Greenline on Track, but Overton Park Ambushed

Great news - the County Commission today (3/30/09) unanimously voted in favor of the 7-mile Bike/Ped Greenline!!! Thanks to Gates of Memphis, click HERE to see the route from Midtown to Cordova.

But meanwhile, there's more controversy in Overton Park. Click to read the latest on:
* the City's plan for an 18' deep retention basin in the Greensward (field across from Memphis College of Art)
* last week's surprise bulldozing of the Old Forest's undergrowth. There's also info. on what you can do to help stop destruction in the park.

[Click here to read more...]

Parks & Greenways - Rhodes Workshop to put issues in Perspective

Our current, local debates over green spaces in Memphis and Shelby County are part of a bigger 2-century long debate over environmental protection and urban planning. Rhodes College workshop to take a look at the past and put the issues in historical context. Free. Apr. 7. You're invited.

For information, click "read more."


Workshop:
Date & Time: Apr. 7, (Tues.) 4:00 - 7:30 pm.
Location: Ballroom, Bryan Campus Life Center, Rhodes College

An overview, or, if you're up for a little homework, click the links:

Overton Park and the Memphis Parkway system, were planned and designed by George Kessler, and influenced by Frederick Law Olmsted’s designs for New York's

Central Park

and Prospect Park.





To Olmsted, the founder of American landscape architecture, parks were not just objects of beauty. He was passionately convinced that such green spaces contributed both to the social cohesiveness and fairness of a modern urban society and to the health of urban populations.

Olmsted's ideas about urban parks were based on what he had seen in Britain and Europe, and particularly on Birkenhead Park, the first public park in the world.
Birkenhead, designed by the great engineer Joseph Paxton , opened in 1847 and was considered by Olmsted to democratize the urban experience and produce significant health benefits for one of the 19th century’s great industrial cities.

Paxton was an innovator, but he too inherited from the past and drew from urban planning and sanitation reforms in the 18th century. The creation and maintenance of green spaces was an urgent concern from the very moment at which rapid urbanization and industrialization emerged in the western world.

As Memphis and Shelby County focus on our parks and greenways, it's interesting to note that in 1883, Olmstead moved from New York to Brookline, Massachusetts where he worked on a park system for the City of Boston eventually spending much of his time on the city's Emerald Necklace.

Click here for a full description of the workshop.

Click Prospect Park website and look around at the photos. Surprising how much it looks like parks in downtown and mid-town Memphis.

For an update and to learn more about the dramatic and immediate issues confronting Overton Park, click here.

[Click here to read more...]

"Blacks Living Green"

Who said blacks aren’t interested in “green”? Michelle Obama is planting a vegetable garden at the White House, and Sharon T. Freeman, author of the myth-bursting book, “Blacks Living Green” will be in Memphis Apr. 9th to recognize 10 local “green” role models. You’re invited. Click “read more” to get the details.


Location: Caritas Village at 2509 Harvard (corner of Merton)

Date & Time: Apr. 9 at 7 pm

Keynote speaker: Sharon T. Freeman, PhD, lives in Washington, DC. where she has worked as an Economic Development Specialist helping developing countries around the world for the past 35 years . She has been a consultant and Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Trade representative, and a member of the U.S. Diplomatic Corps. Today she has turned her attention to the state of Black America in urban areas. She quickly tears down stereotypes and dispels myths that depict African Americans as uninterested in green issues and environmental matters.

Award recipients:
Sandra Upchurch, High School Teacher Extraordinaire & Industrial Chemist
Frank D. Robinson, Reclaimed Materials Artist
Hazel Burks, Health & Wellness Expert
Rev. Ralph White, Environmental Justice Activist & Pastor of Bloomfield Baptist Church
Andree Glenn, Co-Founder of Neighbors for Trees
Dr. Stanley Abell, LeMoyne - Owen College Professor & Ecological Society of America Member
Pearlie Estes Master Gardener & Owner of Day Lilies Plus Nursery
Shawn Posey Urban Forester, Department of Agriculture
Calvin Robinson, Fuller State Park Manager
Plus a surprise recipient

Sponsors: Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program, Chickasaw Group and Caritas Village

And on the national scene: Michelle Obama has dug up a patch of the South Lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets — the president does not like them — but arugula will make the cut.
Click here to see which other presidents have had vegetable gardens at the White House.

