Special Cement Plant Edition
Fuller’s June 23, 1999 cartoon from The Gainesville Sun tells us something
as rare as a flying pig has occurred.
Let’s celebrate the happening,
but not its rarity! Rejecting a
heavy industrial chemical plant only a couple miles from the gathering
place of three of Florida’s outstanding rivers was and is a “no-brainer”.
The approval of such a project ought to be the rarity.
Instead, what Fuller depicted
in his June 13, 1999 cartoon
(reproduced in the next column) is what we’ve become used to -- the
spoiling and exploiting of Florida’s natural resources is a contest
that
goes on far too often. And DEP gained a reputation of being powerless
to
step in and protect our environment.
SO WE CELEBRATE
But, in this instance, DEP, on June 22, 1999, issued their NOTICE OF
PERMIT
DENIAL Secretary Struhs wrote that when “the Department determines
that
the applicant has not provided reasonable assurance that the construction
and operation of the installation will comply with the Department’s
applicable standards or rules, the Department must deny the permit.
. . . .
the Department must take into consideration a permit applicant’s violation
of any Department rules at any installation . . . .and may consider
the
compliance history of the permit applicant’s related entities, including
Anderson Columbia Co., Inc. . . .” Struhs summarized the decision
in a
crisp sound-bit: “Compliance Counts!”
Thus, the failure of giving reasonable assurance came
from the
applicant’s record, not from any flaws in the specifications for the
project. That leaves us a bit uneasy.
It has been confirmed that the applicant, Suwannee American
Cement Co.,
will appeal the decision through the State’s Administrative Hearing
process, claiming that the cement plant will be run by people not part
of
the other Anderson enterprises. Therefore, they allege, the record
of
non-compliance should not apply; new people bring a clear record.
BUT, CELEBRATION IS TEMPERED
If the company wins their appeal, they will have their DEP permit.
To help guard against that eventuality, we must enter
into the appeal
process; and we have done just that. With the Florida Chapter
of the
Sierra Club joining us, we have filed to be a party to the proceedings.
We must do that so that we are not excluded from any negotiations that
may
result in the applicant working out an agreement with the DEP.
We must
stay in the process so that our concerns about polluting the outstanding
rivers are aired. It is our contention that the application is
still wrong
-- no matter the history of violations by the applicant. We say
the
project is flawed, will pollute, and is inappropriate for the site
proposed.
All this legal maneuvering will take up time and will
be expensive. We
do not mind the time, although we would like to see an uncontested
denial
right now. The expenses mount as the paper builds, depositions
are taken,
motions filed and answered, records are researched and copied, experts
are
consulted, and so on. We do have to face these expenses.
Many readers
have already donated funds to the legal effort, we have to ask for
another
donation now so that we can see our way clear in pursuit of the cause
to
the end.
THE OTHER CASE
You may recall that back in February (and in subsequent issues) we
described the case in Circuit Court against Suwannee County.
That case
must continue because we are dealing with an important precedent --
a
county should not be allowed to grant a permit for an industrial activity
in agricultural land, without any zoning hearing or consideration of
the
compatibility. The Company, of course, needs this County decision
and will
contest our appeal. Again, although we have some volunteer legal
service
from Bill Ogle, the expenses for this case will accumulate, and experts
and
consultants are needed to make a persuasive case.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Your generous donations so far have made it possible for all the active
citizens and groups to organize and launch our legal actions.
Now that the
appeals are underway, we must forecast our future financial liability;
and
it is clear that we need to continue fund raising. Every $10
will help
make these important cases be properly researched and argued.
We have seen there is a special magic associated
with the Ichetucknee.
People from all over the State feel close to it and hold their image
of a
jewel of clear, cool, spring water flowing over the aquatic grasses
that
bend with the stream, winding from shade to sunlight and back to shade,
with birdcalls, fish splashing, otters plunging and racing, and the
bloom
of a garden of flowers along the banks. This magic must be guarded.
So please give what feels right to you. Mark your
checks: “cement
plant fund” and send them to Save Our Suwannee, Inc., P. O. Box 669,
Bell,
FL 32619. Save Our Suwannee if a Florida non-profit corporation.
Donations are tax-exempt under Section 170 of the IRS Code.
CEMENT PLANT #3
Word reaches us now that the second plant proposed by Florida Rock
is
entering the permit process. Citrus County will consider a zoning
change
from Extractive to Industrial on a property with residences and the
Withlacoochee National Forest as neighbors. The plant is presumably
a
carbon copy of the one under construction near
SAVE OUR SUWANNEE, INC.
P. O. Box 669
Bell, FL 32619
Newberry. The race to corporate vertical integration continues
and, with
no shortage of cement worldwide, competition promises to be nasty.
We urge the Citrus County officials to contemplate
the competition, the
air pollution in this region, the quality of life of their constituents,
and the appropriateness of this heavy chemical industry in their rapidly
growing area.