely due to regulatory requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, the agency that administers the NFIP) that mandated local flood plain protection ordinances in order to get flood plain insurance. The city of quickly realized that without flood plain insurance they would be unable to get grants and loans. So in 1985, the city resolved to commission a re-study of their flood plain maps, and complete a mitigation plan for damage done during the years when the city had withdrawn from the NFIP. This study was completed in December of 1987, and concluded that mitigation measures would be too expensive to lower then-present flood levels, and that a new floodway zone should be established. By early 1989, Clayton had complied with the minimum requirements to be reinstated in the NFIP, with the following statement by FEMA: "However, in light of the city's past performance in the program and the highly detrimental flood plain development which occurred during the period of the city's withdrawal from the NFIP, we will continue to monitor Clayton's flood plain management program closely to assure its continued compliance." Unfortunately FEMA did not follow up, and the City of Clayton did not enforce its flood plain protection ordinance as required by FEMA.

Enter Clayton Mayor Tom Ramey, whose business "Ramey Enterprises" began in January 2008 filling the flood plain at the confluence of Stekoa and Needy Creeks, within the floodway area as defined by FEMA, which is a critical unfilled flood plain at the north end of Clayton. Having just researched this issue, the Chattooga Conservancy questioned if Mayor Ramey was in compliance with the city's flood plain protection ordinance and requested a copy of the permit for this activity, as required by the ordinance. After studying the flood plain ordinance,

The "arm pit" of the Stekoa Creek watershed: dumping fill in the flood plain; sewage lines in the creek; and, flood-prone manholes. This site is at the crossing of Marsengill & Shadyside St. in Clayton.

Click here to see a larger version.city officials agreed that the city must approve a permit for filling in the flood plain, and that no filling should occur in the "floodway" as defined by FEMA. There was no such permit on record for the activity in question. Thus, the Chattooga Conservancy delivered a formal letter to the city requesting immediate enforcement of the ordinance by issuing a stop work order. On February 1st, the city marshal issued a stop-work order for Ramey Enterprises' filling in the Stekoa Creek flood plain.

On February 12th, at the regular meeting of the Clayton City Council, the Chattooga Conservancy requested that the city impose a moratorium on all filling in the Stekoa Creek flood plain. The measure passed by unanimous vote. It was also agreed to send the city marshal to a training course on flood plain management sponsored by the State of Georgia. Here, the state trainers recommended changing Clayton's flood plain ordinance that prohibited all filling in the floodway, putting forth the justification that such a prohibition would invite a "takings" lawsuit based on the argument that private property development rights were being taken away by this development restriction. The city council abided, and essentially created an opportunity for floodway filling projects if the project's engineering studies could claim no increase in water levels during base flood events. Meanwhile, the Chattooga Conservancy will be studying Rabun County's flood plain protection ordinance, which would address the greater Stekoa Creek watershed as well as numerous streams in the Tallulah River watershed, to initiate the process of enforcement.

Interstate 3:
Now Targeting South Carolina

Politicos are attempting to switch the proposed I-3 corridor out of Georgia and into South Carolina--where it's not wanted either.

Map created by Hugh Irwin. Click here to see a larger version. In classic NIMBY ("not in my back yard!") fashion, U.S. Representative Paul Broun (R-GA) moved in early January 2008 to change the proposed Interstate 3 corridor route out of northeast Georgia and into neighboring South Carolina. The controversial I-3 project, which was revealed to the public in 2005 (see Chattooga Quarterly summer 2005), is a proposal to establish a new interstate highway from Savannah to Knoxville by way of northeast Georgia, and possibly through the Chattooga River watershed via Georgia state highway 441. Since its inception, public concern has led to widespread opposition in northeast Georgia and western North Carolina against building a new interstate highway in this area. This opposition has been fueled by well-founded concerns about the environmental destruction that would accompany interstate highway construction, as well as other ill effects such as the potential for radioactive cargo that could travel this route between the Savannah River Site and Oakridge National Laboratory.

Meanwhile, I-3 was allocated $1.32 million of tax payer's money for study by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), and the project receded into the FHA's massive bureaucracy for further consideration. All the while, citizens have continued to oppose the new interstate, calling for reallocating the $1.32 million study funds to a number of other worthy federal expenditures, and canceling any further activity on the project.

As of the winter of 2008, the FHA's I-3 study was not yet underway. Enter now Rep. Broun's proposal for making a "technical correction" to the interstate route, to re-direct it through South Carolina. Rep. Broun's "technical correction" would shift the I-3 study to address possible routes from Augusta, GA, through Greenwood, Clinton and Greenville, SC, possibly utilizing U. S. 72 and 25, and from there onward in a northwesterly direction towards Knoxville. . The proposed SC route would have the interstate plough right through family farms, prime hunting territories, historic areas, rural countryside, and then through upstate South Carolina's ecologically unique Blue Ridge Escarpment area.

The Chattooga Conservancy was one of the first groups to oppose the construction of I-3 altogether, and since 2005 we've been tracking this issue. Once we learned of this recent "technical correction" proposal, the Chattooga Conservancy immediately alerted SC organizations about the switch. Upstate Forever, a Greenville-based conservation group with significant clout, has now joined the opposition to the South Carolina route in taking a strong position against the I-3 project. We urge all of our South Carolina members to contact U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-SC) and voice your opposition to the unneeded and destructive I-3 project in South Carolina, and anywhere else.

