Alexandria's Environmental Policy Commission Wednesday sent a letter to the mayor and city council saying the EPC is opposed to the usage of natural channel design on Taylor Run.
"The EPC does not believe the potential risk of not obtaining full compliance with its MS4 permit requirements by 2028 is outweighed by the costs of this project, its ecological damage and thelikelihood that much of the pollution credits may not last beyond five years. We are concerned that many questions about the current approach as well as the exploration of better alternatives remain unanswered or unassessed," the EPC wrote.
The EPC is a group of 13 people, including people in "the field of environmental sciences, urban planning, the business community, citizen-at-large members, and a member with experience in Federal or state environmental statues, regulations, and procedures," according to the EPC's webpage on AlexandriaVA.gov.
The City of Alexandria received grant money to "restore" Taylor Run stream as a way to mitigate pollution that ends up in the Chesapeake Bay. The chosen method of doing this along Taylor Run in Chinquapin Park, called Natural Channel Restoration, is controversial and many local environmentalists have argued that its costs outweigh the benefits in many ways.
"The EPC’s reasons for opposition are similar to what many Alexandria residents have also stated: That the proposed restoration method will degrade – not improve – the physical, chemical, and biological features of the stream and the adjacent natural resources (e.g., forested area, acidic seep and otherwetlands)," the EPC's letter said.
The plans affect 1,900 feet of stream bed and surrounding land, and would require taking out many mature trees, filling in the channel to bring it back to it's condition decades ago, and planting new flora to replace what was lost.
"We believe the City needs to step back and address unanswered questions before proceeding with a project that would irreversibly impact Chinquapin Park for several decades at least. The City should demonstrate a good faith effort to explore all possible alternatives with betterlong lasting results with the EPC and the community before the City selects a contractor and moves forward with its plan. The City may need to forego the current grant funding unless it can be appliedto alternative actions that are less ecologically destructive and technically questionable while the City determines the best path forward for addressing the stream channel.," EPC members wrote.
"The City and community benefit from having an impartial commission review controversial environmental projects and provide policy guidance to Council," said Chair of the Environmental Council of Alexandria Andrew MacDonald. "We hope that the Mayor and Council will accept this report and stop this project. We need to add the environment and EPC in planning decisions now more than ever."
