A major home builder in Birmingham metro area has reached a settlement with environmental group Coosa Riverkeeper over excess sediment pollution in Shelby County.
Coosa Riverkeeper and the Southern Environmental Law Center announced this week that the groups have agreed to a consent order resolving Clean Water Act lawsuit against Newcastle Homes, more than two years after the Riverkeeper began documenting excess runoff from a new subdivision being built along the U.S. 280 corridor in Shelby County.
“After three years of developing this complaint in this case, and advocating for protections of what Coosa Riverkeeper calls our skinny water, I’m very pleased that we have reached the settlement,” said Justinn Overton, staff riverkeeper at Coosa Riverkeeper.
Newcastle Homes did not respond to requests to comment for the story, but signed the agreement to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act without admitting fault.
Under the agreement, Newcastle will pay the Riverkeeper group $39,750 to recoup its expenses for two years of monitoring the site and legal expenses and $500 to the U.S. Treasury for violations of its operating permit.
In addition, for any future violations documented by Coosa Riverkeeper, Newcastle agrees to pay either $500 or $1000 to the Big Canoe Creek Preserve Partners, a non-profit group that maintains the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve.
That money would be used for supplemental environmental projects at the preserve.
Coosa Riverkeeper’s lawsuit, filed in February 2022, alleged 158 separate violations of the Clean Water Act, and states that these violations “have not been addressed and will continue in the future, absent a court order for corrective action.”
The lawsuit also states that Newcastle is the second most active homebuilder in Jefferson and Shelby Counties by number of building permits.
Coosa Riverkeeper first filed a complaint with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management in December 2020 over excess sediment from the site of Melrose Landing subdivision on Dunnavant Valley Road off U.S. 280.
Runoff from the 78-lot subdivision was documented entering the North Fork of Yellowleaf Creek -- a tributary of Lay Lake and the Coosa River -- carrying heavy loads of muddy sediment, which impairs water quality and harms wildlife, especially in rocky-bottomed creeks or streams.
“Our monitoring revealed that the site was contributing anywhere from 12 to 14 times more sediment than the permit allowed,” Overton said. “And so we filed our complaint, thanks to the Southern Environmental Law Center, documenting those hundreds of violations.”
According to ADEM, siltation is the third leading cause of impairment to Alabama’s waterways. Sediment pollution from newly cleared construction can degrade water quality, harm fish and other aquatic animals and plants, and increase the difficulty and cost of treating water for drinking and other uses.
Overton said the development in question is located next to a 1.8-mile hiking trail called the Dunnavant Valley Greenway that allow residents to walk along the creek.
“In the springtime, it is a gorgeous place to actually see mountain laurel, it feels like it’s dripping off every bush as you walk along the North Fork,” Overton said. “This particular creek, it has primarily been a rock bottom creek and so you can hear this creek gurgling and babbling, and it’s just a very great place for people of all walks of life to be able to safely enjoy the outdoors.”
ADEM personnel inspected the site and issued Newcastle a notice of violations on Dec. 28, 2020. However, according to Coosa Riverkeeper, the violations continued at the site after the notice was issued, leading the environmental group to file a notice of intent to sue Newcastle under the Clean Water Act in June of 2021.
The settlement announced this week resolves that case, pending the approval of a U.S. District Court judge.
Sarah Stokes, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center in Alabama, said the settlement was a positive step toward getting one of the area’s largest home builders to operate in compliance with the rules and regulations.
“There are good and bad ways to develop a piece of land,” Stokes said in a news release. “Developers should realize that clear-cutting and then placing a subdivision on a mountain without phasing the development or maintaining any trees has a price.”
Overton said that the Riverkeeper first became aware of the situation from a concerned resident who noticed the large amount of sediment running into the creek. She said it’s vital that citizens who observe concerning environmental conditions document and report their findings to the authorities and the local environmental advocacy groups.
“We can’t be everywhere all the time,” Overton said. “So I think it’s critically important to me that the public understands that, this was brought to us by concerned citizens. And so if they were to see something similar to this to please document it and let your local Riverkeeper know.”