[Click here to read more...]

Memphis on track to become Emerald city

Good turn-out and suggestions at 1st two Mud Island River Park meetings!


And, in case you did not read Sunday's Commercial Appeal, it looks like Memphis may soon have a 7 mile Bike/Ped Greenway!!!

Update 3/30/09: County Commission voted unanimously to support the 7-mile Greenway!!!


Highlights on Bike/Ped Greenway:
• 7 mile trail along the CSX line from midtown to Shelby Farms.
• Shelby Farms Park Conservancy is donating $4,775,000 for the purchase.
• $1.5 million federal surface transportation grant for construction.
• Shelby county contributes $375,000 matching funds to get the federal grant.
• Shelby Farms Park Conservancy will administer its development.
• Completion by Dec 31st 2009.
• The county Commission is voting on March 30th starting at 1:30 PM
Click here to read the Commercial Appeal article.

What can you do to help?

• Mud Island River Park - Share your ideas at 1 of the 2 upcoming public meetings on the park and take the online survey. (You can skip sections if you're short on time. And it's not necessary to give your name or e-mail address, so don't let that stop you.) Click here for meeting schedule; here to take survey.

• CSX bike/ped trail - Attend County Commission meeting (3/30, 1:30pm, 160 N. Main, Suite 450) and contact Commissioners to give your input:
Mike Ritz - mike.ritz@shelbycountytn.gov
George Flinn - george.flinn@shelbycountytn.gov
Mike Carpenter - mike.carpenter@shelbycountytn.gov
J.W. Gibson, II - jw.gibson@shelbycountytn.gov
Henri E. Brooks - henri.brooks@shelbycountytn.gov
Deidre Malone - deidre.malone@shelbycountytn.gov
James M. Harvey - james.harvey@shelbycountytn.gov
Sidney Chism - sidney.chism@shelbycountytn.gov
Joe Ford - joe.ford@shelbycountytn.gov
Joyce Avery - joyce.avery@shelbycountytn.gov
Wyatt Bunker - wyatt.bunker@shelbycountytn.gov
Matt Kuhn - matt.kuhn@shelbycountytn.gov
Steve Mulroy - steven.mulroy@shelbycountytn.gov
For full contact info. click here.

[Click here to read more...]

Mud Island River Park: Let YOUR Voice Be Heard

What's this all about?

Taking care of our awesome Mississippi River at Memphis for future generations is really what this is all about. Let YOUR voice be heard.

Public study underway aims to decide what YOU want to do with Mud Island River Park.
Commercial Appeal's Sunday editorial offers fair warning: MIRP "has been overdeveloped before, and it would be a mistake to let that happen again."

HOW To Let YOUR Voice Be Heard:

1. Attend one of the public meetings. Let YOUR voice be heard.

Public meeting schedule:
Mar. 23 (Mon.), Mud Island River Park Harbor Landing, 101 Island Dr.,
Mar. 24 (Tues.), Raleigh United Methodist Church, 3295 Powers Road,
Mar. 31 (Tues.), Whitehaven Community Center gym, 4318 Graceland Dr.,
Apr. 2 (Thurs.), Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry Rd.
All of the meetings are from 5:45 pm to 7:15 pm.


2. Fill-out the online survey(anyway you want). Let YOUR voice be heard.


3. Tell your opinion to the Commercial Appeal and other local newscasters. Let YOUR voice be heard.
Click on these links:
* Commercial Appeal article. Add your comment.
* Commercial Appeal editorial. Add your comment.
* Send a letter-to-the-editor.
* Flyer article. Add your comment.

"Sing" - Let your voice be heard. Annie Lennox

[Click here to read more...]

