Greetings and Happy New Year from your Stones River Watershed Association.  January 2006.

Upcoming events:

Thursday, January 5: Dodd Galbreath will speak to the Smyrna Planning Commission about natural means of reducing storm water impacts on streams in both existing and new construction projects.  Mr. Galbreath is with the Non-Point Source Program of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.  Everyone is invited.  The program starts at 6 pm. in Smyrna Town Hall on Lowry St. (Hwy. 41) and will be followed by the regular Planning Commission meeting at 7 pm.

Monday, January 9.  Public Meeting to consider Murfreesboro's draft water quality protection area ordinance, also referred to as a buffer ordinance.    SRWA members are strongly encouraged to attend.  City officials need to know that citizens are interested in the potential benefits of a buffer ordinance for the streams in our watershed.  They will likely hear a lot from developers and others who will be financially impacted by the new requirements.  The SRWA board will have a prepared statement on the proposed ordinance. 5:30 pm, Murfreesboro City Council Chambers.

If you would like to review the documents, here are copies in pdf format.  Adobe Acrobat is required.

WQPA draft
WQPA rationale

Tuesday, January 17.  Meeting of the Murfreesboro Stormwater Advisory Committee.  The buffer ordinance will also be on the agenda at this regular monthly meeting.  11:45 am, Murfreesboro City Council Chambers.

Monday, January 23.  "The Citizen's Role in Pollution Control."  This educational presentation planned and coordinated by SRWA will teach participants how to recognize and report water pollution problems, whether it is observed while paddling a stream or driving a city street.  Speakers include Eric Hill of the County's Public Works Program, Robert Haley, Stormwater Program manager for Murfreesboro and Richard Graham of the Corps of Engineers.  6:30 pm, Murfreesboro City Council Chambers.

SRWA is pleased to welcome Lori Ford to the role of education coordinator under terms of a grant from the Greater Nashville Regional Council that continues through September of this year.  Lori will work part-time to coordinate education and outreach efforts for our organization.  Among other duties, she will represent us on the River Basin Council of the Cumberland River Compact and at meetings of the Rutherford Environmental Education Consortium.  Lori may be reached at 692-2126 or by email at shellseeker1997@yahoo.com.