Black Warrior Riverkeeper settles lawsuit with Birmingham Airport

Black Warrior Riverkeeper settles pollution case with Birmingham Airport Authority and Dunn Construction

Black Warrior Riverkeeper settled their pollution case against the Birmingham Airport Authority and Dunn Construction Company on February 18, 2009. In United States District Court, the Honorable Judge Inge P. Johnson approved the settlement including injunctive relief (a court order requiring steps to curtail pollution) and the payment of $150,000. The money will pay for litigation expenses as well as a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP).

The SEP will fund a land conservation project in Jefferson County’s Village Creek watershed. Black Warrior Riverkeeper chose the Freshwater Land Trust, an Alabama non-profit land conservation organization, to receive the SEP payment from the Birmingham Airport Authority and Dunn Construction. Black Warrior Riverkeeper is pleased that the entire SEP payment will benefit the Village Creek watershed.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit under the Clean Water Act on April 3, 2007 against the Birmingham Airport Authority and its contractor, Dunn Construction, alleging that muddy water from much of the Airport’s runway extension project had been inadequately contained or treated. The construction stormwater runoff polluted Village Creek, a tributary of the Black Warrior River’s Locust Fork. Sedimentation from stormwater runoff is one of the leading causes of impairment in Alabama’s streams and rivers.

Visit this webpage for the settlement agreement:
2009_PressRelease_Airport_ConsentDecree

Visit this webpage for the original lawsuit:
2009_PressRelease_Airport_Complaint

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Black Warrior Riverkeeper is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries. The Alabama Environmental Council’s 2007 Conservation Organization of the Year, and the American Canoe Association’s 2008 Green Paddle Award winner, we are a proud grassroots member of Waterkeeper Alliance. Visit our website at www.blackwarriorriver.org. For more information contact Nelson Brooke, Riverkeeper and Executive Director: (205) 458-0095, [email protected].

Freshwater Land Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the acquisition and stewardship of lands that enhance water quality and preserve open space. We are a conservation group that works to ensure that everyone wins: landowners, businesses and communities alike. Visit our website at: http://www.freshwaterlandtrust.org. For more information contact Wendy Jackson, Executive Director: (205) 226-7900 or [email protected].