GOLF COURSE WORK HALTS AFTER CONCERNS VOICED

The heavy machinery on the site of the future Dalhousie Golf Course in Cape Girardeau has been virtually silent since late November. In the meantime, a number of government agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Preservation Commission, have intervened in the project for various reasons.

A St. Louis spokesman for the Corps, Charles Camillo, says his agency only asked the site be shut down for a couple of days to address permitting issues. But Cord Dombrowski, a Cape Girardeau businessman heading up the course development, said he voluntarily shut down the site for a number of other reasons, including inclement weather and the discovery of possibly historic home sites on the land.

The 27-hole golf course, located off Bloomfield Road, is being developed by The Prestwick Group. Problems began after the Corps, which is responsible for wetlands and waterways, discovered golf course work had begun without proper permitting. It issued a cease and desist order and turned the case over to the EPA, Camillo said.

EPA spokesman Dwain Knott said his agency was concerned about drainage and silt in a creek that splits the property in half. Any time a project of this size -- more than 700 acres -- is undertaken, environmental and preservation surveys should be conducted, he said.

"We never ordered any work halted on the golf course itself, but we did tell Prestwick some things that needed to be done," he said.

This included the spreading of mulch to help stabilize any erosion along the creek. The EPA also wanted Prestwick to build up a silt fence along the creek and put dams around some ponds on the property.

Prestwick halted the work on the course to concentrate on the EPA requests and get everything settled on the surveys, Dombrowski said.

"We were about two months ahead in construction," said Dombrowski. "And December and January weather would have slowed us anyway."

Ten sites flagged

The Missouri Preservation Commission became involved in the permitting process and flagged 10 sites on the course for future exploration. Workers will have to go around those sites in the construction until cleared.

"Cultural and archeological surveys have been completed, and we're about ready to get back to course construction now," said Dombrowski, who is looking forward to a 2002 opening date. "We're interested in preserving the integrity of the property."

Prestwick completed a new report last week agreeing to work around the sites and sent copies to the EPA and the Missouri Preservation Commission.

"We received our copy of the report last Friday," said Knott. "We anticipate that everything will be worked out."

Two state government agencies became involved in the same issues the EPA already was investigating.

"The Missouri Department of Conservation asked us to look into a creek that splits the land in half," said Randal Salsman of the regional Missouri Department of Natural Resources office at Poplar Bluff, Mo. The Conservation Department was concerned about siltation in the creek.

"We looked at the area and told Prestwick what it needed to do to correct any siltation problems," said Salsman. "Construction workers installed the silt fence, and everything has been taken care of. They did the things they needed to do. We're satisfied."