cfrw.us Blog

The long awaited fish bypass project at Lock & Dam #1 has gotten a green light.  So for everybody who’s been wondering “where’s my stimulus money?” well, here it is.

From the Feb 7, 2010 Star News:

More than a decade after it first promised to do it, the Army Corps of Engineers has announced plans to build a fish bypass at Lock and Dam No. 1 on the Cape Fear River.

The $12 million project, which was mandated by environmental regulators in the late 1990s as mitigation for the deepening of the Cape Fear River shipping channel, has languished because of budget constraints and a lack of priority for the corps.

But President Obama’s stimulus bill freed up money for the work, which will see a series of rock pools built to allow migratory fish such as striped bass and American shad to get upstream to spawn.

“We’ve always had this project on our radar, and now we’re excited to be able to start moving forward on this,” said Penny Schmitt, spokeswoman for the corps’ Wilmington district, adding that the bypass will have a natural look.

Money for the fish bypass wasn’t approved during the first round of stimulus funding allocations, although it had been recommended by the local corps district.

But Schmitt said that lower-than-expected bids for some work, coupled with problems in other corps districts getting projects approved, made the project possible.

Also pleased that the project will finally get built are environmentalists and fishermen, who hope commercial and recreational fishing industries along the Cape Fear will recover as they have in the Roanoke River watershed. . .

Full article here

The Cape Fear River Watch Board of Directors adopted the following position statement at its September 2009 meeting.

Solid Waste Management for New Hanover County

New Hanover County Landfill

Cape Fear River Watch (CFRW) supports the environmentally safe and efficient handling of solid waste in New Hanover County (NHC) to maximize re-use and recycling and minimize the need to landfill and incinerate. We of course realize that the large amount of waste generated by the county requires the operation of a “state of the art landfill”, which NHC currently has, and an upgraded incinerator that will meet or exceed both the current and the forthcoming EPA guidelines for emissions and fly ash.

We have attended the meetings held by the Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) which served to review the numerous issues surrounding solid waste handling and management in NHC. At that time, CFRW offered its opinions on the management of Solid Waste in the county with specific recommendations, some of which were those researched by SWAB. Recommendations formulated by the SWAB were presented to the NHC County Commissioners on January 20, 2009. Following this presentation, the NHC County Commissioners elected to develop a request for proposals (RFP) and solicit bids from private contractors to manage the County’s solid waste needs. This recently released RFP does not provide incentives or reward the bidder’s efforts to reduce loadings to the landfill, reduce emissions from the incinerator, or provide a plan to move New Hanover County towards an encompassing system that will serve us in the future. It is structured instead to favor a low cost bidder without any incentives to increase recycling or to upgrade WASTEC. The RFP should be structured to reward the investment of the bidders in a system that is designed to serve the public good rather than just reducing the short-term cost. It would have also been beneficial to allow public and scientific input into this plan. We hope, in this regard, that you will consider our input when you are reviewing the RFPs.

CFRW believes that the County should leave the important job of managing our solid waste in the hands of the county employees currently managing our waste or award the contract to a company who will put forth an aggressive set of goals to reduce our solid waste by a total county-wide recycling program. We should focus on the reduction of county demands for additional landfill space and waste incineration but without “just transporting” our waste problem to another site. In order to accomplish these goals, the County and/or the contractor should develop and implement county-wide plans for increased re-use and recycling of both household and construction and demolition materials. These materials should be viewed as resources and not waste. Our goal should be a more sustainable solid waste management plan that is both economically and environmentally attractive to businesses, tourism, and to our residents. It should be one that minimizes harm to our natural areas and reduces the use of natural resources.

In order to accomplish the above, a comprehensive strategy must be developed that incorporates a transition strategy to cope with current demands and realities while setting the stage for an environmentally friendly solid waste management plan. We list several of our recommendations below that should be considered in this comprehensive plan.

County-Wide Curbside Recycling

The inclusion of a mandatory curbside recycling program for all residential and commercial customers in the unincorporated areas of New Hanover County is a critical factor that would reduce the amount of solid waste going into the landfill or incinerator, as well as to increase the responsible re-use of natural resources. The existing drop-off sites in the county are inadequate for the county and do not promote active recycling. To address this problem, CFRW encourages the County to explore partnering with the City of Wilmington’s successful curbside recycling program. If immediate county-wide recycling cannot be implemented (economic concerns), then a phased approach should be initiated with high density areas given priority. Drop-off sites will be maintained to insure that all residents have the opportunity and are encouraged to recycle until county-wide curbside recycling is available.

