Rock Creek Watershed Meeting in Addison, Alabama

Members of the Alabama Water Watch Program recently hosted a meeting about the Rock Creek Watershed. A coalition of groups including the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy, Inc., the Winston County Natural Resources Council, the Winston County Commission, private landowners, ADEM, the Cullman Soil and Water Conservation District, and Smith Lake residents, are working together to prepare a grant that could help protect and improve the Rock Creek watershed. In order to get more involvement by local residents, this meeting in Addison was held at the Cullman Electric Cooperative building. An overview of the watershed area, which includes land in both Winston and Cullman counties, was given by the Alabama Water Watch staff. Alabama Water Watch is drafting a proposal that will result in a grant application being submitted to ADEM in April. If funded, the grant will help implement a variety of practices to protect and improve water quality in Rock Creek.

The next day, a group toured various stops in the Rock Creek Watershed. More photos from the meeting and tour are here.

Flood Insurance Information

The Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) process

When your lender sends you a 45-day letter requiring you to purchase flood insurance, don’t panic. Here is what you should do.

First, get flood insurance before the 45 days expires. If you don’t, the lender will force place it. The premium will be very expensive. Ask for a “Preferred Risk Policy” or a “B,C,X rated policy”.

You will get ALL of your insurance premiums back if you are successful with the LOMA process.

Next,
You will need the following:
1. An Elevation Certificate. Call a surveyor or engineer to do this for you. Get someone who has survey experience around the lake. The surveyor or engineer should use the “Comments” section to explain how and from where he got the Base Flood Elevation used on the Elevation Certificate. For Alabama Power Company lakes, there have been no FEMA studies. However, there is “Best Available Data” that the community has sanctioned for these purposes.

2. A FIRMette which is a miniature version of the flood map panel on which your property and structure lies. The surveyor should be able to do this for you or you can do it yourself. If you want to do it yourself, use the following link to access FEMA’s Map Service Center web page. Follow the instructions and try the tutorial to “Create a FIRMette”. www.msc.fema.gov.

3. A copy of a properly recorded and registered deed or plat.

4. The Form 1 of the MT-1 Application package.

5. Send all four documents to FEMA at the address listed on the MT-1 Application instructions. The LOMA is free.

6. Wait 60 days for a response.

If FEMA agrees with your information that you are out of the special flood hazard area, you will receive a declaration document indicating that your structure is “REMOVED” from the floodplain.

DO NOT CANCEL YOUR FLOOD INSURANCE JUST YET!

Call your lender and inform him of these developments. Ask if he agrees/concurs. If he does agree, call your insurance agent and cancel your policy and request a refund of your premiums.

If the lender does not agree, you can call your insurance agent and request the “Preferred Risk Policy” which will be less than $300 per year. Escrow the premium. Remember, by Federal statute, the lender has the final say concerning the purchase of flood insurance. FEMA has no authority beyond the flood map review. And, if you have no mortgage, insurance is not required.

Download forms from FEMA:
Elevation Certificate
MT-1 Application Forms


SHOULD YOU HAVE PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS CALL

James K. Meredith, CFM

NFIP State Coordinator
State of Alabama

401 Adams Avenue
P.O. Drawer 5690
Montgomery, Alabama 36103-5690
Office: (334) 353-0853
Fax: (334) 242-0776
BlackBerry: (334) 590-4756

A trip down Rock Creek

Last Saturday (11-14-2009) members of Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy and Alabama Water Watch took a kayak and canoe trip down the upper portions of Rock Creek.

This excursion was part of the Rock Creek Watershed Management Plan project, an effort to raise awareness and provide people with tools for keeping this watershed safe and clean.

In the coming months, the AWW will pursue a good, solid plan for keeping the Rock Creek Watershed safe and sound and it welcomes citizen participation in the project.

The Rock Creek Watershed covers nearly 200-square miles and is a significant source of water for Smith Lake. Keeping this watershed safe and clean goes a long ways towards keeping Smith Lake itself safe and clean.

There were 10 people involved and using kayaks and canoes the participants paddled down about 4 1/4^th miles of the upper Rock Creek. They put in where Winston County Road 39 crosses Blevens Creek, followed the Blevens to where it joined Rock Creek and then down to an abandoned bridge where Winston County Road 66 crossed Rock Creek.

This section of creeks features some rapids but not severe ones, wildlife (participants saw birds and a beaver) and the beauty of nature.

meeting @ 7:00 P.M. November 12th

There will be a meeting in Addison at the new Cullman Electric Bldg on 278 @ 7:00 P.M.on Thursday November 12th. to explain about the 1st small grant acquired to proceed with the watershed study of the Rock Creek Watershed. Dr.William Deutsch, Eric Reutebuch and Mona Scruggs , from Auburn will explain why the Rock Creek watershed is being studied . The Rock Creek Watershed includes Crooked Creek and White Oak Creek as well as Rock Creek.

We had a local clean-up of White Strofoam Friday morning November 6th. The west side of White Oak and about 1/2 way down on the east side is clean. We would like to complete the clean-up of White Oak and Crooked Creek on some warm morning. These were local home owners helping to clean up their own area. We need 3 0r 4 volunteers for the next clean-up.
The "Advocacy" has the boat, equipment and operator. Will you help us keep your backyard on the lake clean? give me a call LaVerne Matheson 256-747-4422 (Winston County only, includes Crooked Creek)

2009 FAWN Program at Houston Recreation Area

The annual FAWN (Forestry Awareness Week Now) programs were held on October 16th and 20th, at Houston Recreation Area in the Bankhead National Forest. This event is sponsored by the Winston County Natural Resources Council, and has been held every year for at least the last 14 years. In fact, this year a teacher told me that she had attended the FAWN program as a sixth grader herself. The first day of FAWN was rained out and had to be rescheduled, but everyone pulled together to make the adjustments necessary to have a successful event. Over 300 sixth graders attended the two days of FAWN. Each FAWN program featured eight learning stations about natural resources in Winston County. New learning stations this year included Boating Safety and Hunter Safety. FAWN would not be possible without all the people that volunteer to be presenters, guides, and facilitators. Here's a link to some photos of the event. Special thanks to Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy Inc. for making possible presentations on Water Quality by Judy Lambert and Mary Ann Crunk, and Boating Safety by Curtiss Cantrell of the U. S. Coast Guard.

October 24th slough clean-up

We had about everything possible to ruin the clean-up,high water in the lake,rain Saturday morning and cold weather that morning. We had dumpsters at Lakeshore Marina and Inn, old yellow creek marina.Duncan Bridge Marina and Jim Kings (boathouse bulder)Alabama power sent us 1,000 bags for the clean-up. Thanks to Bill Boyd,Carl Godsey,Ray Kelly and Jim King for allowing The Advocacy to use their facilities and then to Tarrie Hyche for furnishing all four dumpsters. Please thank these people for their interest in helping you and I clean-up this Beautiful lake.

Advocacy update

We had a board meeting Oct. 6th the following was discussed
1-Hopefully the monies for purchasing and putting signs on all tributaries on Smith Lake in Winston County will be approved soon.
2- We will be particapting in the Fawn program Oct. 15th&16th
3-Mona Scruggs told us that the grant for studing the Rock Creek watershed has been approved. Mona hopes to have a power point watershed program complete before 2010.
4-The 2010 cleanup dates have been approved by Doug Powell Al. renew our rivers program.
5-Discussed slough clean-up on the 24th.
6- discussed burning abandoned platforms laying on shorelines around the lake. John Lebetter will have one of there people go with us, to approve abandoned platforms.
7- water tested looks good.
8- xmas party for the board in December.
Next Board Meeting January 2010