Columbus Consolidated Government
Council Memorandum
TO: Mayor and Councilors DATE: 11/15/2005
THRU: Isaiah Hugley, City Manager
FROM: Rick Jones, AICP, Planning Director SUBJECT: Proposed Stoppage of
Dredging on the Apalachicola River
On October 11, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) denied
the Corps of Engineers(COE) a permit to resume the dredging of the Apalachicola
River. It does appear that the COE will appeal the decision of Florida DEP.
If this decision stands, it will be detrimental to economic and tourism
interest of our community.
The Mid-Chattahoochee River Group, of which Columbus is a member, is a
voluntary organization of local governments, non-profit organization, and
private businesses who have a direct interest in the well-being of the
Chattahoochee. Some of the members of the group have organized to petition for
the right to have a public hearing and/or judicial review of the denial of the
decision by the State of Florida. In order to meet the legal requirements of
such an appeal, the legal filing had to be done by close of business on
November 10. The law firm of Balch & Bingham from Birmingham, prepared the
legal work at no cost to the Mid-Chattahoochee Group.
At the request of the organization, and upon review with the City Manager,
staff has requested that the City of Columbus be added to this petition for a
public hearing on this matter. Due to the time sensitive nature of this
request, staff believes that it was imperative that action be taken on this
matter immediately. As the events develop, we will continue to keep the
Council informed on this matter. Attached please find a copy of the news
article which explains this situation in greater detail.