CFRW proposes that a single-stream recycling or a materials recycling facility be developed in the future plan. The facility should be a regional collection point and a model for recycling that could serve the local and regional needs. Single stream recycling means that recyclable items do not need to be separated prior to collection, saving transport and handling costs and making it easier for people to recycle. Such a facility will generate additional, much needed jobs within the County. And with new state rules restricting the disposal of certain materials (plastic, etc.), recycling is not only a potential revenue source but a state mandate as of October 1, 2009. Furthermore, trash haulers should be required to pick up hazardous materials from residences such as auto wet cell batteries, electronics, and paint from residential customers several times annually and provide a drop-off location for disposal throughout the year.

Landfill Management

NHC has one of the best designed and operated landfills in North Carolina. The landfill exceeds North Carolina and Federal standards for containing solid waste, and the leachate created is treated through constructed wetlands and/or with a water treatment facility that provide for the proper management of this potentially harmful material. However, the real issue is space. Currently the capacity of the northern site is about 9 million cubic yards, of which 6 million cubic yards have already been used. Reducing the introduction of recyclable materials (household and Construction and Demolition) and other waste (Waste Incineration – see below) into the landfill will help but until we can approach a zero-waste program we will still need some additional landfill space. Well planned and designed use of the current cell areas and limited expansion south of the current area can provide needed storage and extend the life of our landfill. It is critical that any expansion does no harm to the surrounding areas and that leachate be handled as it is now to prevent any contamination of the groundwater and/or the adjacent NE Cape Fear River.

One other consideration for the landfill involves the possible installation of landfill gas collection facilities, assuming adequate gas is now being generated. Capture and use of the landfill gas (CH4, CO2, and minor other gases) provides important energy and environmental benefits. Landfill gas may provide an energy source that directly reduces atmospheric pollution while qualifying for renewable energy production incentives.

WASTEC Management

WASTEC

The WASTEC incinerator functions to ultimately reduce the volume of material entering the County’s landfill. WASTEC currently handles approximately 46% or 140,000 tons of the solid waste generated in NHC on an annual basis (SWAB study). In this regard, it is a critical component in the management of NHC’s current solid waste. However, according to SWAB, upgrades are needed to bring it up to a peak operating efficiency of +90%.

Utilizing already installed technologies and upgrading WASTEC with the best available technologies to insure strict compliance to state and federal standards are critical facets of an interim strategy to handle NHC solid waste. Along with these upgrades, continuous monitoring of emissions is essential. With these improvements Cape Fear River Watch supports the use of the incinerator as a component of the overall solution. The upgrade would allow the incinerator to operate at peak efficiency, handle more wastes, and with improved materials handling and decreased by-products, the energy generated may qualify for Renewable Energy tax incentives. A peak operating WASTEC could produce up to 30,000 Mwh of electricity annually (enough to power 3,500 homes – SWAB study).

Incineration, like landfilling, is not a preferred method for waste handling but we recognize its need to handle a portion of our waste. We believe that upgrades would allow the incinerator to minimize emissions while handling even more trash. As EPA considers and will soon implement new limits on GHG and other emissions, perhaps including particulates, it is critical that upgrades will insure that the incinerator meet and hopefully exceed the new standards. This would illustrate to NHC and the State that our county is committed to an environmentally friendly place to live, work, and visit.

Construction & Demolition Debris Recycling

CFRW supports the building of a state of the art C& D recycling facility that insures that the maximum amount of C&D materials are recycled.

Educational Campaign

It is critical that the residents of NHC be educated about the issues of solid waste handling and management. Citizens have a major role to play by not only reducing the amount of solid waste but also in insuring that more hazardous waste is kept out of residential bins. These types of waste create additional problems for both the landfill and the incinerator as leachate and emissions, respectively. As mentioned above, additional hazardous waste collection days and a drop off location would help this issue.

CFRW believes that investments in county-wide recycling, state of the art recycling facilities, improved C&D facilities, upgrades and maintenance of WASTEC, and expansion of the landfill are essential. These steps will provide NHC with the opportunity to handle all of its solid waste and the potential to become a recognized leader in solid waste management in the region and in NC as we transition from waste handling to waste reduction that will lead to reduced needs for landfill space and incineration.

