CAN YOU SMELL IT?
For years I have witnessed authorities and non-profit environmental groups ignore obvious environmental issues while publicly professing their concerns for the protection of the environment. For example:
The Ripp Report applauds the efforts of Mobile Baykeeper and their desire to educate our youth on the importance of natural watersheds and water quality. But exactly where have you been lately Baykeeper? In Fairhope we did not see you at any of the meetings about Fly Creek, especially while Tim Kant was Mayor. Since the Publix project construction, Fly Creek has been under attack by developers and the City itself. The creek has been filled with runoff mud. As a result it enjoys limited navigation; furthermore Mobile Bay has been impacted. The outfall pipe of the Publix project dumps into the wetlands. We did not see Baykeepers raising hell at any related meetings. Fairhope in many years past has been discharging human waste into Mobile Bay via unreported spills. Fairhope’s new Mayor, Karen Wilson, soon after taking office, ordered a comprehensive engineering study of Fairhope infrastructure. The previous Mayor and Council spent $13 million on upgrading the sewer plant on the bay instead of moving the plant inland. Baykeepers was not at those meetings encouraging the council to be more environmentally friendly to the bay. Now, Fairhope citizens have found out that while we spent $13 million on a sewer upgrade we spent zero on necessary infrastructure and face millions more in repair bills. During just two years, 2015 and 2016, Fairhope utilities paid the city $10 million for NON-UTILITY expenses, ignoring infrastructure. Apartments are going to be built on the banks of Fly Creek. Where have you been Baykeepers? Multiple lawsuits and dozens of meetings have occurred about how the WATERSHED is going to be impacted? No Baykeepers. This watershed was recently subjected to another sewer spill. The creek was again affected. The Fairhope Yacht club, independent fisherman and ecotourism businesses all came under a health alert. Baykeepers was nowhere to be seen or heard or found when it came to light that hundreds of anchors and hundreds of feet of rope were left in the bay by BP contractors. That may be because the contractors were Sen. Pittman and Mayor Kant. It also may be that Baykeepers did not want to ruffle any political feathers in Fairhope, as several of their best fundraisers are in Fairhope. So maybe it’s really not about the environment, after all.
The focus on the sewer problems of the Eastern Shore were brought to the public’s attention by the general public and by articles in Lagniappe. Let us hope moving forward that Baykeepers is as vigilant in solving the problem of the environment polluters in Fairhope as much as they are fundraising and pretending to be concerned about our non-renewable natural resources.