Plans for Mud Island River Park

As we head into public meetings to think about what's ahead for Mud Island River Park, here's a quick look at some of the previous studies and plans for the park.

Links:
Waterfront Center report
Sidney Shlenker's plan for the Pyramid and MIRP
RDC original Masterplan for MIRP and landbridge
Bass Pro plan for Pyramid and riverfront
Ericson plan for Pyramid and MIRP
Hyneman's Flagship development on Mud Island

[Click here to read more...]

Waterfront Center Report on Mud Island

In 1999, the City hired the Waterfront Center from Washington, DC to gather public comments about the riverfront. Click below to see the suggestions for Mud Island.

Excerpts from the WATERFRONT CENTER REPORT 1999

MUD ISLAND RIVER PARK
There was a general feeling that this park should be a family-oriented place and needs a number of improvements to make it more viable to the Memphis riverfront and the community.

Summary of Yellow Group:

• Removal of the entrance fee and keeping the park open year-round were unanimous sentiments. Memphians go once if at all. If the entrance fee was removed more locals might go and use it, especially if pedestrian and vehicular access were improved. Several suggestions including providing a parking area/garage on the island were put forward.
• More activities for children should be provided, including more opportunities for environmental education. Perhaps an ecology center tied into the school curricula that could also serve as a summer camp could be installed.
• Overall, the facility needs a general upgrade and enhancement along with improved maintenance.
• Tied to this is better asset management with the cautionary note of not expanding until the present facility is running optimally.
• To improve access, the group would like to test the possibility of running the trolley out to Mud Island. It was noted that this could also serve the growing residential communities on the island.

Blue Group:

Two immediate needs to facilitate greater use of Mud Island Park are the addition of more docking facilities for recreational boats and provision of a ferry service shuttling passengers from the mainland. The ferry idea generated considerable positive discussion.

The group advocated free admission to the island and the provision of more opportunities both for access and enjoyment once there. It was the position of the group that opening Mud Island freely to visitors (not to the museum/Mississippi River model) would encourage people to buy food, drink and concession items and that the revenues from these vendors would contribute to the island’s enhancement. The addition of amenities to Mud Island, that would serve both a visitor population and the residents were recommended. Suggested additions include: Programming the amphitheater with popular music and dance, using re-enactment groups for festivals, bike rentals, volley ball tournaments, environmental education, and generally, more interactive opportunities for young people and families.

Overall, the group saw a need for a public relations campaign on behalf of Mud Island, to refurbish its image in the community. In a related area, the group said an emphasis on security was going to be needed to encourage greater use.

In order to encourage a comprehensive river experience, the group called for a link of the south end of Mud Island to the mainland, near Beale Street. Such a pedestrian link would help overcome now what is seen to be a psychological inhibition for Memphians to use Mud Island.

Red Group:

The group was clear in its desire to open up the island to residents and to make admission free. Charging admission to the museum and Mississippi River model was fine. There was solid opposition to the idea that $8 be charged to get on the island (including museum entry).

Again the suggestion was put forward that there be a link from Beale Street to Mud Island, namely a pedestrian bridge.

A hands-on educational program was a suggested addition to the island's offerings. Plus a reconstituted children's playground. Also, the addition of a boat launch (see above).

Additional restaurants were recommended, and a lift of the current ban on concessionaires. It was suggested that the museum itself be updated and that it have changing exhibits so that locals would have reason to make repeat visits. The consensus was that the museum currently is somewhat static as far as Memphis residents are concerned.

Suggested additional facilities on Mud Island ranged from a Ferris wheel to an aquarium, without achieving general consensus.

The employment of local artists, both performing and visual, in enlivening the island did win broad group support. The issue of perhaps renaming the island was again raised, with opposition encountered, but a general re-imaging was seen as needed.

Other suggestions included: extending the monorail and/or extending the riverfront trolley line; expanding the Memphis Belle exhibit to a larger World War II display; adding more parking to the north end, and providing affordable housing on Mud Island.

[Click here to read more...]