From the December 13 Raleigh News and Observer http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/238382.html

ELIZABETHTOWN Like the river that filled so much of his life, Horace W. Butler Jr. is moving slow.

More than 88 years, a few bouts with arthritis and an 8-foot tree limb that “cracked my head like a coconut” will do that to a man.

But Butler, the last of the river men of the Cape Fear, still has every snag, every bend and bow in that grand, muddy waterway locked in his memory. And more than 50 years after he steered the last raft of logs from Fayetteville downriver, he could talk you all the way to Wilmington – if you had the time.

“It took a bit of time,” Butler said. “About five days, coming from Fayetteville. When the water was low and the wind was calm, we were moving at about a half-mile an hour.

“These days, that seems kind of slow, I guess. Back then, it seemed to move along just fine.”

There are no more loggers on the Cape Fear. Nobody’s seen one of the mammoth rafts skirting places like Pinch Gut Creek, Bullfrog Cut and Pull and Be Damned Landing since about Thanksgiving 1957.

Nearly all the landings are gone, too. Decades devoid of commerce allowed the woods and brambles to reclaim spots that once held thriving little businesses. Raccoons and possums, and the occasional alligator, are the only customers now.

“The river is slow, but it doesn’t stand still,” Butler mused. “It’s all grown back.”

Schooled on the river

Born in 1921 near the Bladen County town of Dublin, Butler’s playground, his church and home was the Cape Fear River. His bedtime stories were tales of the river, shared by his father and other rafters. In the summer, his lullaby was the soft slapping of water as each raft rolled toward Wilmington, pierced by the steam whistle of ships like the City of Fayetteville.

A trip to Wilmington on the ship cost $3, including meals.

It didn’t cost anything to ride the rafts, other than a lot of sweat.

“I was on the rafts early in life,” Butler said. “I never knew nothing but hard work. I didn’t get but a fifth-grade education in school, but I learned a lot on the river.”

Butler grew up short and wiry, with quick reflexes. He learned how to swing a broadax, and was soon helping his dad lash together hundreds of trees with nails the size of railroad spikes for their rides downriver.

“They’d roll the logs down the bank into the water,” Butler said. “Our job was to take care of them once they got there. There was all sorts of logs in a raft. It didn’t have to be one kind of wood.”

His dad taught him the basics of making each raft, how to judge timber and how to keep the raft from smashing into the riverbank, splintering a week’s worth of work in minutes.

“I guess it would be a boy’s dream, but I can tell you it was a lot of work,” Butler said. “You think about floating along on a raft, and it seems like the easiest thing in the world. But that’s your livelihood you’re riding on. You had to stay on top of things.”

When he turned 16, Butler says, his dad let him “fall heir” to rafting. His dad took care of the business end. All Butler had to do was get the logs downstream.

“We’d have a 16-foot-long gig pole with a hook on the end,” he said. “You’d use it to get the logs lined up, then use clamps to hold them together.”

Trees were almost uniformly cut to lengths of 10 feet to 16 feet – perfect for the lumber mills in Wilmington. Rafts could be no wider than 40 feet, about the width of a tennis court, but some stretched up to a mile or more long.

“They couldn’t be any wider because of the locks,” Butler said, referring to a series of structures that helped boats navigate the river. “But they could be long. You’d just unclamp the logs at the lock, then reclamp them as you went through.

“There were crooks in the river where you’d be on one end of a raft and couldn’t even see the other end. And all of it being pushed by the river. You have a 40-foot oar to steer, and beyond that it was all river.”

A small crew

Usually the rafts were large enough to hold a couple of small john boats, in case anyone needed to go ashore for supplies. The small crew pitched pup tents on deck and built fires for cooking and warmth in the winter.

The crew carried provisions, occasionally augmenting the menu with fish or hunted raccoon, possum and squirrel.

A string of small stores lined the river, each with its own landing. Most were at ferry crossings.

“You could get what you needed from Waddell’s Ferry or Cain Tuck Landing,” he said. “From there on, you’d better have what you needed to Wilmington. You were on your own.”

Butler says he never lost a raft, though he found a few that other rafters had lost. “Made a little extra money on those runs,” he said with a laugh.

There were winters on the river so cold that the raft crunched ice as it floated. Some summers were so dry the rafts would scrape the river bottom.

Gators were occasional companions, floating along like stray logs. And one time, a rattlesnake decided to hitch a ride with the crew.

