A developing problem

I am writing out of my concern for the issue that was addressed in the “Green Scene” environmental news written by Rebecca Bowe [“Cloudy Currents,” Oct. 11, 2006]. The article made reference to a storm-water ordinance recently passed that will impose fines on developers when ineffective storm-water-control systems result in land disturbances.

I fear that imposing fines will not save our soil. Developers will go ahead with careless and ineffective concern for water runoff. They may scatter straw (it temporarily hides the nakedness of the earth), plant grass seed and [apply] lime. There have been places where it has been obvious to me from the first sign of land-clearing and cutting away of the bank/slope to create a level space for construction that erosion would surely follow. They’ll do what others have done—contest, argue, delay and finally perhaps pay a small fine and get away with environmental destruction.

Staples and Greenlife are only two examples of a much larger number of construction [projects] that were not carried out [according to requirements]. To see if it is safe to exit Orange onto Merrimon, the driver must move so far out to verify his safety that it isn’t safe. The size of the [Staples] sign is an eyesore, and Staples is intransigent. If the store had been built according to the agreed plan, the parking lot would have been on the corner and the store would have been where the parking lot is now. Although neither of these stores are luxury-living units, I see here also the futility of levying a fine. It is something akin to locking the barn after the horse was stolen.

When a developer is working on a multi-million-dollar construction, what is a few thousand in fines? Do we think that a few thousand dollars can restore the earth to its former health? Who is watching the construction beginnings? What action could be taken in the early stages? What kind of written agreement could be required before any land is turned or trees cut? What I’ve observed to the east of Tunnel Road seems to me unconscionable. If an ordinary citizen like me makes observation that sets alarm bells ringing, to whom could we address our concerns?

I am concerned not only for the destruction that occurs downhill from the “site,” but also for what happens to the land above the cut. Most of us know that when the soil on a lower slope is saturated and begins to move, the area above will also be endangered.