Will Memphis catch on to how important parks and greenways are before it’s too late?

SmartCity blog takes a look at Memphis, documents the benefits of parks, and calls for action and new priorities here at home.

No Greenprint Bruises Our Image Black And Blue
This commentary was first posted in October, 2005, and then reposted 3/10/09 in light of the controversy of the mistreatment of Overton Park's Greensward.

In a time of economic crisis and fiscal stresses in local government, it would seem that it would be the perfect time to protect what we have.

There is an aphorism in local government that goes like this: “There’s always money for anything the mayor wants to do.”

It doesn’t matter if the deficit is growing, it doesn’t matter if the budget is out of balance and it doesn’t matter which way the winds of controversy are blowing. If a mayor wants money for a special interest or a personal priority, it’s always found.

That’s why it’s unfortunate that parkland remains a low priority in local government.

Greening Cities
Never mind that 5,387 acres of parkland in Memphis is meager when compared to our so-called peer cities.

Never mind that the Research Triangle area is launching a GreenPrint program to increase green space by 158,000 acres in the next 25 years.

Never mind that Nashville is embarking on a $151 million park expansion program.

Never mind that Atlanta is beginning development of a spectacular 22-mile linear park.

Never mind that Memphis is in a race with these cities for jobs, workers and economic growth. And never mind that parkland is one of the wisest investments that can be made by a community.

Doing Better
At a time when Memphis should be pulling out all the stops to lure people back to city neighborhoods, we send the message that we place little value on green spaces and their connection with healthy neighborhoods.

Just for the record, let’s do the numbers: Memphis spends about $32 per citizen on parks. It’s hard to find a major city that does less, and we are topped by cities ranging from Seattle to Oakland, Denver to Oklahoma City, Cincinnati to Virginia Beach. In fact, most of these spend from two to seven times more per resident.

As for parkland per 1,000 residents, Memphis is in a race to the bottom. As for parkland as a percentage of the city total area, Memphis (including Shelby Farms Park’s 4,500 acres) rate is 6 percent. By the way, the plan for the Research Triangle will raise its percentage from 8 percent to 15 percent.

While politicians look for quick fixes to budget problems, citizens are looking for long-range commitment to park improvements. And they’re willing to pay for it. In the most recent reporting year, voters in 23 states approved three-fourths of the referenda for parks – to the tune of about $1.8 billion. Since 1995, more than $25 billion in new capital funding for parks has been approved by voters.

Just The Facts
There's no reason that we can't do the same here. The Division of Parks operates on essentially the same budget that it had 30 years ago, and the public needs to create a mandate for our parks, and as we do, let's remember a few things:

• Some people are concerned that parks foster crime.
Actually, the reverse is true. According to scientists at the Human-Environment Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, parks create neighborhoods with fewer violent and property crimes and where neighbors watch out and support one another. Research found that residents near parks expressed feelings of safety more than residents lacking parkland. That’s because parks are places where the social bonds of the neighborhood are forged and a spirit of community is incubated through the social contacts on common ground. In addition, researchers compared the crime rates for apartment buildings with little or no vegetation to buildings that had just the opposite. The buildings with vegetation had roughly half as many crimes. These findings were consistent with prior studies that indicate fewer quality of life crimes occur in neighborhoods near parkland.

• Parks increase property values and produce more taxes for local government.
Chattanooga saw property values grow by 128 percent when it embarked on a parks and open space plan, producing an increase of 99 per cent in city and county property taxes. Similar increases were reported in Atlanta, Boulder, San Antonio and Philadelphia.

• Quality of life is a major factor in the decisions of Knowledge Workers on where to live and work.
A survey of 1,200 technology workers showed that a high quality of life increased the attractiveness of a city by 33 percent. Other surveys, including this firm’s Memphis Talent Magnet Report and the Young and Restless Series on the movement of 25-34 year-old workers (which can be read on our website, www.smartcityconsulting.com), show that these young professional workers prefer places with diverse outdoor recreational options.

