Rivers and Water
Residents Fight Proposed Walmart in Flood Prone Pine Creek Watershed

Over the years development in the Northern suburbs of Allegheny County has produced severe flooding in the Pine Creek watershed and in communities down to Etna. Much money has been devoted to mitigate that flooding. Residents in McCandless Township are concerned that a proposed Walmart will help undo some of that effort. Below is an article written by Giovanna Bochicchio of the group “Citizens of McCandless”.

The Town of McCandless council recently approved a development plan for a Walmart Supercenter on Blazier Drive, located off of Ingomar and McKnight Roads. The proposed store would be adjacent to several wetlands, Pine Creek, and less than one mile away from the beautiful North Park.

Currently, the 55-acre site is an asphalt eyesore, with two vacant buildings, Trader Horn, a Port Authority park and ride, and Rave Cinemas. The site, as it is parceled, is located on a 100 year flood plain, which has deterred developers in the past. Now, the intent is not to eliminate the defunct site but to increase traffic, increase construction and destroy the neighboring wetlands.

According to the reports by the engineers hired by Walmart, the supercenter will be approximately 150,000 square feet, which does not include the parking spaces that will be provided. The engineers explained that they could mitigate the saturated land adjacent to the site with retention ponds that would hold potential runoff from their building and future storm water, thereby posing no threat to Pine Creek or adjacent wetlands. Studies reveal otherwise.

Wetlands act as an air purifier, with the plants taking in the carbon dioxide and replacing it with clean oxygen. Wetlands next to the supercenter would be threatened by excess air pollution from the 90 weekly delivery trucks and more than thousands of automobiles passing through the very small Blazier Drive and Ingomar Road intersection. The exhaust saturating the air could kill the sensitive flora that fills the wetland, thereby recycling none of the damaging fumes into breathable air.

Wetlands also function as water purification systems and a buffer for flooding. The plants filter the water, holding toxins and eliminating them from the water. The excess storm water runoff and sewage could not be held in these small wetlands and could further overflow into Pine Creek, threatening water quality.

Also, this activity will inevitably affect Pine Creek. Pine Creek is a 67.3 square mile watershed that covers parts of 14 municipalities, including McCandless, and is a significant tributary that flows into the Allegheny River. Its potential for overflowing has been the point of study for many years due to the damage that flooding of it has caused, particularly in Etna, where in 2004, millions of dollars of damage and loss of life occurred.

As Pine Creek sits next to this site, the potential for storm water runoff and sewage ultimately ending up in the creek is a major concern. Prior studies of Pine Creek conducted by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the Department of Environmental Protection, recommended that riparian zones be ‘unaffected by development’, and that 100 foot buffers be placed next to any building site adjacent to the creek. The engineers representing Walmart explained that they could mitigate the saturated land adjacent to the site with retention ponds that would hold potential runoff from their building and future storm water, thereby posing no threat to Pine Creek or adjacent wetlands. They stated that they would be adhering to DEP regulations, but these plans seem inadequate for the amount of space the supercenter will encompass. Their proposal would leave no room for 100 feet of buffer that has been recommended by the PEC.

The next point of environmental distress is the impact on North Park. North Park is an Allegheny County park and is located less than one mile from the Blazier Drive development site, and is located on Ingomar/Wildwood Road. There is a 2.5 mile stretch of the park that is on a Pennsylvania state maintained road that will be accessed by Walmart customers and delivery trucks. This road has cyclists, runners, walkers, and horseback riders every day of the year. The impact of increased traffic and air pollution will further disrupt the lake ecosystem that has been recently dredged and stocked with fish and their breeding grounds.

Finally, other impacts of this type of large development has so close to parks and creeks include, the impact of traffic on air quality standards, the threat to water quality and aquifers, the mismanagement of storm water and sewage, the reduction of wildlife habitat, destruction of woodlands, and the loss of open space.

In response to the decision to develop by the Town Council and Walmart Executives, a proactive group has formed. More than one thousand McCandless residents have formed an advocacy group to stop the further destruction of the wetlands, Pine Creek, woods, and potentially North Park. “Citizens of McCandless” has raised thousands of dollars to retain a lawyer and have filed an appeal to stop the development. They have made themselves visible throughout North Park, McCandless, Pine Richland and Hampton Townships. Their goal is not to limit free market, but to protect the valuable natural sites the area has. They are also looking to better the 55 acre site with recreation, a senior center, and maintain the park and ride area.

Printed in Sierra club Allegheny Group Online Newsletter, Oct 18, 2014

http://alleghenysc.org/?p=20716