“We had to get a big ol’ stick and take care of him,” Butler recalled. On other occasions, confused mullet would leap onto the deck, becoming a suppertime stew. One time a huge sturgeon stranded itself on the raft.

“You never knew what would happen,” he said. “That was life on the river.”

After a time, Butler met and married Lucille, a girl from Elizabethtown.

Eventually, they settled in town.

By then, life along the river was changing.

Improved roads and transportation had taken many of the lucrative rafting jobs. River traffic all but vanished.

In November 1957, Butler made his final run down the river.

He lashed a load of lumber near the bluffs behind the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Fayetteville.

It was a big load, one that took about two weeks to prepare – a fitting farewell for the last of the river men.

After that, Butler continued to work in timber and worked on the last two tugs that pushed cargo up the river.

“The march of life brings changes,” he said. “We all just flow with it.”

Cape Fear River Watch has announced that, as part of its Second Annual Invitational Striper Tournament, it will set aside one entry slot (including boat and guide) for a young fisherman/woman to be selected from entrants to an essay contest. As the tournament is already fully subscribed this is the sole open slot for this year’s tournament. (A waiting list has been established in case space opens up.)

Since the goal of the tournament, and of CFRW’s Cape Fear River Striper Foundation, is the preservation and restoration of the Cape Fear River fishery for generations to come, it is only fitting that the tournament reach out to and include the next generation of anglers.

Junior Anglers (who will be between the ages of 12 and 16 on January 16, the day of the tournament) wishing to fish in the tournament are asked to submit a 500-1,000 word essay on the topic “How a Strong and Healthy Cape Fear River Fishery Will Benefit The Entire Region.” The winning essay will convey the angler’s passion for conservation minded fishing as well as his or her understanding of the special characteristics of the Cape Fear River fishery. Proper spelling and grammar are also strongly encouraged.

Entries may be submitted online at http://www.cfrw.us/striperessay.html until December 17th.  The winner will be selected by the board of the Cape Fear River Striper Foundation, whose decision will be final.

The Cape Fear River Watch Invitational Striper Tournament is an annual tournament to celebrate the magnificent striped bass of the Cape Fear River and to raise awareness of the decline of the once bountiful fishery on the river. The fishermen and guides involved with the tournament hope to restore not only striped bass but the total fishery – including shad, river herring, and sturgeon populations as well. The Cape Fear Fishery Restoration Foundation has been established to receive funds and implement the goals of the tournament.

The tournament is held in partnership with NC Fish & Wildlife.  All fish caught in the tournament will be tagged, measured and released to be caught again while providing important census data to State fisheries scientists.

In many ways the Second Annual Greenfield Lake Cypress Festival resembled the first: it rained, the bands played on, crowds stayed away in droves, those who came out had a good (but soggy) time.

The irony is that one of the lessons we learned from the 2008 event was to have a rain date in our pocket. We did. But the weather forecast for the 27th was just as bad as for the 26th. That the actual weather on one day turned out so much nicer than the other just points out the folly of placing too much reliance on weather forecasts.  There are probably some lessons to be learned from the 2009 festival.  When we eventually dry out we’ll try to decipher them.

CFRW’s monthly padding series visited Shelter Creek last weekend.  Dire predictions of rain were wrong, wrong, wrong. 28 paddlers turned out for ~6 miles upstream and lunch at Holland’s.

     The efforts to protect Island Creek, the Northeast Cape Fear River and the entire region from the ravages of a fast tracked enormous coal fired cement kiln and adjacent deep pit limestone quarry plopped in the middle of fragile wetlands continue.  In  Raleigh Rep. Carolyn Justice has been working with Sen. Julia Boseman to pass a bill requiring state agencies to consider all issues before them before issuing any permits to companies receiving public monies.  Such a law would hopefully prevent an air quality permit being issued before completion of the environmental impact statement.As you might imagine: this proposal is displeasing to Titan America and their small army of high dollar Raleigh lobbyists.  They managed to delay a vote on the bill in the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday and are doubtless working overtime to prevent the bill from ever coming to a full vote.  We need you -  all of you – to work the phones hard.  Today. Your phone calls do make a difference.  This works. It has worked. It will work. Democracy is a beautiful thing.

When you call . . .

