LEE CREEK! Last Chance -by Nov 30 (Corrected AGAIN- 30th)

[DeBo]

EDIT: Sorry about the confusion - comments due by 30th per Corps Website. All public meetings are past, Skip to the last post on this thread for the "quick and dirty" instructions on how you can still submit comments.


EDIT: Note, you can drop by anytime between 6 and 8, and don't have to stay the whole 2 hours.

The proposed Pine Mountain Dam on Lee Creek continues to be an issue. Corp of Engineers scoping meetings on alternative water supplies for Crawford and Sebastian Counties will be held:

October 26, 2009 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Concord Baptist Church,
6105 Alma Highway,
Alma, AR;
(479) 632-4678

October 27, 2009 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks
Carl Totemier Center
4703 N Crossover Rd
Fayetteville, AR 72764
(479)750-2620

PLEASE ATTEND!

[Clif]

I would imagine a floundering economy has those for this project renewed and motivated in hopes of new income they think a lake would provide.

[Half Ton]

This meeting should be an improvised ACC NW Chapter meeting - since we almost all paddle on a section of Lee Creek that will not be available for such use in the future should the dam project be approved.

I am going to attend this for sure.

thanks for keeping us all aware DeBo !

[Sasquatch]

great information here http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/BeyondDams.pdf

[GN YAKN]

I wasn't sure where the church was located so I checked it out and it appears to be about half way between Van Buren and Alma on Highway 64. (aka Alma Hwy)

I plan to attend and register a comment. In case you didn't see it, Debbie had a great editorial piece in the Southwest Times Record on Sunday. I tried to find a link but didn't have any luck. Maybe someone else could post the link here.

One of Debbies points that really rang true with me was a challenge to the dam folks to produce the evidence of their review of alternatives to damming Lee Creek and let everyone see how they came to the conclusions that they need more water and how damming Lee Creek is the best option.

The City of Dardanelle is working towards horizontal wells to get water from the Arkansas River acquafir (sp?). Sounds like a pretty viable atlernative for any municipality to consider. We all want cheap and renewable resources. Some of us want that AND our wild and free natural places. I think it is possible to do both and have it all!!!!!

Dave

[Regud]

The story made the paper today...
http://nwaonline.net/articles/2009/10/2 ... ecreek.txt

[DeBo]

Here is the article that I wrote which was also in the Times Record yesterday.

Questions about proposed Lee Creek dam remain unanswered
Corps of Engineers to hold meetings about environmental impacts

By Debbie Doss

On October 26th and 27th the Little Rock District Corp of Engineers will hold public meetings to look at the Environmental Impact Study of Pine Mountain Dam on Lee Creek, in Crawford County. These meetings are extremely important as they will deal with alternative water supplies for the area and because developers in Van Buren are still single mindedly pursuing a large dam on this pristine mountain stream in Northwest Arkansas even though Fort Smith ruled out Lee Creek as a water supply several years ago.

After Fort Smith ruled out Lee Creek as a water supply, River Valley Regional Water District sued to separate itself from Fort Smith and began its own quest to dam the stream. The District lobbied to change state regulations which protect all Extraordinary Resource Waters (ERWs). These streams are our most important waters for fishing and outdoor recreation. Collectively, they provide vital habitat for the state’s most rare and endangered wildlife and their economic value for tourism and recreation is worth millions to the state’s economy. Yet, the Dam’s promoters seem undeterred by the potential loss of these values.

Before a dam can be built, the ERW designation must be removed from Lee Creek and according to new regulations lifting the designation will require two conditions. They have attempted to meet the first by getting the Corp to state that “the sole purpose for the funding and construction of the reservoir is to provide a domestic water supply.” Now they must satisfy the second condition which is to show that there are no feasible alternatives to constructing the reservoir in order to meet their domestic water needs.

Apart from vague answers to press inquiries, District officials have provided little in the way of information about their water needs or feasible alternatives. One official’s answer was simply “We’ve looked at it and we need it.” However, without any real information, it remains unclear exactly what they’ve “looked at.”

There are several questions remaining that District officials should answer before moving forward. What are the real water needs of Crawford and Sebastian Counties? Why doesn’t the population growth that River Valley claims for the area match US Census numbers? What other alternatives have been seriously considered? Why is working with Fort Smith still not the best option?

Fortunately, some of the answers are readily available, if not directly from the District.

First, they have claimed that the region will be short of water by 2018 and cited a study they commissioned which included statements about “unprecedented growth in the past several years.” While this may be a true statement about some parts of NW Arkansas, it is not true for the region served by the District. Census Bureau records from the last 10 years show a combined annual compound growth rate for both Crawford and Sebastian Counties of 1.1%, hardly what one would consider unprecedented. Furthermore, if we look at this growth rate combined with the expansion of Lake Fort Smith, we find that the region will have an ample supply of water until the year 2050, which is in line with estimates made by the City of Fort Smith.

