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August 9, 2002
Contact:
Trip Van Noppen: Director, SELC Carolinas Office (919) 967-1450
Donna Lisenby: Catawba Riverkeeper (704) 373-1916
Rance Henderson: Lake James Task Force (828) 437-3284
Bob Benner: Sierra Club, South Mountain Group (828) 437-6635
William "Bo" Cash: Trout Unlimited, Table Rock Chapter (828) 433-7637
Citizens Go to Court to Defend Lake James
Morganton - A coalition of citizens, stepping up its effort to protect the
scenic beauty and water quality of Lake James, took legal action today to help
defend the county's new conservation-based land-use plan for the area around
the lake. Members of the Lake James task Force filed a motion in Burke County
Superior Court to intervene in the lawsuit against the county brought in April
by corporate developer and lakeshore landowner Crescent Resources.
"This case will set a precedent for all North Carolina communities to be able
take necessary, reasonable actions to safeguard their natural resources and
quality of life," said Trip Van Noppen, Director of the Carolinas office of
the Southern Environmental Law Center. The non-profit law center filed the
motion on behalf of the Catawba Riverkeeper, the Catawba River Foundation, the
Table Rock Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Sierra Club. If the court
grants the groups' motion , they will join with the County to defend the
conservation plan in court.
In February, Burke County passed the Lake James Land Use Plan, the result of
months of study and deliberation by a 16-member committee that included
citizens, recreational interests, land developers, realtors, environmental
organizations and local government, as well as Crescent Resources, and
Crescent's parent company, Duke Energy. The plan restricts development in
8,358 acres around the lake, prohibiting building in wetlands, floodways,
buffers and steep slopes. It also stipulates that residential lots in this
new Conservation District must contain a minimum of five buildable acres.
"This plan is a courageous, democratic, far-sighted action by the county
commissioners, and continues to have broad public support," said Rance
Henderson, who lives near the lake and chaired the committee and is also chair
of the Lake James Task Force. "Because Crescent chooses to use the courts to
try to undo the will of the people of Burke County, the task force is
compelled to likewise defend the public interest in clean drinking water and
natural resource conservation."
The Catawba River watershed is facing increased development pressure, causing
growing concern about threats to water quality, aquatic habitat, drinking
water safety, and tourism potential for Western North Carolina counties. The
river was identified in 2001 by American Rivers as the 13th most endangered
river in the country, largely due to increased development.
"We are concerned about the rampant development on Lake James, knowing that
water quality will be degraded through siltation, runoff of automobile
drippings, pet wastes, lawn fertilizers, pesticides, chemicals from treated
wooden docks, removal of bank covers for fish spawning areas and habitats, and
the possible failure of septic and sewage systems," said William "Bo" Cash of
the Table Rock Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Land clearing has already led to
excessive silt runoff and the removal of riparian buffers key to fish habitat,
Cash said.
The task force is also concerned about downstream impacts. Lake James is the
first of 11 impoundments of the Catawba River after it originates in the Blue
Ridge Mountains, and is critical to the water quality of the remaining 225
miles of the river until it flows into Lake Wateree, South Carolina.
Over-development of Lake James threatens downstream uses, including the
drinking water for nearly 2 million people, recreational opportunities, and
habitat for 50 species of fish, 160 species of birds, and 120 kinds of trees.
The basin also hosts 11 unique and threatened species.
Donna Lisenby, Catawba Riverkeeper says the legal action is a necessary step
because, "Land use ordinances democratically created by local residents that
contain strong protections for drinking water and natural resources are one of
the most important tools we have to ensure the vitality of our regions
economic and conservation future. I look forward to defending both the Catawba
River and Burke County from any corporate special interest who sees Lake James
as profit center rather than a natural heritage legacy that must be passed on
whole and healthy to the next generation."
"Water quality has always been an important issue for the South Mountain group
of the Sierra Club. We are blessed in Burke County with the clean water in the
Catawba River and Lake James. We feel that support of the Lake James Land Use
Plan is vitally important for the future of Burke County and the surrounding
region," said Doug Veazey, Chair of the South Mountains Sierra Club.
Crescent, the land development arm of Duke Energy, owns much of the land
around Lake James. In April, the company filed identical lawsuits in Burke
County Superior Court and in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, claiming the
ordinance violates the federal and state constitutions. The county has filed
a motion to have the federal suit dismissed.
Van Noppen, of SELC, said that Burke County is well within its rights under
state law to protect its citizens. "State law expressly gives local
governments the authority to promote the health, safety, or general welfare of
their citizens. This case is of utmost importance to re-affirm this authority
for all North Carolina communities," he said.
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