NEW CDC GUIDELINES

NEW CDC GUIDELINES: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated their guidelines given new evidence on the “Delta” variant currently circulating in the United States. The CDC is now recommending that all people, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission. Currently COVID rates in Floyd County qualify our area as “high transmission.”

While the COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalizations, and death from the “Delta” variant, new data from the CDC suggests that fully vaccinated people with breakthrough infections (which are still considered rare) can spread the virus to others, some who may be unvaccinated or immunocompromised.

Mayor Gahan is encouraging other employers and public spaces to follow the new CDC guidelines and encourage mask wearing at this time.

New Albany Designates South Monon Freedom Trail as Most Impactful Regional Project to Drive Growth and Improve Quality of Life

The state of Indiana recently launched an effort designed to accelerate the state's economic growth. The $500 million Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or “READI”, will allow cities, towns, and counties to partner on projects and fuel investment in quality of place efforts.

The City of New Albany has designated the Monon South Freedom Trail as the most impactful regional project to drive growth and improve quality of life. The City of New Albany has submitted a multi-faceted, $20.5 million regional trails and parks initiative in its application for READI funds, consisting of three major components:

1. Purchase of the South Monon Freedom Trail

The first part of the City of New Albany’s grant application asks for $5.5 million for the purchase of the CSX railway from New Albany to Bedford, the first step in creating the South Monon Freedom Trail. The City of New Albany is excited and humbled to have an opportunity to not only bring a new amenity to the region, but to reimagine the former New Albany – Salem railroad while paying homage to its significance as part of the Underground Railroad. The railway served as a verified escape route serving as a pathway to freedom for many enslaved African Americans traveling both in train cars and following the tracks by foot.

In 2017, CSX abandoned its rail line from the northern edge of New Albany to the East Fork of the White River, south of Bedford. This created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop a new regional, 68-mile-long trail stretching through 5 Indiana counties (Clark, Floyd, Lawrence, Orange, and Washington), and connecting nine Indiana towns and cities (Bedford, Mitchell, Saltillo, Campbellsburg, Salem, New Pekin, Borden, Orleans, and New Albany). If completed, this would be the longest, continuous recreation trail in Indiana, creating immense recreation opportunities for the region.

2. Connecting the Ohio River Greenway to the South Monon Freedom Trail and Beyond

The second part of the City of New Albany’s grant application asks for $12 million in funding to connect the hugely popular Ohio River Greenway to the start of the South Monon Freedom Trail. This connector would tie in the 68 mile long South Monon Freedom Trail into the current Ohio River Greenway trails system, which further connects into Clarksville and the future Origin Park, Jeffersonville, and the Louisville Trail Loop System.

Without this connector being completed, the high-level of pedestrian and bicycle traffic from the Ohio River Greenway Trail, Louisville Loop System, and surrounding parks would not be able to connect with the proposed regional South Monon Freedom Trail.

3. Completing Trail Construction in New Albany

The third part of the City of New Albany’s grant application asks for $3 million in funding to complete the trail construction in the City of New Albany. This funding would allow the city to begin construction of the South Monon Freedom Trail to the edge of Floyd County.

The final component of the City’s application requests that addition READI grant funds be used to further develop new amenities and trail connections along the existing Ohio River Greenway and New Albany Shoreline. The City is in full support of additional funding going to nearby communities and organizations that would further the goal of regional development, by improving parks, trails, and Shoreline development. The completion of the Ohio River Greenway Trail in Jeffersonville, construction of the regional trail in Lawrence, Orange, and Washington counties by Radius Indiana, and the development of ORIGIN Park in Clark County will propel the region forward for decades.

A trails feasibility study was recently completed showing the benefits of the project.

The full READI application for grant funding can be found by clicking HERE.

EPA Gives Go Ahead to New Albany For Achieving Clean Water Act Compliance

Sewer Improvements Recognized by IDEM and EPA, Consent Decree Lifted

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) notified the City of New Albany that the “Sewer Ban” imposed on the City in 1991 is terminated. Additionally, based on the success of millions of dollars’ worth of sewer and environmental improvements, a federal judge dismissed the consent decree that the City of New Albany was under from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“We made great strides in making the environment in the Ohio River Valley much healthier by investing in our Wastewater Treatment Facility and by removing waste from our local water stream,” stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. “I want to thank the residents of New Albany for being patient, but now, our Wastewater Treatment Facility is a publicly owned and operated facility that every resident in New Albany can be proud of. Our work is not over, but we have hit a huge environmental, economic, and health milestone for the City of New Albany. Many of our peer cities are just now beginning to feel the pressure from residents and the EPA who now demand cleaner water and improved sewers.”