1. State your name.
2. State the purpose of your call:   you’re calling to ask the Senator to support the legislation to bring Titan America under the State Environmental Policy Act
3. Mention that despite the claims of Titan’s lobbyists, the proposed plant and pit does not have widespread public support in the area.
4. State a few reasons why you and your neighbors are concerned:
   • destruction of thousands of acres of irreplaceable wetlands
   • the threat to the aquifer from which we draw much of our drinking water
   • the thousands of tons of particulate matter to be emitted from the plant
   • mercury emissions into our community and into an already mercury impaired river
   • emission of chemicals that cause smog,
   • increased emission of chemicals (arsenic, benzene, chromium, etc.) that are known to cause cancer
   • that such a plant in such a location is absolutely not in line with the “Green Jobs” agenda the Governor and Secretary of Commerce have been promoting.

Be polite, be concise, be resolute.  It’s not necessary to speak with the Senator him or herself.  Speak with an aide or leave a message – you will be heard.

If you’ve never done this before the first call can feel awkward.   The second call goes a little easier.  By the fourth call it’s as natural as ordering a pizza. Raleigh politicians did not get elected by being rude or aloof.  They enjoy hearing from their constituents.  Your calls will be answered promptly and professionally and politely.

Ready to call? Good. It’s a big committee.  Here’s who needs to be called:

• Sen. R.C. Soles, Jr. (representing Brunswick, Columbus & Pender Counties) Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee (919) 733-5963
• Sen. Floyd McKissick (representing Durham County) Vice Chairman 919-733-4599
• Sen. David Hoyle (representing Gaston County) Vice Chairman 919-733-5734
• Sen. Tony Rand (representing Bladen & Cumberland Counties) Vice Chairman 919-733-9892
• Sen. Tom Apodaca (representing Buncombe, Henderson & Polk Counties)  919-733-5745
• Sen. Doug Berger (representing Franklin, Granville, Vance & Warren Counties) 919-715-8363
• Sen. Dan Blue (representing Wake County) 919-733-5752
• Sen. Tony Foriest (representing Alamance & Caswell Counties) 919-301-1446
• Sen. Larry Shaw (representing Cumberland County) 919-733-9349
• Sen. Phillip Berger (representing Guilford & Rockingham Counties) 919-733-5708
• Sen. Harris Blake (representing Harnett & Moore Counties) 919-733-4809
• Sen. Julia Boseman (representing New Hanover County) 919-715-2525
• Sen. Peter Brunstetter (representing Forsyth County) 919-733-7850
• Sen. Debbie Clary (representing Cleveland & Rutherford Counties) 919-715-3038
• Sen. Katie Dorsett (representing Guilford County) 919-715-3042
• Sen. James Forrester (representing Gaston, Iredell & Lincoln Counties) 919-715-3050
• Sen. Linda Garrou (representing Forsyth County) 919-733-5620
• Sen. Eddie Goodall (representing Mecklenburg & Union Counties) 919-733-7659
• Sen. Steve Goss (representing Alexander, Ashe, Watauga & Wilkes Counties) 919-733-5742
• Sen. Malcolm Graham (representing Mecklenburg County) 919-733-5650
• Sen. Neal Hunt (representing Wake County) 919-733-5850
• Sen. Jim Jacumin (representing Burke & Caldwell Counties) 919-715-7823
• Sen. Clark Jenkins (representing Edgecombe, Martin & Pitt Counties) 919-715-3040
• Sen. Martin Nesbitt (representing Buncombe County) 919-715-3001
• Sen. William Purcell (representing  Counties) 919-733-5953
• Sen. Bob Rucho (representing Mecklenburg County) 919-733-5655
• Sen. Josh Stein (representing Wake County) 919-715-6400
• Sen. Richard Stevens (representing Wake County) 919-733-5653
• Sen. Don Vaughan (representing Guilford County) 919-733-5856

For all of you kayak fishermen out there this Saturday (May 16) will be a day you want to mark on your calendar. Renowned kayak fisherman Jimbo Meador will be giving on and off water clinics on kayak fishing, paddleboard fishing, and cast netting from a kayak. There will also be fishing kayaks and paddleboards on hand for test drives. Jimbo is a master fisherman with a ton of experience and practical knowledge to inpart. Kayak fishing is seeing a major upswing in popularity as fishermen realize how fun this sport can be. Come out on Saturday and learn how to catch more fish! Admission is $10 and proceeds go towards charity. Call Hook, Line, and Paddle for more info: 910-792-6945