WWC Response to Proposed Transloading Facility on River Road

Earlier this month (March 2019), the Western Wildlife Corridor submitted a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a formal response to an application for a new truck-to-barge transloading facility proposed by POET Nutrition, Inc. of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Transloading Facility is proposed for 6095 River Road, a 27-acre vacant property in Sayler Park near Bender Road and adjacent to the Metropolitan Sewer District Muddy Creek Treatment Plant. While currently vacant, this property was once used as an automotive salvage yard. This property has been a natural green space and wildlife sanctuary for many years.

The WWC Board of Trustees discussed the situation at length. Given the facts, including that the property is a large natural green space, and that the WWC owns and manages nature preserves in the immediate vicinity (the Bender Mountain Nature Preserve and the Whitetail Woods Nature Preserve), the Board concluded that it was important to respond during the input period.

In our response, we identified several key concerns and provided a recommendation for each concern.  We identified key actions, including cleanup of pollution on the site, permanent protection of at least a portion of the site as natural habitat, and retaining a green corridor from the Ohio River to the property’s boundary to the north.

While the final result of this proposal is still unknown, the WWC will continue to monitor developments and advocate for the best possible outcome.

Public Notice ID No. LRL-2018-01102 can be found here: link.

The letter submitted by the WWC can be found here: PDF.

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