Land Swap: Net Loss of Public Land in the Chattooga Watershed

The U.S. Forest Service recently proposed a land swap that would result in a 234 acre net loss of national forest land in Rabun County, GA. It's called the "multi-party exchange," and the Forest Service wants to trade away 6 separate tracts of national forest land in Rabun County, including 2 large tracts totaling about 237 acres on the East Boggs Mountain Road that are slated for management by the Rabun County School Board for "future school system expansion and needs." Another sizeable tract of 70 acres on the trade list is adjacent to the (now closed) Rabun County landfill and would be owned by Rabun County, while the remaining 3 smaller tracts lay along highway 441 and would be deeded to a private landowner.

Trading the Boggs Mountain Road tracts out of the national forest system would continue the transfer of land in this specific area that has been ongoing over the last few years. Here, recent history shows that a large tract was removed from the national forest system in 2000, and another exchange in 2002 of a 45-acre tract that now houses the Rabun County Middle School.

Around Boggs Mountain, the northern portion of the area is of particular interest due to its location on some very steep slopes adjacent to Stekoa Creek, which is a well known and very polluted waterway in Rabun County that is also major tributary to the Chattooga River. In anticipation of the land trade going through, the Chattooga Conservancy has suggested to the Rabun County School Board that placing a conservation easement on these steep slopes would be appropriate, as this could protect this sensitive area from the types of development that could easily cause more erosion, sedimentation, and fecal pollution into the already damaged Stekoa Creek.

Future management of tract next to the county landfill is also of concern because of the creeks and springs in the area and its current value in the community as wildlife habitat and for seasonal hunting grounds. Meanwhile, the three tracts next to highway 441 (totaling about 17 acres altogether) slated to enter the private sector might also wind up in commercial developments that could easily contribute to the spreading sprawl along the highway 441 corridor, further detracting from the scenic beauty of Rabun County. With the reality of all the development pressures continuing to mount on Rabun County's private land base, we urge folks to follow up on the anticipated transfer of these national forest lands into the private sector and/ or county ownership. Specifically, advocate for management practices that conserve clean water, green space, and other environmental values that are so easily lost while development activities go forward.

Forest Service Budget:
Facing the Chopping Block--Again

The Forest Service's budget has been slashed by more than one-third since 2001, with this year's proposed cuts inclusive of fire prevention and fire preparedness. Yet another cut in the U. S. Forest Service's yearly budget is in the works, if the budget plan submitted by the Bush Administration for FY 2009 is approved by our congressional lawmakers. This most recent proposal amounts to cutting 8% of the agency's annual funding, and comes on the heels of successive reductions that have slashed the Forest Service's budget by more than 1/3 since 2001. This also comes at a time when the Forest Service's costs due to forest fires are soaring, because of widespread drought.

The Bush Administration's budget plan could eliminate nearly 10% of the agency's work force nationwide, and force cutbacks in road and trail maintenance, law enforcement, recreation (including core services such as trash collection and restroom maintenance), research, state and private forestry program assistance, and other non-fire related programs. Dollars would also be cut from fire prevention and preparedness, hazardous fuels reduction, and other precautionary fire operations-all potentially useful programs that could reduce the risk of future wildfires. Meanwhile, the agency's line item for outright wildfire fighting would see a significant increase.

This proposed new budget raises great concerns about the job our federal government is doing as caretaker of this nation's public lands. Over the past decade, priorities have shifted away from fire prevention, road maintenance, wildlife management, recreation, and associated amenities that benefit millions of visitors to our national forest system, and towards the work of fire fighting. And unless it's changed by congress, the Bush Administration's newest financial plan for the U. S. Forest Service will seriously undercut the agency's mission to "Care For the Land & Serve the People."

Georgia Water:
Strong Protections Still Needed

Water use figures in Georgia in 2000 show over 50% going to thermoelectric power production (nuclear, oil, and coal energy). Despite the recent rain, Georgia is still experiencing one of the worst droughts in history. This drought is threatening river flows and dependant aquatic species, clean drinking water supplies, and the very foundations of large sectors of commerce. In spite of the much-touted Georgia Water Plan that was passed during this year's session of the Georgia Statehouse, the state still needs strong protections for water resources as well as binding regulations that would ensure wise water use.

Before and during the 2008 legislative session, the Chattooga Conservancy worked with the Georgia Water Coalition, which is a statewide network of over 155 organizations, to promote improvements to the final draft of the state water plan. These improvments focused on: establishing regional water planning areas based on watershed boundaries and governed by locally appointed councils; real requirements for water conservation and efficiency; enforceable prohibitions against interbasin water transfers; and, requiring that reservoirs be fully utilized for water supply needs (as opposed to amenity use) However, both the Georgia House and Senate passed resolutions adopting the Georgia Water Council Water Plan without incorporating these reasonable improvements, with the exception of requiring that new reservoirs be surrounded by green space buffer zones. As it stands now, the plan has regional water planning districts drawn along political boundaries instead of natural watershed boundaries; no protection for donor or downstream communities against interbasin water transfers; and, no requirements for water conservation.

Meanwhile, at the local level, the Chattooga Conservancy applauds the Rabun County Commissioners for passing a water resources resolution that endorses many of the conservation measures put forth by the Georgia Water Coalition. We also encourage everyone to keep working together to secure strong protections for Georgia's water resources.