• Parks are lures to homebuyers, and Memphis needs all the weapons in its arsenal to attract people back to its neighborhoods.
A survey by the National Association of Realtors reported that 65 percent of home shoppers felt that parks would seriously influence them to move to a community; 57 percent would choose a home close to a park and open space over one that is not; and homebuyers would pay 10 percent more for the privilege of living near parkland.

• Families living near parks are fitter and healthier.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports an epidemic in obesity. Access to parks increases the percentage of people exercising on three or more days per week by 26 percent, the CDC says, adding that 15 percent of children are overweight. That percentage is much higher in Memphis. Children need parks now more than ever -- as alternatives to video games, television and computers.

What is the main lesson Memphis can learn from cities with excellent park systems? Leadership matters.

Visionary elected officials understand that the green infrastructure is just as important as the public works infrastructure. They understand that the natural ecosystem is critical to the health and well-being of their citizens. They insist on “green plans” that create an interconnected system of parks that produce all of the economic, quality of life, environmental and sense of community benefits that are found in vibrant cities.

Here’s hoping someone will take out a civics book that reminds them how Memphis’ once dynamic system of parks was not only a source of pride but a selling point during the city’s growth years. It can be again.

[Click here to read more...]

YOUR input wanted - Mud Island River Park land use study

If Mud Island River Park were to be redeveloped, what changes would be most important to you? What improvements would you like to see?

Funded by $200,000 from the Corps of Engineers, $100,000 from the Hyde Fdn., $75,000 from the City, and $25,000 from Memphis Tomorrow, the RDC has hired Looney, Ricks, Kiss Architects and The Consilience Group to find the answers and design a land use plan based on your input.

Four public meetings are scheduled. For times and locations click here.

If you are unable to attend one of the meetings, you can still take part in an online survey. Click here to answer the questions and submit your comments.

All meetings 5:45-7:15 pm

Downtown
MIRP Harbor Landing
101 Island Drive
Monday 3/23

North Memphis
Raleigh United Methodist Church
3295 Powers Road
Tuesday, 3/24

South Memphis
Whitehaven Community Center
Gymnasium
4318 Graceland Drive
Tuesday, 3/31

East Memphis
Memphis Botanic Gardens
750 Cherry Road
Thursday, 4/2

“Public input is the foundation of this study,” said Traci Sampson, principal of The Consilience Group. “We want to be sure whatever happens at the park is meeting the needs of the community.”

The land use study is expected to take 9 - 10 months.

[Click here to read more...]

A Playground for Mud Island River Park - Maybe

This summer Mud Island River Park (MIRP) may have a new playground if the City Council approves a request by the RDC for $390,000. About 2/3s of that ($265,000) is for playground equipment; the remainder is for a walking trail in Chickasaw Park.

The City Council was suprised to learn about the two projects and that they had been lumped together and already sent out for bids. The projects will go back to committee for consideration in two weeks.

The MIRP play areas, one for children between the ages of 2 and 5 and one for ages 6 to 10, are designed to be added to the center of the park in a grassy area, along the side of the Riverwalk. The River Park hopes to have the play areas finished by opening day Sat. April 11. The original MIRP "Huck Finn" playground, was destroyed about 20 years ago when Sidney Shlenker managed the park.

Update: Council voted to wait for park land use study results to see: 1) if public wants a playground in the park and 2) where architects and planners suggest it be located. Wise decision; it would've been a wasteful mistake to build it and then turn around and either move it or rip it out.

[Click here to read more...]

BSL to receive $475,000 in stimulus funds

An article in the Commercial Appeal announced that U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen secured $475,000 in federal stimulus funding for Beale Street Landing (BSL) - the $29.4M boat dock project underway at the foot of Beale Street.

Although "shovel ready", it seems a strange project to receive funding designed to support economic recovery. The overnight boats it was intended to serve have gone out of business.

Previous public funding for the project includes approximately $10M from the state and federal government and $19M from the City.

Click below for links to the article on stimulus funds for Memphis and for additional information on BSL.

