In the spring 2014 edition of “The Township Update”, on page 6, there is a paragraph addressing erosion prevention that states “Construction projects near drainage ditches are required to install special silt fencing to prevent soil from eroding in the drainage system”. It also notes that “If you notice that the material is damaged or missing call the township and we will notify the project owner immediately.”
A friend of mine, taking note of the article, called Bedford Township about a lack of silt fence or any type of erosion control, and the associated amount of erosion that was occurring on a drain project by the Monroe County Drain Commissioner, Little Lake Drain. The township did nothing except give my friend the number of the Monroe County Drain Commissioner’s office. A far cry from “we will notify the project owner immediately”. When my friend contacted the Drain office, he was advised that they would just clean up the mess in the spring.
The Monroe County Drain Commissioner has a project on Little Lake Drain. On a portion of this project, between Minx Road and Erie Road, are some of the worse areas that I have ever seen relative to erosion and sediment control. Lengths of channel have been tore up, stripped of vegetation, and left for months with no erosion protection to stabilize or control the disturbed material. As a direct result of this, there is clear evidence of undercutting of these channel banks caused by flowing water and erosion caused by surface runoff. In some areas, piles of earth sit adjacent to the stream channel with no silt fence protection. There are other areas where it is clear that free earth has been pushed into the channel. In addition, there are some shear vertical embankments that have been undercut by flowing water that are now falling off into the stream.
Now, the real irony of this is that the Monroe Co. Drain Commissioner’s office is the local agency that has responsibility for enforcement of the Sediment Control Act. That’s right, the local agency in charge of enforcement of the Sediment Control Act, on it's own project, has done little to address sediment and erosion control for certain areas of the noted reach. In fact, some of this area looks like it could be a demonstration project to show contractors what NOT to do.
The response from the Drain Commissioner’s office that they would simply clean up the mess in the spring, grossly misses the mark. No one else is granted that kind of irresponsible privilege. In addition, it ignores the fact that much of the sediment load (of all the eroded material) has been carried to Lake Erie by the flow through the drain during the spring thaw and runoff. This sediment load, along with other discharges to the lake, directly impact water quality in the near shore area.
The International Great Lakes Commission in September of 2012, amended their Water Quality Agreement to address, among other things, “Water quality and ecosystem health objectives”. Maybe they need to see how this project is addressing water quality.
Bedford Now
