Members of the Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance voted Thursday to provide $572.66 to help with completion of a project that will reduce siltation in a stream in the Midway community.

The Alliance's board also voted to spend $19.75 each - or a total of $987.50 - for 50 identifying signs to be placed at projects where it has helped with other such projects in the past. Alliance leader Dana Ball said the small, full-color metal signs are being prepared by a Morristown printer.

District Conservationist Paul Hayden, of the Greene County Soil Conservation District, said he can identify 27 possible sites where Watershed Alliance funds have been involved in paying for projects to improve water quality in the past several years, though in most cases the alliance was not the primary source of funds.

Approval of the sign purchase was unanimous on a motion by Hayden.

Hayden also asked the alliance board to consider a $572.66 request to complete a stream improvement project on the I.J. Miller farm in Midway.

Hayden said the overall cost is $15,310, with the landowner paying 25 percent and the Soil Conservation District paying 75 percent.

The project involved fencing to keep cows out of a tributary to Little Chuckey Creek and nearby woods (to encourage diverse growth of trees there) plus a hard-surface stream crossing, and pipes to provide water at several troughs away from the creek, and drains from other areas.

Hayden said the extra money will be used to buy crushed stone for the approaches to the crossing, more PVC pipe, and grass seed and fertilizer.

After discussion, a motion by Chris Livesay was approved unanimously.

Livesay reported on Earth Day at Kinser Park on April 21. The turnout was low, he said, mostly because so many competing events were taking place.

Ball suggested that a schedule of activities be publicized next year, to let people know specific times they could be part of a bird walk, for example. She said most of the people who came said they heard about it through The Greeneville Sun.

Livesay also reported on a recent meeting about "greenways." The Greene County Partnership is interested in developing "blueways" along local streams and the Nolichucky, and the Watershed Alliance is trying to help identify access points.

Several areas are dangerous for all but experienced canoeists or boaters, he said.

Safety Concerns

It was noted that a representative of Vulcan Materials, which has a dredging operation in the river near Crockett Lake, has expressed strong opposition to a blueway near where the company dredges, doing so out of safety concerns.

Ball said the Watershed Alliance members needs to take "float trips" along as many areas of the Nolichucky River as possible to provide a first-hand look and better information for the "blueways" effort.

The idea is to identify those areas that can be canoed by someone with only moderate skill.

Joe Lawrence, who visited the meeting, said the area between the Erwin Highway and Chuckey Pike needs to be left out, because it has "some serious water, bad stuff," and many sharp rocks that can damage boats.

Ball said the area between Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park and Big Rock is also "somewhat rough."

Ball noted that Hayden's grandson, Jonathan Hayden, a college student, is working on the Alliance's web site,
www.middlenolichuckywatershedalliance.org on the Internet, to make it easier to use.
The site is still under construction, but more links are being added.

Hayden said his grandson is also working to make it easier to update and manage the Internet site, as well as making it easier for the public to use.

Growth Workshops

Ball reported on the four growth readiness workshops held last year and early this year.
Officials from Greene County and its four municipalities were invited and many took part.

The workshops, which the Watershed Alliance helped sponsor, sought to help the county and municipalities evaluate ordinances and practices now in place, to see if changes are needed to prepare for changes in Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation regulations, especially as they relate to stormwater.

Ball said the workshops also sought to introduce "low-impact development" practices.
She said the state planners who work with Greene County and its municipalities have evaluated local ordinances and practices as they relate to "22 model principals of development."

The workshops came up with recommendations that are being compiled into a report that Ball is writing, with help from Greeneville Alderman Sarah Webster, Wilhelmina Williams (an Alliance member who lives in Chuckey) and Greeneville City Engineer Brad Peters.