Rep. Cohen serves up pork for Memphis; suburbs not so lucky
Garage Gate, Part Two?
Away All Boats
Shovel Ready
Beale Street Landing - What, where, why, do we need it, can we afford it?
Update on BSL

Rep. Cohen serves up pork for Memphis; suburbs not so lucky
The Commercial Appeal
Friday, February 27, 2009
Reporters Clay Bailey, Jody Callahan, Kevin McKenzie and Bartholomew Sullivan contributed to this article.

The massive $410 billion spending bill that passed the House this week contains at least $2 million for Memphis and Shelby County, thanks to requests from U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis.

And U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., earmarked another $8 million for his district-- though DeSoto County wasn't included in the plan.

But Shelby County's suburban governments came up empty-handed in this round of spending.

The omnibus budget bill, passed on top of the $787 billion stimulus package, pays for government operations for the balance of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Representatives from both parties tagged their pet projects onto the legislation after avoiding the add-ons to the recently passed stimulus package promoted by President Barack Obama.

The omnibus bill, which passed the House, 245-178, still must be approved by the Senate and signed by the president.

Among Mid-South congressmen, only Cohen voted for it. Childers, John Tanner, D-Tenn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., voted against it.

"If you think the country needs to move forward and make progress, it's going to cost money," Cohen said, explaining his vote. "They're just programs that you support."

Cohen sponsored or co-sponsored more than $100 million in earmarks, including $14.8 million for the national Teach for America program and $24.8 million for Reading is Fundamental.

"I know that some congressmen don't get earmarks, so their districts don't get $7 (million) or $8 million in federal funding," Cohen said Thursday night.

Local earmarks by Cohen include $1 million to be split between Memphis, Shelby County, the University of Memphis and the District Attorney General's Office for efforts to fight gangs and violence. Cohen allocated another $475,000 for a Beale Street Landing docking facility and $475,000 for improvements to Elvis Presley Boulevard.

Tanner, whose district includes Millington, did not have any earmarks in Shelby County. And though Childers made earmarks for a host of projects throughout his Mississippi district, none went to DeSoto County. Childers said through a spokesman Thursday that he didn't receive any funding requests from DeSoto County.

Blackburn, whose district stretches to the suburban outskirts of Shelby County, has taken a pledge not to seek earmarks until she is satisfied the process has been reformed.

Claude Chafin, Blackburn's spokesman, said Blackburn was "appalled at how egregious the earmarking system has become, in the House specifically.

"It was no longer a process that she could be involved in in good conscience because it contributed so much wasteful federal spending."

Chafin said Blackburn is looking to the House leadership for "serious earmark reform, so that members of Congress can transparently tend to the needs of their districts."

Cohen shrugged off Blackburn's objections.

"I don't know that Congresswoman Blackburn considered them (pork-barrel spending) until the Democrats came in," he said. "I know she got some things for Memphis in the past."

Most suburban leaders were not upset Thursday about Blackburn's stance against the earmarks because the potential money wasn't even on their radar.

"We didn't ask for any, so it's not a big deal," Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald said.

Germantown Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy said she was pretty sure no funds were involved for her city.

"We're just not accustomed to getting checks from Washington," Goldsworthy said.

In Collierville's local political campaigns last fall, candidates routinely pledged to seek more dollars from Washington and Nashville to help support the town. Mayor Stan Joyner, who took office in November, said he wasn't prepared to make a statement about the earmarks, but "it does concern me."


LOCAL EARMARKS

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis:
Justice Dept. grant to deal with gang violence and violent crime -- $1 million
Beale Street Landing Docking Facility -- $475,000
U.S. 51 -- Elvis Presley Blvd. Improvements -- $475,000
Regional Medical Center, facilities and equipment -- $238,000
Rhodes College NASA Stars training curriculum -- $200,000
Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, facilities and equipment -- $190,000
Memphis Youth Services, summer and after-school employment -- $190,000

Additional projects not listed with a House sponsor, but supported by Cohen, include $4.5 million for a terminal air traffic control facility replacement at Memphis and $760,000 for the Bioworks Foundation for construction at the UT-Baptist Research Park.

