Elk River activists talking suit

By Karen Middleton
karen@athensnews-courier.com

March 23, 2006 08:04 pm

— A group fighting a proposed 50-slip boat marina and recreation area near the mouth of the Elk River is stepping up activities to see the development stopped.
The Shoals Environmental Alliance –Rogersville Special Interest Group says they will file suit against the Tennessee Valley Authority if the utility approves developer Bubba Doss’s request to build the marina on 91.5 acres near Barnett’s landing.
The proposal calls for the construction of roads, an RV park with a potential of 200 campsites, nature trails, a marina store, restaurant, and boat dry storage facility to be constructed in several phases. The commercial water use facilities include construction of a 50-boat slip marina, a concrete wave break, a floating concrete trash break with fuel dock, two fishing piers, dredging and a retaining wall to accommodate a forklift boat launching area, a launching ramp and rip rap. A future phase may include the construction of 50 additional boat slips.
The activist group is working with the non-profit environmental law firm, Wildlaw, and WildSouth, an organization formed to protect forests.
WildLaw attorneys Jason Totoiu and Sandra S. Nichols have filed 20 pages of comments on the TVA environmental assessment for the project that would form the basis for the suit.
Chief among the objections is the environmental impact. Residents, such as Robin Burchfield, have shot photos of bald eagles and they say rare ginseng plants also grow along the banks, and a river area slated for dredging contains mussel beds hosting several varieties.
The proposal to build the marina on TVA land has generated an anti-proposal petition with more than 250 signatures, numerous letters, two TVA-sponsored community information meetings and several grass-roots meetings of concerned citizens.
“Opponents of the project believe it will be devastating to the character and ecology of one of the last undeveloped two-mile stretches of the river.,” said Burchfield. “They further object to the proposed contractual agreement between TVA and the developer, and the paucity of construction data provided.”
On Sunday the group will host a covered dish lunch and nature walk to acquaint the public on what they feel would be lost through this development.
“This is probably one of the last opportunities to see this area in spring bloom in its current undisturbed state,” said Burchfield.
Walking tour
The tour will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. It is open to the public and news media and will be over by 4:30 p.m. Participants are advised to bring cameras and a walking stick and wear sturdy hiking or walking shoes, thick socks, long pants and bug repellant. The tour will cover a total distance of about two miles over hilly wooded terrain. Most of this easy walk will be made on a small road through the property. One of the tour leaders will be Paul G. Davison, associate professor of Biology at UNA.
The walk will be preceded by a covered-dish lunch rally starting at 12:30 p.m. Representatives from WildSouth and WildLaw will be attending to answer questions. Those of you who haven’t yet contributed to the Elk River Legal Defense Fund may do so at the rally.