FAIRHOPE, Ala. — On Monday, the state environmental agency inspected an incident of stormwater runoff from a construction site on U.S. 98 into Rock Creek that occurred Friday near the entrance to that subdivision.

“The Department received a complaint Friday concerning sediment issues at this facility,” said Scott Hughes, spokesman for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. “We had an inspector at the site on Monday who documented some items that need to be addressed, and we are working with the developer to make sure these items are addressed in a timely manner.”

The contractor of the BancorpSouth bank construction project was set to pave the parking lot this week.

“The construction was scheduled to be paved Monday or Tuesday,” said Christopher Baker, planning director of Hutchison, Moore and Rauch, the project’s engineering firm. “So, (the site) was in its most vulnerable and exposed position.”

Baker said that preparation for the paving contributed to the soil leaving the construction site.

“Because of that, the water couldn’t get into the inlets constructed to handle the runoff,” he said. “The water wasn’t able to go where it was designed to go.”

Baker said his firm and the contractor, Galliard Builders Inc., notified ADEM Friday of the incident.

“ADEM was out there on Monday,” Baker said. “Galliard’s environmental representative met with ADEM (that day). ADEM is in the process of approving a mitigation plan. We’re exploring what needs to be done. It will be cleaned up.”

Reports vary on the amount of rain that fell that day. Baker said it was 6 inches in three hours, saying it was greater than a 50-year storm.

A spokesman for the National Weather Service said in a Saturday press account that the Friday storms in the area dropped between 2 to 4 inches in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

“We just had a lot of water coming down the drainage ditch of (U.S.) 98, and when it got to our driveway it breached the construction site,” said Lee Kelly, project manager with Galliard Builders. “We’re going to have a meeting Wednesday about it with the bank and others. We’re trying to discover what is going on there. Everybody is pointing a finger at someone else. When all this is resolved, I’ve still got to take these same (subcontractors) and finish this job.”

Hughes said state law requires the developer in construction projects like this one to have a “best management practices” plan. The plan is to prevent any soil or construction materials from getting into nearby streams and waterways, he said.

He also said that the contractor is required to register with ADEM regarding the project, which was done in this case.

“We will require them to submit that (BMP) plan to us and review it,” Hughes said. “We’ve already been in touch with them, so they know there’s a deficiency at the site.”

Hughes said ADEM would continue to provide oversight at the site, once it was determined what remedial activities needed to occur.

He said the actions ADEM could take ranged from suggested remediation, including removal of the sediment from the stream, to more formal enforcement actions and notices of violation with penalties.

“We’re very concerned about what happened, and we’re working with the project manager and ADEM,” said Carol Drake with DWC and Associates of Tupelo, Miss., the project’s architecture firm. “I understand ADEM was out there Monday, and I’m waiting on their report so that we can make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

One local environmental advocate believes the incident could have been prevented.

“You can’t underestimate the force of stormwater in moderately heavy rain storms,” said Jim Horner, chairman of the Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board. “Therefore, you’ve got to set up some protections to contain the possible problems. Let’s learn some lessons from this.”