FAIRHOPE, Ala. — A stormwater incident Saturday at the Publix Super Market construction site may not be good news for the project developer’s pending case before the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

“The (agency) has already issued a Notice of Violation for this site due to noncompliance issues,” said Alabama Department of Environmental Management spokesman Scott Hughes on Tuesday. “I can tell you that ‘compliance history’ is one issue we look at when considering additional enforcement actions and the issuance of civil penalties. However, I cannot speculate on how this latest event will impact any enforcement actions because we have not been able to collect all of the facts and data related to the event that allegedly happened over the weekend.”

The state environmental agency issued a notice of violation in September against Regency Centers, the developer of the shopping center anchored by the 54,340-square-foot supermarket, for four violations or deficiencies under the Alabama Water Pollution Control Act. The notice of violation stated the developer failed to fully implement best management practices to prevent erosion, and that resulted in runoff of sediment into Fly Creek during a stormwater incident in August.

The Sept. 26 ADEM letter to Regency Centers stated that “due to the serious nature of these violations, the department is considering additional enforcement to include civil penalties.”

The city of Fairhope issued a citation Tuesday against Sun Belt General Contractors, which holds the construction permit for the site, for failing to control erosion and movement of soil off site, said Kim Burmeister, city environmental officer.

“Most site stabilization efforts had been done the day of the breach on Feb. 14, but a Municipal Offense Ticket was issued to (the contractor) for off-site impact,” Burmeister said. “In addition to the (citation), which carries a maximum fine of $500 plus court costs, the city will be following up with state agencies on any remedial action relating to Fly Creek required of the contractor and developer.”

By Saturday morning, 3.75 inches of rain had fallen in the Fairhope area, according to the Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center on County Road 104 east of U.S. 98.

That rain resulted in red clay from the Publix project breaching silt fences and barriers installed by the project general contractor and flowing into the road, the adjacent property at Wachovia Securities and into Fly Creek, according to photos taken by a local resident and an environmental organization.

“The creek is a mess,” said Jackie Wavrunek, president of Fly Creek Preservation Association, who took dozens of pictures Saturday morning at and around the Publix site. “I want Regency Centers to get all that red clay out of the creek.”

After ADEM’s September letter, Volkert Environmental Group responded in an Oct. 13 letter to the agency on behalf of Regency Centers, as required by ADEM.

The letter included a corrective action plan to prevent future stormwater problems such as those that occurred in August at the site.

“Implementation of these corrections began almost immediately and were completed quickly,” the Volkert letter stated. “Since implementation of these corrective actions, there have not been any other violations associated with the site.”

Wavrunek said the stormwater event at the Publix site on Saturday proves that the corrective actions taken by the developer were not effective.

“They keep doing the same thing,” she said. “It doesn’t seem to me they’re improving anything. If they’d improved the situation, then the clay wouldn’t have gotten back into the creek.”

Burmeister said Volkert reported the most recent incident to ADEM. She said the city also reported the incident but that Monday was a state holiday and, as of Tuesday morning, had not heard back from the agency.

Hughes said Tuesday morning that ADEM “received a voice-mail message on Saturday from a local citizen complaining about run-off from the Publix site. Due to the fact that the message was received on Saturday and Monday was President’s Day, we are just now evaluating the complaint and determining the need to dispatch an inspector to the site.”

Fairhope resident Jim Horner said he called ADEM on Saturday and also took pictures that day, including a photo of a red clay plume in Fly Creek close to where sediment flowed from the Publix site into the nearby waterway.

“It continues to be a problem,” Horner said. “There were a lot of breaches on the silt fences. You can see where the mud and clay totally overpowered the system.”

Horner said he was glad the city had issued the citation against the contractor but doubted how effective it would be without state enforcement.

“Obviously, that $500 is not going to put a dent in anything,” Horner said. “I think the real enforcement has got to come from ADEM. They’re the ones who have jurisdiction over what flows into Fly Creek.”

Regency Centers did not respond to requests for comments to this story by press time.