History of the Sewer Ban, IDEM, and EPA actions

On September 12, 1991, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management imposed a “Sewer Ban” on the City of New Albany. When a sewer ban is in place, new sewer lines cannot be connected to the Wastewater Treatment Plant – this essentially halts new development of homes, businesses, and more. Restrictions like this can have a wide range of impacts on a city, from economic, to development, financial, and even environmental.

A short time later, New Albany was placed under an Environmental Protection Agency decree in 1992 due to sanitary sewer overflows, or SSOs, which are a violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

How SSOs affected our local Health and Environment

Bans will typically be in place when a wastewater treatment plant collects more waste than it can process efficiently. Because the sewer system had exceeded its limits, the city had 186 areas that overflowed. This means that wastewater, the untreated water you flush down the toilet, was bubbling up through grates and manholes and was spilling into New Albany’s streets.

Prior to the massive improvements over the last 10 years, those 186 sites would discharge over 15,000,000 gallons of sewage into yards, streams, and rivers during large rain events.

The average size of a typical family, residential swimming pool is approximately 8640 gallons. That meant that every time New Albany experienced a large storm event, the system was discharging nearly 1736 family sized pools worth of sewage into our local waterways.

This was completely unacceptable to Mayor Gahan and his administration, and work began immediately to correct this egregious environmental assault.

Massive underground storage tanks are installed off Silver Street to increase sewer capacity.

10 Years of Action to Improve our Health, Environment, and Recreation Opportunities

Over $40 million has been invested in wastewater and stormwater improvements in the last 10 years towards projects aimed at eliminating Sanitary Sewer Overflows. One of the larger projects was located behind St. Mary’s Cemetery, and included installing massive underground pipes to increase capacity for the wastewater system. Projects like this helped to increase capacity, reduce sanitary sewer overflows, and protect the local water stream from environmental hazards that SSOs can cause.

Over numerous months, IDEM evaluated the City of New Albany and found ZERO SSOs. Considering that the City experienced nearly 186 SSOs in previous years, this proved that the investments paid off. In a letter from IDEM to the City of New Albany, Jason House, Chief of the Compliance and Enforcement Branch of the Office of Water Quality, stated that “Because actions taken to correct the hydraulic overlord condition, which caused the excessive SSOS, have been successful, the Department of Environmental Management is now terminating the Sewer Ban…”

Our waterways, streams, and rivers are now cleaner and healthier, opening up new recreation opportunities for swimmers, fisherman, boaters, and more. Multiple parks projects are underway to take advantage of these new opportunities, including the New Albany Shoreline Project and Clark County’s Origin Park.

Two fisherman cast away by the Dam in Silver Creek near Providence Way.

“I want to thank our Wastewater Utility Board, our plant operator and management team for their continued work and oversight to help us achieve this goal,” stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. “I also want to thank the city council for their support, along with our legal team who have been instrumental in helping us get this accomplished. And finally, I want to thank the local businesses, many of whom helped and were respectful of the wastewater collection plant and the rules that we have to abide by to help protect our local waterways. Because of all of these groups working together, our city is now more attractive, environmentally friendly, visibly cleaner, and a healthier place to live.”

Indiana Arts Commission and Regional Arts Partner make New Albany Mural Possible

Local Artist Carrie Johns continues work on her mural at 624 Vincennes Street. The City of New Albany continues to pursue grants like this that make more public art possible for our wonderful city.

This was made possible in part by the Regional Arts Partner, Hanover College, and the Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, please visit https://www.in.gov/arts/

If you see Carrie out working be sure to stop by and say hi and thank her for sharing her enormous talent with our city!

City Files Petition For Administrative Review on Dam Removal

Recently, DNR approved a permit to remove the historic Silver Creek dam near Providence Way. The city of New Albany has filed a petition for administrative review, asking a judge to verify compliance with several regulations, most notably because no hydrologic or hydraulic modeling was performed to evaluate the effect that the dam removal would have on water levels or erosion with respect to the New Albany Loop Island Wetlands.

A US Fish and Wildlife hydraulic engineer partner on the project even recommended conducting simple hydraulic modeling to understand the effects of dam removal, but none have been completed so far. The city is also asking that a biological survey be completed before the removal of the dam, showing what impact the removal will have on current fish and wildlife in the area.

“The dam was built in 1904 to provide boating and fishing opportunities to the once-popular nearby Glenwood Park,” stated Mayor Jeff Gahan. “We simply want to fully understand the effects that the removal of this century old dam will have on our local waterways, wildlife, and nearby neighborhoods.”

A full copy of the petition for administrative review can be found by clicking HERE