The Citizens Protecting Maumelle Watershed group has issued a press release about the developer-weakened watershed regulation being considered by the Pulaski County Quorum Court.
Numerous protections in the Lake Maumelle Watershed Management Plan have been watered down or outright eliminated. Dismaying examples include densities 10 times higher than allowed by the Lake Maumelle Watershed Management Plan and reduced undisturbed areas as a percentage of new development. These reductions in protection mean that ten times as many people will be living in the watershed with the resultant loss of ground absorption and filtration by naturally occurring vegetation that has taken years to establish. Greatly increased density and reduced undisturbed areas increases the risks to Lake Maumelle and to our drinking water in ways that have not been fully analyzed.
Full release here.
According to this morning's account Democrat-Gazette of a public hearing that preceded last night's quorum court meeting on the regulations, only one person spoke in favor of the plan: CAW watershed protection manager John Tynan. Property owners Butch and Barbara Penney were quoted as saying the ordinance was too strong, and motivated by a desire by county government to take over private property. Cue the black helicopters. The measure will come to a vote next month.