It is important to note that Fort Smith listed at least 14 other alternatives for water supplies before deciding on the Lake Fort Smith expansion, which is capable of further expansion should water needs increase after the year 2050. If Crawford and Sebastian Counties do one day require a new drinking water source or just want an independent source, a much better alternative exists than damming valuable free flowing streams.

Just this year, the City of Dardanelle accepted a bid for slightly more than 2 million dollars for the construction of a 5 million gallon per day horizontal collector well. Described by US EPA as the most environmentally sound water intake system available, it will be the first well of its kind in Arkansas, designed to provide a domestic water supply from the Arkansas River aquifer. The well does not take water directly from the river but from the aquifer beneath it and does not require a permit from the Corp of Engineers – in addition to costing much less than any other alternative considered. Dardanelle city officials expect the well to be operational in 18 months.

Conversely, the dam on Lee Creek, if it is built, will be environmentally destructive and is projected to cost over 250 million dollars. It will take many years to study and to build even without the massive costs in time and money of the litigation which is sure to follow if the dam is ever recommended as an option in the first place.

With such questions unanswered and alternatives unexplored, it’s imperative that the citizens of Arkansas attend these meetings and voice their concerns over this project. Too much is at stake to let it go unquestioned.

The October 26th meeting will be from 6pm to 8pm at the Concord Baptist Church in Alma and the October 27th meeting will be held at the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks’ Carl Totemier Center in Fayetteville.

Debbie Doss is an active board member of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Arkansas Canoe Club, and Arkansas Conservation Coalition. She can be reached at AOODeditor@yahoo.com for more information.


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[GN YAKN]

Thanks Debbie and Regud. The article that he listed in the NWA paper is the same one that hit the SWTR on Sunday as well as Debbie's piece.

I must say that the piece submitted by Debbie is the best summary AND challenge that I have seen.

[Sasquatch]

great work Debo I plan to be there tonight.

[DeBo]

Thanks everybody I'll see you there!

[prophet]

Ugh. Jody here, reporting in.

Just returned....they weren't allowing any public comments to be made publicly/verbally.

It got very heated due to this change in format.

They insisted this was the same format that was used in 2006 but many disagreed....at the one I attended at Northridge School in Van Buren. there was a podium and many from both sides of the issue were able to make their voices truly heard....as in, literally.

They had a court reporter there to log your comments if you went up and spoke to them one on one....no one else could hear...and they had paper comment sheets that you could write your comments on and turn in, also privately.

It was weird.

At least the four slide Power Point presentation was absolutely uninformative.






Jody

[Sasquatch]

Also noticed that the construction vendors where the folks maning the sign in table :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

But, do attend NW folks tomorrow night to at least show your self as signed in and grab all the comment sheets you can!

[GN YAKN]

It was very discouraging to arrrive at the meeting at 6:04 and it was already over! Don't they know kayakers can't be anywhere on time! It was wierd to be signed in by someone with a name tag on representing some sort of consulting firm! Seems like there maybe should also have been some folks from say, that Sahara Club, signing folks in for equal time!

It was very encouraging to see a huge crowd of opponents to the dam at the meeting. Other than the "officials" that represent the realtors and water authorities I would say the majority of the folks were present were opposed to the dam. But, it was hard to tell.

So, here's a suggestion to anyone planning on attending the meeting in Fayetteville tonight, make it obvious where you stand. If you are opposed to the damming of Lee Creek you might want to somehow make sure that is obvious to anyone there so they can get a feel for how folks stand. If I had it to do over, I think I would simply have pinned a piece of paper on my shirt that said "Against the Dam!"

The best way to make a statement tonight is for "hundreds" of folks to show up. Plan on writing a statement and/or making a recorded statement with a court reporter. If anyone has any factual information regarding the horizontal wells being drilled by Dardenelle, that might be good to get in the public record.

Get out there!

Dave

[Sasquatch]

That's a great idea! there is a second chance and I think I will attend tonight's meeting as well. There where lots of negative press on how the meeting was formatted, on chn five and in the paper this morning.
Don't know if that will make them change anything for tonight. But I plan to print out this http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/BeyondDams.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
along with my personal views on keeping Arkansas the natural state.

slogan for tonight "Keep Arkansas the Natural State....Say NO to DAMS"

[DeBo]

The contracters at the meeting are from the firm that has been hired by the Corp to actually do the study of alternatives. We might just want them to understand that Lee Creek is not an option.

I really don't like the format of these meetings but it seems all Federal agencies are using it these days. It makes things more pleasant for them not to have to ride herd on a bunch of noisy people but it really takes away "The voice of the people." Democracy is supposed to be loud and messy.

I plan to be there early tonight and I will bring the "Keep Lee Free" bumper stickers or I think I will print some tags we can wear. Let's make our opinions visible! :twisted:

Keep Lee Free!
No New Dams!