Would You Build a Shopping Center Here?

The photo at left shows deer grazing on a portion of land slated for conversion into a regional shopping center in Rome. The development will destroy four acres of wetlands and fill nearly 50 acres of floodplain forest.

And, this project on publicly-owned land that was previously being considered for development into Rome's "Central Park" was approved by federal environmental regulators without a public notice or public comment period.

You can take action to save Rome's "Central Park" by signing our online petition.

Background

In 2001 the Rome City Commission authorized a study of city-owned property at historic Jackson Hill which overlooks the Oostanaula River and the city's premiere park--Ridge Ferry Park. That study recommended development of Jackson Hill as a passive recreation park connected to Ridge Ferry Park via trails and boardwalks through wetlands and floodplain forest along Burwell Creek. The study concluded by recommending development of the property into a "Central Park" stretching from the Oostanaula River to Jackson Hill.

But in 2005, local developers, Ledbetter Properties, approached the Rome City Commission with a plan to develop Burwell Creek's wetlands and associated floodplain into a regional shopping center--a plan that would divide "Central Park." Shortly there after, the Commission entered into an agreement with the development company allowing them to explore the property and create a development plan.

Aside from holding four acres of wetlands, nearly 50 acres of floodplain and almost a half mile of Burwell Creek, the land also is home to an abandoned city landfill. Development of the site will require the capping of the landfill.

Despite the fact that this property was publicly-owned and development involved significant impacts to wetlands, in 2008 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) approved the development proposal without a public notice or public comment period. 

Since that time, the Corps has extended the permit through March 2012 (again without public notice) and the Rome City Commission has twice voted to extend its agreement allowing Ledbetter Properties to pursue development of the property.

CRBI continues to work to ensure that local citizens have the opportunity to comment on and influence the outcome of this project so that critical wetlands and floodplain are protected.

Click here for a timeline detailing the history of this development proposal.

What's Wrong with this Plan? 

Wetlands and floodplains play critical roles in keeping our water clean. They help control floods, collect sediment, prevent erosion, sustain stream flows during droughts and provide wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities. That's why federal and state laws are in place to protect them.

But, in this case, those laws are being manipulated.

PERMIT ISSUED WITHOUT PUBLIC NOTICE

When development projects involve impacts to wetlands, developers must obtain permits from the Corps. Generally, the permitting involves a lengthy process that includes a public notice and 30-day public comment period, especially if the project has significant impacts to wetlands. Generally, the Corps considers any project impacting more than 0.5 acre of wetlands or more than 300 linear feet of stream as having significant impacts.

This project impacts four acres of wetlands and 2,705 linear feet of stream, yet inexplicably the Corps issued what is called a Nationwide Permit No. 38 (NWP)--a permit for a hazardous waste clean up that does not require a public notice or comment period. When the Corp issued the permit in June 2008, no one in Rome, including city staff or elected officials, had the opportunity to review the permit application which contains critical information that would enable interested parties to evaluate the merits of the project. 

ABANDONED CITY LANDFILL AND HAZARDOUS WASTE

The Corps determined issuing a NWP was appropriate for the project since it involved the capping of an abandoned city landfill presumably containing hazardous waste.

However, a careful evaluation of tests conducted on material in the landfill shows limited contamination. In fact, the site is not included on Georgia's Hazardous Site Inventory List and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, after reviewing all the data available on the contents of the landfill, labeled the site "no further remedial action planned." Some 1,695 analyses for various hazardous waste have been conducted at the site. Of those, only 16 turned up hazardous material at levels that would trigger a hazardous waste clean up.

In the permit application, Ledbetter Properties petitioned the Corps heavily for permission to relocate Burwell Creek to prevent "further potential contamination" due to the creek's proximity to the landfill. However, in the application the company provided no evidence that Burwell Creek is contaminated, nor any evidence to prove that potential for contamination existed. In fact, despite having spent more than $1 million on the project, the developer has never tested for hazardous waste in the creek. 

Since securing the permit based on the presumed benefits of relocating the creek, Ledbetter Properties has now altered the site design so that the creek will not be relocated. 

During the past year, CRBI has collected five composite sediment samples from the creek and had them analyzed for mercury, arsenic and lead--contaminants associated with the landfill and groundwater beneath the landfill. The tests show no elevated levels of these contaminants.

After reviewing all the available data on tests conducted in and around the landfill, CRBI has concluded that because of the limited contamination present on the site, the benefits of this project do not outweigh the negative impacts of destroying on-site wetlands and filling nearly 50 acres of floodplain.

FLOODPLAIN FUNCTION

Of the 60 acres in the development site, nearly 50 acres lie within the 100-year floodplain. Rome City ordinances prohibit the kind of massive fills of floodplains that this project will require, yet the City Commission continues to support the project. When the Oostanaula River rises, its floodwaters push into the Burwell Creek wetlands. In 2009, the development site flooded on 15 occasions. In December 2009, the site was under water for 25 days. During these floods, some portions of the site were covered beneath more than nine feet of water. The chart below shows the times during the last 10 years in which the property has flooded. 

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