Alabama Power serious about enforcing shoreline rules

By Scott Wright

CEDAR BLUFF — Ron Blankenship was hoping to sit back, relax and enjoy his golden years.

To that end, the 55-year-old armed services veteran bought a recreational lot at Hidden Cove Campground two years ago. He planned to sit on the wooden deck beside his camper trailer and watch the shadows crawl across the walls of his cabin as the summer sun went down.

But Alabama Power Co. has told him he cannot build the tiny cabin he had planned. Frankly, he said, he believes the company wants to prevent his dream from coming true.

“All I wanted was to put a roof over my deck and enclose part of it to make an area where people in the neighborhood could gather to talk or play checkers, or whatever,” the Georgia native said. “But when I applied for the $250 permit to build the addition, Alabama Power told me all I could build was a roof with a screen around the outside, with no walls.”

Blankenship decided to pay the fee anyway, and received a permit to build a roof over his deck. The permit also allows a 2 ft. enclosed runner along the bottom of the 8 ft. opening between floor and ceiling, and a 1 ft. wide enclosure along the top.

But the 5 ft. opening in between has to be screened. No walls allowed.

Blankenship said the representative he spoke with told him no “habitable dwellings” are allowed on property located inside Alabama Power's flood easement. He said he understands the restrictions and the reason for them -- in case of a flood, water must be allowed to flow unimpeded into and out of the area. But Blankenship doesn't think the company is enforcing the regulations fairly and equally.

“All my neighbors already have walls,” he said. “And they're telling me I can't do the same thing. I don't understand that.”

A quick drive through the campground, all of which lies below the flood easement level of 573 ft. above sea level, reveals dozens of apparent violations to Alabama Power's longstanding policy against permanent dwellings in the flood easement.

Some campers along Sewell's Ferry Road are covered by pitched, metal roofs that exceed the height limit by several feet; dozens of enclosed cabins, complete with doors, windows and central cooling units, also dot the campground; and a handful of campers have had their wheels removed, or permanent structures built around their towing apparatus -- all violations of Alabama Power policy.

There are pages of Alabama Power restrictions that detail what can and cannot be built, or even temporarily located, inside the flood easement around Weiss Lake. The company owns the 17,850-acre easement surrounding the 30,028-acre reservoir it constructed beginning in the late 1950's.

Legally, Alabama Power is well within its legal rights to demand whatever limitations it deems necessary to ensure a safe, obstruction-free area for the purpose of retaining water whenever doing so would prevent flooding downstream on the Coosa River. After all, flood prevention was one of the reasons the federal government allowed Alabama Power to construct Weiss Dam in the first place.

The deed that accompanies the purchase of any recreational lot along the shores of Weiss Lake includes a paragraph detailing Alabama Power's right to set building limits designed to prevent “encroachments of the dominant easement” surrounding the reservoir.

But plenty of property owners never read their deed. Others may use some other cheaper process to acquire a deed (i.e., the Internet or other third party) that does not include a full title search to determine the exact location of the lot in relation to the easement. A few who know the rules buy their recreational lots then proceed to construct whatever they want, figuring they'll never get caught.

Before 2006, they might not have.

In May, after decades of spotty enforcement, Alabama Power opened a shoreline management office in Centre, run by Cherokee County native Tommy Miller. He said Weiss Lake has been “discovered” by retirees and weekend warriors from surrounding counties and states over the past few years, and the company realized it was time to get a handle on violations inside the easement.

“For years after the lake was finished in the early 1960's, Alabama Power relied mainly on the people who lived along the lake to do the right thing,” Miller told The Post. “They all knew the rules and knew what they could build. Even today, we hardly ever have any violations by people who have lived here all their lives.”

But with the recent influx of so many people unfamiliar with the rules -- or, perhaps, more willing to flaunt them -- it's become a full-time job for Miller and his team of independent contractors to ensure that every violation is cited and corrected.

Many would argue that time has long since passed.

Miller said these days, people who are new to the area often move their RV into a campground, see what their neighbors have, and figure they're OK to build something similar. When they come to his office to apply for a lake shore use permit and he tells them about the guidelines, that's usually when the trouble starts.

“When we get requests for permits on lots that lie in the flood easement, we explain what is allowed and what isn't,” Miller explained. “Sometimes if we're on-site, the applicant will point to a fully-enclosed structure or cabin and ask why that's legal if theirs isn't.”

Miller said he or one of his contractors explains that those structures are also illegal, and will be dealt with in time.

Miller said he knew when he took over the shoreline management job that it would take years to correct all the violations. So, he and his staff decided on a system to tackle the problem.

“First, we're dealing with people who come in to our office to request a permit to build,” Miller said. “Next, we're trying to find anyone who is in the process of remodeling or constructing an addition on their existing structure, to make sure they follow the guidelines. Third -- and we haven't started on these people yet -- are the lot owners who aren't making improvements now, but who have already built structures that violate guidelines.”

Miller said the three-tiered procedure makes the most sense from a practical standpoint. But he admits the policy of stopping new construction is sometimes difficult to sell to a landowner who can point across the street to a violation Miller may not be back to deal with right away.

“I know one fellow who got a visit from Alabama Power and told them to (buzz) off,” Blankenship said. “Then he went ahead and built what he wanted to.”

Miller said before the process is complete, everyone who owns property in the easement around Weiss Lake will be dealt with in a fair and equitable manner.

“We want to treat people the way we'd want to be treated ourselves,” Miller said. “But if we have to resort to legal action, we'll do that. Right now, it appears we will have some cases on the docket over the next 60 to 90 days.”

Miller said he's confident the first cases that make it into the courtroom will be decided in the company's favor. He believes any defendant whose only legal defense is “but this is what my neighbor did” won't be able to prevail, legally.

“I can understand why people might think we're being selective in our enforcement,” Miller admitted. “But I can assure anyone who feels that way that we will eventually enforce these rules fairly and equally on anyone who has built something that Alabama Power's shoreline guidelines say they can't.”