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Agreement Reached on Durham Trail

152 views · Published 13 September 2012 · 2:12 · Indexed 10 November 2026

Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2012 · News & Politics

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By: Drew Bollea  Walker County and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division have come to an agreement that will end a months long work stoppage on the Durham Trail on Lookout Mountain. The county agreed to pay a 5,000 fine through other projects for the EPD instead of paying in cash. The EPD says that proper permitting and construction practices were not followed by the county while rebuilding culverts for Rock Creek where it passes under the Durham Rail Line. Jill Wyse lives down river from the Durham trail site. She brought her concerns to the attention of the Environmental Protection Division, who then stepped in."I saw the mud and I called the County," said Wyse, "they didn't know what was going on, so I called the EPD."Wyse took a picture, which she says shows a bulldozer pushing sediment into the creek. "They say they were actually pulling debris out of the creek and that's not true," said Wyse.Project Engineer Philip Schofield showed us where hundreds of rocks and branches had to be removed from the creek in order to alter its path.Pointing to the up stream opening of the culvert, Schofield said, "this is where the complaint came from on the sediment watch. They were cleaning out the creek here and on the lower end."Commissioner Heiskill believes the work was warranted."Some residents believe that we dumped dirt into the creek," said Heiskell, "and I don't know why anybody would do such a thing."Yet Wyse still accuses the county of working without protecting the creek."There was no environmental protection what so ever," said Wyse, "No erosion sediment, no better management practices, nothing."Heiskell insists that the county was not in violation."We have not accepted guilt for this," said Heiskell, "We don't think we're wrong."Wyse remains adamant about keeping the creek in its natural form."They need to restore that creek to its original way that it ran," said Wyse, "it needs to be restored." The County has submitted a corrective action plan, which was approved by the EPD. This means the Durham Trail project can move forward in the coming weeks.

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