Floyds Fork Sewer Project Draws Fire

Louisville’s Metropolitan Sewer District will turn in part of its plan on deadline tomorrow to the federal government in compliance with orders to upgrade its system. This particular plan would address the problem of sewer overflows in wet weather around Floyds Fork.  It would also extend sewer service to the rural area, where critics fear it would also lead to unwanted development. MSD spokesperson Brian Bingham says it’s better to have the sewer service.“So if sewers go in, it can mean that there is going to be denser development in the area, but it can also mean that there’s going to be cleaner water quality, because even septic tanks, once you put them in, they have a useful life, and if they’re not maintained properly, that can start to leach back into the groundwater and into the streams in the area," says Bingham.A spokesperson for Future Fund Inc., the organization that has been acquiring land to preserve it for the Floyds Fork Greenway park project, says the agency has neglected to consider other potential environmental impacts, such as the threat to endangered species in the park.  Jeff Frank says the conservation group believes the plan would ultimately harm the growing Floyds Fork Greenway park project.“And our principal concern is that one agency, MSD in this case, has got the apparent ability to run major infrastructure, a massive sewer, right into the heart of the parks project, without getting the proper planning and input required by a number of agencies," Frank said.Bingham, however, says that the proper steps have been taken, and certain environmental impact studies will be conducted once the plan is approved.  The agency does have the authority to condemn park property for sewer line rights of way if it decides that’s necessary.