Post by Sharon Faulkner on Jul 12, 2006 8:01:37 GMT -5
County OKs stormwater deal with Wal-Mart
By CINDY SWIRKO Sun staff writer
July 12, 2006
An agreement that commits Wal-Mart to tougher stormwater controls than it initially planned for a new Alachua supercenter was approved by the Alachua County Commission Tuesday night despite a wave of residents saying the pact was not tough enough.
As a result, the county will not challenge a permit issued by the Suwannee River Water Management District. Some county officials had said the permit should have been tougher, and the county then negotiated stricter conditions with Wal-Mart.
Several commissioners said Wal-Mart's commitment, along with reviews that will be done by the Alachua City Commission and other agencies, will result in greater protection.
"It would seem that with a cooperative effort we can get the studies that we are looking for. It affects all of us and gives us all the opportunity to participate," Chairman Lee Pinkoson said.
Wal-Mart will take steps to prevent contamination such as building a drive-through for loading of fertilizer bags so they won't rip open in parking lots. The garden center will be covered to curb runoff.
It will also set up a system to filter pollution that reaches the stormwater basin. The retention pond will be big and relatively shallow to allow better filtering of stormwater and slower drainage into the aquifer.
"If a sinkhole opens up in a portion of the pond, everything in that four acres is not going to rush down into that sinkhole. It will settle," said Wal-Mart engineer Peter Sutch. "This pond is over-designed from a treatment perspective. We are proposing a treatment system that is over and above anything that is required."
But some residents fear that won't be enough. They said the water quality of the springs and aquifer is declining and that current state standards are too weak.
Cave diver Buford Pruitt said the walls of aquifer caverns are now coated with a brown film.
"For us people on city water, we have chlorination. The people relying on wells are drinking whatever sloughs off that scummy film whenever they drink well water," Pruitt said.
That is a concern of High Springs City Commissioner Eppenstein, who said city wells could get runoff from the site.
He said several clauses in the agreement give Wal-Mart the sole discretion to carry out the action. He asked the county to strengthen the agreement.
"As the downstream affected party, I would like to point out that I have concerns with this agreement," Eppenstein said. "This is of exteme importance to me and to the citizens of High Springs. This system affects the water that we drink and use everyday, not to mention the environment."
Commissioners approved the agreement 3-1 with Mike Byerly dissenting, saying it needs to be stronger. Commissioner Rodney Long was absent.
Wal-Mart is planning to build the supercenter at Interstate 75 south of U.S. 441. Several speakers said that interchange is expected to grow and that the impacts of all future businesses pose a threat to groundwater.
The aquifer from the site flows northwest to Hornsby Springs and the Santa Fe River, officials have said.
www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060712/LOCAL/207120344/1078/news
By CINDY SWIRKO Sun staff writer
July 12, 2006
An agreement that commits Wal-Mart to tougher stormwater controls than it initially planned for a new Alachua supercenter was approved by the Alachua County Commission Tuesday night despite a wave of residents saying the pact was not tough enough.
As a result, the county will not challenge a permit issued by the Suwannee River Water Management District. Some county officials had said the permit should have been tougher, and the county then negotiated stricter conditions with Wal-Mart.
Several commissioners said Wal-Mart's commitment, along with reviews that will be done by the Alachua City Commission and other agencies, will result in greater protection.
"It would seem that with a cooperative effort we can get the studies that we are looking for. It affects all of us and gives us all the opportunity to participate," Chairman Lee Pinkoson said.
Wal-Mart will take steps to prevent contamination such as building a drive-through for loading of fertilizer bags so they won't rip open in parking lots. The garden center will be covered to curb runoff.
It will also set up a system to filter pollution that reaches the stormwater basin. The retention pond will be big and relatively shallow to allow better filtering of stormwater and slower drainage into the aquifer.
"If a sinkhole opens up in a portion of the pond, everything in that four acres is not going to rush down into that sinkhole. It will settle," said Wal-Mart engineer Peter Sutch. "This pond is over-designed from a treatment perspective. We are proposing a treatment system that is over and above anything that is required."
But some residents fear that won't be enough. They said the water quality of the springs and aquifer is declining and that current state standards are too weak.
Cave diver Buford Pruitt said the walls of aquifer caverns are now coated with a brown film.
"For us people on city water, we have chlorination. The people relying on wells are drinking whatever sloughs off that scummy film whenever they drink well water," Pruitt said.
That is a concern of High Springs City Commissioner Eppenstein, who said city wells could get runoff from the site.
He said several clauses in the agreement give Wal-Mart the sole discretion to carry out the action. He asked the county to strengthen the agreement.
"As the downstream affected party, I would like to point out that I have concerns with this agreement," Eppenstein said. "This is of exteme importance to me and to the citizens of High Springs. This system affects the water that we drink and use everyday, not to mention the environment."
Commissioners approved the agreement 3-1 with Mike Byerly dissenting, saying it needs to be stronger. Commissioner Rodney Long was absent.
Wal-Mart is planning to build the supercenter at Interstate 75 south of U.S. 441. Several speakers said that interchange is expected to grow and that the impacts of all future businesses pose a threat to groundwater.
The aquifer from the site flows northwest to Hornsby Springs and the Santa Fe River, officials have said.
www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060712/LOCAL/207120344/1078/news