U.S. Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn.: $3.76 million in total earmarks, but none in Shelby County.

U.S. Rep. Travis W. Childers, D-Miss.:$8 million in total earmarks, but none in DeSoto County.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.: Did not seek earmarks.

[Click here to read more...]

Beale Street Landing - "Virtual" View

The RDC has produced a short "virtual" video to clear up confusion and give us a preview glimpse of Beale Street Landing (BSL). If you haven't seen it yet, click HERE to watch.

Notes:
The large twin towers seen in the background on the video are not yet built. They are the proposed $250M Carlisle Corp. luxury hotel/condo project, No. 1 Beale. Because of the economic downtown, the project has been modified.

The BSL parking lot to be built in Tom Lee Park is not shown in the video.
For a map that shows the location of the boat dock, restaurant/ticketing area, and parking lot, click here.

[Click here to read more...]

Foam on the River

Here’s a picture of what boaters found on on the River Sun. Feb. 22. It's not snow. Memphis and the state of TN should look better.

Click below to see what the Maynard C. Stiles Discharge permit and the TN water quality for recreation require and comments concerning the foam problem from the TN Dept. of Environment and Conservation and the Maynard C. Stiles Waste-water Treatment Facility.

Discharge Permit for the Maynard C. Stiles Waste Water Treatment Plant. Permit # TN0020711...page 3 of 20, the narrative section says:

There shall be no distinctly visible floating scum, oil or other matter contained in the wastewater discharge.

...and...

The wastewater discharge must not cause an objectionable color contrast in the receiving stream.

The Tennessee Water Quality Criteria for the Recreation Classification at Rule 1200-4-3-.03 (4)(c) says:

Solids, Floating Materials and Deposits - There shall be no distinctly visible solids, scum, foam, oily slick, or the formation of slimes, bottom deposits or sludge banks of such size or character that may be detrimental to recreation.

James H. Baker, Project Director - TN Water Sentinels, says the foam detracts from a clean riverfront and participating in healthy outdoor recreation on the Mississippi River and Wolf River Harbor. It also gives Memphis a negative image of "we don't care what our riverfront looks like" to its citizens and tourists that come downtown to marvel at one of the largest rivers on Earth.

In a letter addressing the problem, Terry Templeton of the Water Pollution Control section of the TN Dept. of Environment and Conservation says,

...we found out that the reported foaming episode apparently occurred at the time of a malfunction of the defoamer for a day or so during cold weather. They had been, and apparently still are, de-foaming successfully. In answer to our inquiry yesterday morning (2/23), they reported that they've noticed a decrease in de-foaming effectiveness on weekends allegedly due to different flows. They are requesting a different formulation from their de-foaming agent vendor in an effort to alleviate the problem.

Inquiring about the problem, Eddy Bouzeid received this information from the plant manager, Peter Alfonso:

"This past weekend, Feb.21-22, M.S. [sic C.] Stiles Treatment Plant was feeding the defoaming agent at max feed rate.
We are in the process of doubling our application rate. We will accomplish this by purchasing the defoamer at twice the present concentration.
We hope this will dissipate all foaming at the Plant's effluent.

We will be following up to determine if their efforts are successful.

Mr. Templeton closes his letter by asking that if you see problems like this, take pictures and send them to the Memphis Field Office of TDEC. Address your letters to
Terry R. Templeton, P.G.
Manager
Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation
Division of Water Pollution Control
Memphis Environmental Field Office
901.368.7959
www.tdec.net

[Click here to read more...]

Key Building in Downtown's Redevelopment Restored

After a long period of decline, the historic Lowenstein/Rhodes Jennings Building, circa 1886, now has a bright future. That's a reason to celebrate, and Court Square Center, LLC invites the public to the opening reception Wed., March 18, 5:30-8pm.

The building stands at the corner of Main and Jefferson, and is a key component to downtown revitalization.

[Click here to read more...]