McKinney Announces Passage
of Arabia Mountain Corps of Engineers Water
Resources Study
April 25, 2002
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
(D-GA) is pleased to announce today the passage
a resolution permitting the Army Corps of Engineers
to conduct a study of the aquatic resources surrounding
Arabia Mountain in southeast DeKalb County, GA.
The resolution, which passed the Senate Environment
and Public Works Committee with the help of Senator
Max Cleland, is the final step in permitting the
Corps of Engineers to conduct a general study
of the watershed that encompasses Arabia Mountain
- only a short drive from downtown Atlanta. Arabia
Mountain is a renowned area, preserved as a Nature
Preserve, which contains a diverse ecosystem of
wetlands, hardwood forests, rare granite outcrops,
and a collection of federally endangered and threatened
plant species.
"I am very excited that the Corps of Engineers
will now have the opportunity to conduct this
important work. Arabia Mountain represents the
character of DeKalb County prior to being overwhelmed
by development and sprawl, and this study and
the watershed protection that this permits the
Corps to pursue will help insure the quality and
viability of this watershed well into the future,"
Representative McKinney stated.
The effort to establish this Corps of Engineers
study was begun in 2000 when Congresswoman McKinney
was able to obtain an appropriation of $100,000
from the Energy and Water Appropriations Act for
the purpose of this reconnaissance study. Subsequent
federal budgets included further money for the
project. Additionally, Congresswoman McKinney
and Senator Cleland have introduced separate legislation
to designate the region as the Arabia Mountain
National Heritage Area. This legislation is cosponsored
by Reps. John Lewis and John Linder in the House,
and by Senator Miller in the Senate.
With the study authorized, the Corps will conduct
a general study and make recommendations in the
interest of ecosystem restoration and water and
land resources of Stephenson Creek, in the headwaters
of the Ocmulgee River in DeKalb, Rockdale and
Gwinnett Counties, GA. Recommendations and further
work in the watershed may include assessing two
earthen dams in the watershed, addressing pollution
at nearby firing ranges, and surveying the impacts
and potentially removing ordnance from a former
Defense Department underwater demolition training
site.
"Water has always been essential to the survival
of communities, however people have not always
been aware of their long-term impacts on water
resources. This Corps study will address the impacts
of previous neglect of Arabia Mountain's water
resources, and will help insure the continued
protection of the watershed," McKinney concluded.
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