Threat to water quality? ADEM says all is well with pending change as lake stakeholders call for halt

Inspection and permitting of commercial animal feeding operations like this one above Lake Martin could shift from a federal program to ADEM on Dec. 11.

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Lake Martin stakeholders have launched a letter writing campaign to stall action they say could pose a threat to water quality, but Alabama Department of Environmental Management officials contend the proposed action could provide better oversight than current measures.

Last week, Lake Watch Lake Martin president Eric Reutebuch and Lake Martin Resource Association president John Thompson encouraged their organizations’ members to protest the approval of a statute amendment scheduled for Friday that would change inspection and permitting regulations for commercial animal feeding operations (CAFOs), such as commercial chicken houses. The amendment would change inspection and permitting oversight from an annual program under the federal government to a five-year inspection requirement by ADEM at the state level. 

Lake Watch data at Timbergut Creek

Lake Watch data indicate elevated E. coli measurements at Timbergut Creek on four occasions in the last six months.