FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Fairhope’s Planning Department issued a stop-work order Friday for construction at the site on U.S. 98 and Parker Road where The Shoppes at Fairhope Village mixed-use development, including a controversial Publix supermarket, will be located.

“The Publix is still under a stop-order,” said the department’s environmental officer Kim Burmeister Tuesday morning. “They had a blow out (at their siltation fence), and we shut them down Friday.”

Burmeister said Volkert and Associates, the engineering firm for the project, was working Tuesday to strengthen the siltation fence to prevent additional sediment from leaving the construction site. She said the city would determine when to lift the stop-work order based on such modifications made at the site.

“We actually received a complaint about the facility about 10:30 a.m. Friday,” said Scott Hughes, spokesman for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. “We had an investigator on site within an hour. We have documented there were several issues on site, and that sediments left the site that were not controlled. We will review all that information to determine if an enforcement action needs to be made.”

ADEM issued a notice of violation on Aug. 1 to a builder of another construction site on U.S. 98 for an incident in May of stormwater runoff going into Rock Creek near the entrance to that subdivision. (See story at left.)

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Jackie Wavrunek of the Fly Creek Preservation Association referring to the sediment she said flowed into Fly Creek from the construction site Friday and during rains Monday and Tuesday morning. “It’s really a big breach.”

A meeting scheduled to occur Tuesday afternoon about the problems at the construction site between the Regency Centers of Atlanta, the developer of the project, Volkert, and city staff and officials may not have taken place.

Gregg Mims, director of the city’s planning department, did not return calls seeking comment about the status of the stop-work order, what happened at the construction site, or the scheduled meeting.

“While there was a meeting scheduled for this afternoon where several issues were to be discussed, but due to travel difficulties, the Regency representatives were not able to get over there today,” Jeff Pape, Regency’s vice president for investments, said by e-mail Tuesday morning. “There was a mechanical difficulty on their flight this morning, and their plane was brought back to Atlanta.”

Regency Centers issued a statement in response to a request for comment by the Fairhope Courier. The statement reads in full as follows:

“In response to the storm event the (sic) occurred on Thursday of last week, Regency Centers offers the following comments.

“Regency Centers is very excited to be under construction on the Shoppes at Fairhope Village, a first class shopping center development that will be a positive addition to the Fairhope community. As part of the construction process, being good stewards of the environment and protecting the Fly Creek watershed is of the (utmost) importance. Regency Centers, Summit Industries and Volkert & Associates have worked hand in hand with the City of Fairhope and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) from the beginning of construction to assure that every measure possible has been taken to protect the watershed.

“On Thursday, August 7th beginning at approximately 6 p.m., the site received approximately 4.6 inches of rainfall within a 2? (sic) hour period, a very significant rainfall event. Summit Industries was on site within a half hour of the rain subsiding to inspect and repair any erosion control devices that may have been damaged slightly by such a significant rainfall. They worked until midnight to assure that the site was stabilized in case more rain came over night. They were back on site at 6 AM to assure nothing had been missed in the darkness the night before.

“We are happy to report that the erosion control measures worked as designed and caught the majority of silt runoff from the site. Turbidity measurements were collected at five locations along Fly Creek, one upstream from the site and four down stream. Readings directly down stream of the site indicated only a slight increase in turbidity in Fly Creek. The slight increase was well within the levels allowed by ADEM indicating that no adverse impacts occurred to Fly Creek. Additional readings collected further down stream indicate that the turbidity levels where Fly Creek crosses Main Street were already back below the normal readings up stream of the site. Readings taken further down stream closer to the yacht club indicate turbidity levels well above the levels directly down stream of our construction site. All silt fence and erosion control devices were cleaned, inspected and reestablished to handle the next rainfall.

“ADEM conducted an inspection on Friday, August 8th and ADEM representatives indicated they were encouraged by the responsiveness on behalf of the project team to remedy the situation during and after such an intense rain event. The construction team will continue to hold the protection of the Fly Creek watershed as one of the key priorities during our construction process.”

Wavrunek, who lives on Fly Creek, disagreed with the Regency Centers statement.

“I find that statement unbelievable,” she said. “That is astounding to me. Normally the creek is clear. The creek is fresh and beautiful. Now it’s just as muddy and brown as it can be. The silt fences are not controlling the sediment leaving the site.”

A local environmental group, Mobile Baykeeper, was at the site taking pictures and videotaping during the rainstorm that Tuesday, said Casi Callaway, the group’s executive director. She said her group had received numerous calls about the situation starting Friday.

Wavrunek sent an e-mail letter to Mims Monday morning setting out some of her concerns. Her letter is reprinted in full as follows:

“It was extremely dismaying to read your statement in Sunday’s Baldwin Register that the Publix site’s storm containment was adequate. It is a fact that on the evening of Aug. 7, 2008 an enormous pile of red clay on the Publix project was not secured in any way and much of it ended up in Fly Creek. The photo in the Baldwin Register Aug. 10 shows workers removing a severely compromised silt fence the morning of Aug. 8 - its failure also contributed to an enormous amount of soil from the project ending up in Fly Creek. BMP’s in place on this project were not secure, were compromised during the Aug. 7 storm, and sent large volumes of clay, soil and silt into Fly Creek. Which, I assume, is why the city of Fairhope, wisely, shut down the project August 8th.

“The quick response of the contractor to clean up the mess the breach caused and very muddy appearance of Fly Creek, all the way to the bay, demonstrate the severity of the breach.

“The Publix Site’s BMPs were compromised again today by a morning rain. Attached is a photo I took, this morning, during the rain, of compromised silt fences that allowed storm water run-off into Fly Creek. The next picture was taken today of Fly Creek near the bridge. Its normally clear water is like muddy soup. The creek is being silted in at an alarming rate since this project began.

“The BMPs being used on the Eastern Shore can not stand up to our heavy storms, they fail every single time and our valuable water resources suffer each time. 

“Please address this damaging inadequacy before our creeks, bays and Mobile Bay itself are destroyed. At the current rate Fly Creek, a beautiful, historic body of water, is not going to survive the Publix project.”

An e-mail that was sent to Wavrunek by Mims just before press time indicates the meeting may still have occurred Tuesday afternoon.

“I appreciate your concern about this issue,” Mims wrote. “We are actively working on the matter. In fact I have a meeting this afternoon with the developer, engineer and all associated contractors on the Publix Site. I have asked Jim Horner to be a part of this meeting and offer any guidance and our suggestions he has on this project. He can provide an update when the Fly Creek Group meets tonight.”