The Randolph Leader: News

Fish have been killed as the result of an overflow of sewage dumping into the Tallapoosa River. This is believed to be from the Wadley sewerage system. In early June a camper reported the fish kill to area Game Warden David McGill, who reported it to the state.

Dan Catchings, district fisheries supervisor with the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said that he was on the scene and verified the kill on Saturday, June 14. Catchings said he has completed his report that has to be reviewed by his supervisor. He is working with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and the attorney general's office may look at this.

Wadley is under a consent order from 2005 to upgrade its wastewater facility within two years, Catchings said. There have been periodic problems due to the effluent discharge when the system is sometimes overloaded. The excess goes into an overflow pipe and into the Carlisle Branch and from there into the Tallapoosa River.

This is a pretty significant problem the town needs to fix, he said. The person who reported this said he also saw dead fish on Memorial Day. The water was grey, milky white and blue where it met the river, Catchings said. It cleared up fairly quickly. Among the dead fish were minnows, crappie, spotted bass, Alabama hog suckers, blue gills and a few red-breast sunfish.

"On a fish kill you need to get there as soon as possible because things change," Catchings said, mentioning such things such as rain and the dam turbines being turned on. There were likely dead fish on the bottom but the water was such poor quality they couldn't see, he said.

ADEM immediately sent an emergency response team, including Gail Holcombe from the Birmingham office, and collected water samples.

A statement by ADEM public relations director Jerome Hand says that ADEM "is thorough and diligent in its administration of state and federal environmental regulations. We are paying close attention to this situation and we are managing it to ensure the decisions we make are in the best interest of the community and the state of Alabama. Our investigation on this matter is still in progress, so it is inappropriate and premature to respond to some questions at this time. However, the department will take the appropriate enforcement action, if necessary. Our number one goal is to safeguard Alabama's natural resources."

It was reported that approximately 50 non-game fish less than 3 inches in length were killed, Hand said.

Catchings said ADEM took samples from upriver, at Plantation Patterns and downriver. One of the city's two pumping stations is near the manufacturer of wrought iron furniture.

Mayor Bruce Albright said he met with Plantation Patterns vice president and plant manager Larry York Monday and was told they would cooperate, but they acted like they did not know what had taken place, Albright said.

Wadley Utility employee Larry Wilkes was there when ADEM was taking the samples, he said. The company did not return calls seeking comment.

Wadley is the smallest town in the county, and Plantation Patterns is the leading employer in the county with 900 employees, Albright said. Southern Union is an outstanding college, but between town residents, students, visitors and the work force of Plantation Patterns and SU the population triples some days, putting stress on the town's antiquaÝed sewerage system.

The town council frequently discusses problems with its sewerage system and is seeking a grant, Albright said.

Albright said "you've got people like the governor running to China trying to get jobs and we've got a leading industry right here in Wadley needing help. We probably outgrew our lagoon about five years ago."

The town has a system of two pumping stations and one lagoon. Plantation Patterns has four holding tanks approved by ADEM, and on Father's Day weekend the holding tanks were emptied without the the town's knowledge and overloaded the system, causing material to enter the overflow pipe and from there into small Carlisle Creek and then the river, Albright said.

York has agreed to notify the city when the holding tanks from the manufacturing process are emptied in the future so action can be taken, Albright said. SU, the company and less than 15 households are on this pumping station but expansions at both SU and the company are putting additional work on the system.

Sewage has to be pumped uphill over a hill into a lagoon, a hole 20-feet deep. That must be pumped to the other pumping station. He said he is tired of people saying raw sewage is being pumped into the river when that is not true.

He is also concerned about pollution of the river, he said, but some people seem to think the town is deliberately doing this. Pumps are hit by lightning or metal parts break or other mechanical events happen. The pumps run all the time and were running at the time of the fish kill.

Hand confirmed the four holding tanks hold 10,000 gallons each but stressed ADEM has not determined the cause of the fish kill--that the investigation is ongoing. However, if Plantation Patterns is the cause of the fish kill the company and the town could be cited. However, right now only the town is under investigation, he said.

Lake Watch attorney, David A. Ludder, wrote a letter giving notice to Wadley of intent to file suit under the Clean Water Act. Albright said he has received that letter.

Dick Bronson, president of Lake Watch, said what happens here in this watershed affects the quality of water at Lake Martin where he lives but among his 300 members are members from the watershed that includes R.L. Harris Lake.

Bronson said Ludder, a Florida environmental attorney who wrote the letter, has done quite a bit of work for Lake Watch. He has filed at least a dozen other letters of intent to sue in Alabama. In every case ADEM stepped in and then the attorney general also stepped in.

Larry Weems said more than three years ago he wrote the governor and ADEM about this type situation that occurred and both responded. He used to live in Wadley and now lives outside the city but is deeply concerned about the river.

"What I'm concerned about is them polluting my river. That river belongs to you and me. I've got a big boat. I spend a lot of time fishing in Lake Martin and I don't like the idea of getting fish from polluted water," Weems said.

"This is 2008 and you can't be dumping raw sewage in the river," Weems said. "I was raised on that river. I was born on the banks of that river 63 years ago. I'm not going to stand by and watch them pollute it," he said.

Bronson seemed sympathetic about Wadley's plight but said the town needs to correct the problem within 60 days.

This has been a continuing, at least five-year, problem, he said. Dissolved oxygen is a critical problem for aquatic species, including fish, frogs and turtles, he said. One day in June of 2007 the level of oxygen was 1.1 percent and almost nothing can live in that water, Bronson said.

Lake Watch's mission is to protect Lake Martin and its watershed, and that goes all the way to R.L. Harris.

"What happens upstream affects us... We know violations have been going on for quite a number of years," Bronson said. Giving examples, he said 30 milligrams per liter is the maximum for some pollutants on any given month but he has seen them up to 78, and in January of 2006 the tests indicated 152.5. Wadley's plant has been out of compliance, he said, reeling off other statistics.

Wadley is probably like a lot of small towns, not just in Alabama but throughout the nation, overwhelmed by the costs, Bronson said. He understands the problems, and last year his group filed suit against the city of Dadeville. ADEM then stepped in and filed suit, as did the attorney general's office, which pre-empted their suit.

He said he would not be surprised if this happens in this instance.

Albright said he expects at least a small fine to be levied on Wadley as the result of this.

He tries to watch and do what ADEM wants him to do, Albright said, but he has to rely on them and their test results.

"I know its serious business and it's going to be corrected," he said, but there are two sides to every story and he believes there is an overreaction to this event.

He has tried to investigate this occurrence. It will take $300,000 to $400,000, at bare minimum to fight this situation, he said. A company the size of Plantation should have a pre-treatment pond that would alleviate the problem, he said.

But, whoever is polluting the water is going to be stopped and this will be corrected, Albright said. He is trying to price a third pump but whether the pipes are big enough to handle the additional load must be determined, he said.