A new twist in the Jordan Lake/751 Assemblage case comes today, as the Haw River Assembly and the group of Durhamites that commissioned their own, private survey of the controversial parcel near the Durham/Chatham County line, using a different method than that of a private developer.
The Southern Environmental Law Center has engaged in the suit between Southern Durham Development and the County, seeking to help the HRA play a part in the case, by which SDD seeks damages from the County over the on-again, off-again decision-making kicked off by ex-Planning director Frank Duke over who has the authority to redraw a boundary line for Jordan Lake, and whether it has to go through a public hearing process or not.
From the press release:
The Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Haw River Assembly today stepped in to protect the public’s right to participate in decisions about how areas around Jordan Lake are developed.
“Public participation is a cornerstone of the American process in determining what happens with public drinking water supplies,” said Kay Bond, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
SELC filed papers today asking the Durham County Superior Court to allow the Haw River Assembly to intervene in an action filed by developer, Southern Durham Development, Inc. The developer is challenging a Durham Board of County Commissioners’ decision to send a watershed protection boundary change on Jordan Lake out for public hearings. If the developer is successful, the change to the watershed boundary could go through without allowing any public participation in the process.
“New development and sprawl have contributed to the pollution in Jordan Lake --landing it on the federal “impaired waters’ list,” said Elaine Chiosso, Haw Riverkeeper®, Haw River Assembly. “Now is the time to provide more, not less, protection for Jordan Lake. Durham officials should listen to their citizens who have taken the lead in fighting for clean water.”
Jordan Lake is a manmade reservoir located south of Chapel Hill and Durham and west of Raleigh that supplies water for Triangle communities. Because of its vital function, the lake is protected by a critical area boundary, a one-mile buffer around the lake where development is restricted to low density and any developers must implement additional run-off management measures.
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