02/23/2012 - Dog River Park

I helped out a stranded boater whose fuel pump stopped working by giving him a ride up to Dog River Park to pick up his van and trailer. While dropping him off I saw a TV10 camera person and had to inquire. Yes, she was doing a story about the Trash. Did the video journalist watch the trash videos? No. Does the reporter know what storm water runoff can contain? No. Know about sedimentation? No. Ever hear of the 303d List? No. Did you know Halls Mill Creek, a tributary in Dog River Watershed, was just placed on ADEM's impaired waterway list because of problems related to construction site muddy water? No. Want me to ask this nearby boater to take you to places around the corner so you can get good video of trash? No, not enough time. If journalists don't have a clue what the story is about, how can they be effective journalists? The TV10 article mistakenly calls the Clean Water Act the "Clear Water Act." Who knows, maybe it was the lawyer that said it wrong and not the reporter. It shouldn't have been printed incorrectly though. I declined to be interviewed.

In another news video clip, I about fell off my chair in disbelief hearing someone basically say boaters are irresponsible for throwing so much trash overboard. They had no clue where the trash in the water comes from. I frequently see boaters in Dog River PICKING UP trash. Dog River boaters should be commended for what they do, not implicated by a news station as being the cause of the problem.

One of the nearby residents was out with a youngster feeding the seagulls. Note the pile of trash in the water - litter remnants of the rain a few days ago trapped by wind and tide.

At the corner of Dog River Park was this little trashberg. Looks like the same television that I documented on Feb 17 up in Eslava Creek. The stormwater moved the TV two miles downstream. Wow. The journalist couldn't believe there was a TV in the water and was getting some video of it. Welcome to Dog River, one of Mobile's illegal hazardous waste dumps.

The engineering firm Mobile Group is managing Mobile's MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) aka storm water runoff about as well as they are managing their web site. No way to contact them by email.

There are some who think that all "floatable" trash is harmless and that there is no need to monitor it, nor any requirements to clean it up. According to the EPA, mercury-containing equipment like this Cathode Ray Tube in the TV have been added to the federal list of universal wastes regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste regulations. Mercury? Isn't that bad stuff?

Check out this Fish eating Advisory from Alabama Department of Public Health. What's the number one contaminant? Mercury. Who you going to call to get the hazardous material floatables removed from Mobile waterways, Mobile 311? Ha! Lots of luck on that. They haven't responded to my complaints about hazardous materials up in One Mile Creek area since December.

Dog River Park. Aren't there laws saying property owners have to keep their property "free of litter?" Yup.

CITY CODE; Chapter 25 - GARBAGE, LITTER AND LOT MAINTENANCE; ARTICLE II. - LITTER; Section 25

25-36 (a) "It shall be the duty of every occupant of any commercial premises in the city limits to keep the adjacent and surrounding area clear and free of litter.

25-37 "It shall be a violation of this article for any owner or occupant of private property to fail to keep their premises free and clear of litter.

Mobile, your Dog River Park is in violation of the Litter Code that you burden commercial and residential property owners to abide by. I have to wonder, if the litter laws are in place, why aren't they being enforced?

More litter at the Park, right in the path of a storm drain. Guess where this litter will end up when it rains? That one little black bottle - hazardous contents.

How are other Parks with boat launches dealing with the litter problem? I didn't see a single piece of litter at Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge. Do you think the sign had anything to do with the cleanliness of the area? People don't appreciate the things they have until they lose them. Roadside littered? Close the roads until the litter is cleaned up. Litter Problem Solved.

Mobile got money problems? Yup. There is one way to stop the pigs from trashing up parks. Close the parks. Sell the land. Pay off Mobile's debts. Stop wasting taxpayer by spending money you don't have on Charities. Stop wasting money on interest payments. Start taking care of the assets you do have.