After a four-year delay, months of litigation and the compiling of mounds of documentation aimed at addressing environmental concerns raised by conservation groups and the federal court, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Monday gave notice it is prepared to authorize a permit for construction of a proposed Duck River Dam and Reservoir in Cullman County.

Col. Peter F. Taylor Jr., the Corps’ Mobile District commander, sent copies of the draft permit to the Cullman-Morgan Water District via the city of Cullman.

Once local officials review the 10-part document and agree to conform with its terms and conditions, they will sign the document and return it to Col. Taylor for his signature and final approval. At that point the project will once again be permitted.

“We were confident the permit would be granted, but it’s good to finally receive the notification we’ve been waiting for,” said Cullman Mayor Don Green. “What this does is give us an option for providing an alternative water source, even if we never decide to build it.”

Green said the Corps correspondence also indicates the things the city, utilities board and water district have been doing over the past several years were the correct things.

“It shows that we’ve met environmental concerns expressed both publicly and by the court,” Green said. “It also shows that the Corps agrees that this is the best source of water for the city based on studies that have been conducted by the city over the past 15 years.”

Bill Hendrix, chairman of the Cullman Utilities Board, the funding entity for the dam, called Monday’s news exciting.

“We’re going to continue to look at some alternative water sources, just as we have been doing for some time now, and at some point in time we will make a decision as to what will be the best option for the people who purchase their water from the city of Cullman’s water treatment plant,” Hendrix said. “I don’t know what the time frame will be.”

There is a possibility, Hendrix said, that the Tennessee River could potentially become a viable water source for the community, “but right now, the only viable and permitted option we have is the Duck River Dam and reservoir.”

“Our goal has been and continues to be to find an alternative water source that will meet our needs and the needs of our customers for many years to come,” Hendrix said.

Final approval of the permit would mark the second time the Duck River Dam project has received Corps of Engineers approval. The last time was in 2000 when the issuance of a construction permit ignited a frenzy of controversy that resulted in the filing of a lawsuit that was joined by a number of environmental groups including the American Canoe Association, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Friends of the Mulberry Fork and Wild Alabama.

Those groups disagreed with the Corps’ initial finding of no significant impact and permitting of the project. As a result of that lawsuit, the project was put on hold for close to three years while the matter was in litigation.

Federal District Judge Karon Bowdre vacated the permit for the project in August 2003, ruling the Corps of Engineers didn’t take “a hard look at the cumulative effects of other proposed projects in the Black Warrior River Basin, the future water quality of the proposed reservoir and the effect the proposed dam will have on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River.”

The Corps later issued a report that addressed concerns raised by the federal court when the permit was voided. But river advocates argue the supplement to the previous Environmental Assessment is inadequate.

The Cullman Utilities Board, with the assistance of consultants with CH2MHill, a Birmingham company, spent close to a year and a half revising the environmental assessment report to address the judge’s concerns.

Some of the study’s findings include:

• The Duck River project wouldn’t create any major cumulative impact, if it was part of a proposed Birmingham Water Works project.

• The Mulberry Fork wouldn’t experience a negative effect. The river would experience more even flow.

• Pollutants that are in the reservoir can be reduced.

Whether there will be further legal challenges to the reservoir project, if and when the final permit is granted, is something beyond the Cullman-Morgan Water District’s and Cullman Utilities Board’s control, said Dale Greer, project manager.

“We have worked awfully hard for several years to gather all this information. We’ve always followed the directions given us. We’ve had a lot of experts look at this project and show us how to address our water issues,” Greer said. “Every deficiency listed by the court has been addressed and this draft permit from the Corps of Engineers is evidence they feel we’ve addressed those concerns adequately.”