November Newsletter
ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT PLANT NEWS
The most colorful event of the last few weeks showed the continued
importance of the Ichetucknee to the people of Florida. On Sunday,
October
22, four deeply committed persons who called themselves “Ichetucknee
Earth
First” hauled a travel trailer into the driveway entering the old Anderson
Mine on US 27, close to the site of the proposed cement plant.
The wheels
had been removed from the trailer and the four had chained themselves
in
various ways to one another in the trailer and to the a pipe in the
earth.
The purpose of the demonstration was to show opposition to the pollution
of
the precious Ichetucknee and to block entrance to the construction
site.
In brief, it was not until after 9:00 PM that the police and fire personnel
had removed the people and a tow truck had removed the vehicle.
The people
were arrested and charged with trespass and resisting arrest without
violence.
Legal affairs: The appeal to the First District
Court of Appeals on the
Suwannee County action of issuing a permit to the plant on the basis
of its
being a “resource-based activity” is scheduled for oral argument on
January
24, 2001. What this means is that the court at this time considers
the
appeal to raise serious questions, and those questions can be elaborated
on
in argument -- not just going by the record. We feel our
arguments are
sound.
The appeal to the First District Court of the DEP decision
on the
mercury case is in the works. The brief was filed for Florida
Sierra and
Save Our Suwannee in early October. In a development giving strength
to
the appeal, on October 24, 2000, the Alachua County Commission voted
to
file a Friend of the Court brief on our side. The County joins
us in
concern with mercury contamination of Outstanding Florida Waters.
Batch Plant on construction site. After considerable
dispute before the
Suwannee County Commission, the company has filed for, and is being
issued,
a DEP permit to set up the temporary concrete batch plant right on
the
construction site of the cement plant. The County at the last
hearing had
demanded the company not travel US 27 with their transit mix trucks.
The
“on-site” decision is apparently the company’s best way of dealing
with the
restriction -- despite claiming earlier at a Commission hearing that
there
would not be sufficient space on the site.
Expanded Mine. An entity calling itself Suwannee
American Limited
Partnership has now filed an application with DEP Bureau of Mine
Reclamation to expand their existing mine to a total of 881 acres.
Because
the existing mine (adjacent to the cement plant construction site)
had been
there for decades, it had a “grandfathered” permit. The expansion
will
require a complete geological investigation of the site and should
bring to
the forefront issues of prevalence of sinkholes in the area, vulnerability
of ground water to pollution, the connection of the ground water to
the
Ichetucknee River, cave-in and collapse considerations, and hazards
to rare
cave crayfish in caverns such as at Sims Sink across US 27 from the
proposed mining operation. The Bureau has requested additional
information
from the applicant, and we will follow the application process in detail.
September 2000 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
VIII-8
ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT PLANT NEWS
We still await action on the appeal to the First District
Court of
Appeals regarding the Suwannee County approval of the cement plant
-- an
industrial operation in an agricultural zoning district, claimed to
be a
“resource-based activity”. Attorney Bill Ogle appears for the
citizens,
joined by attorneys from the office of Florida Attorney General Bob
Butterworth as well as from 1,000 Friends of Florida, an eminent citizens
group specializing in growth management issues.
Similarly, a brief is just now being filed in the appeal
to the same
court of the ruling by DEP that mercury contamination of Outstanding
Florida Waters is not an issue. Attorneys Patrice Boyes and Peter
Belmont
represent Save Our Suwannee and Florida Sierra, the organizations which
brought forward the citizens’ claim. Some months are likely to
pass before
this matter reaches the court.
Meanwhile the Anderson-Columbia public relations spokesman
announced on
August 29 that A/C has delivered the million dollars they had promised
DEP
to set up a trust fund to study environmental issues in the three rivers
system. We do not think that such inducements should play a role
in
regulatory decisions by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
or any other body. What is the price for a permit, we ask; just
how much
does it take to get the favorable nod?
You will recall the company also promised to give a parcel
of land on
the Blackwater River to the State for a park. This land had been
used for
a variety of commercial and industrial purposes over the years.
Also
promised was a bargain sale of the limerock mine owned by A/C near
Columbia
City. Is the current figure of $23 million a bargain? Is
it enough? How
much is enough?
Also on the Anderson-Columbia scene, the August 2000 issue
of Florida
Trend magazine, “the magazine of Florida business,” carried a cover
story
entitled “Road Racket”. Highway contractors are not just building
roads,
points out the article, they are building lawsuits against DOT to collect
on questionable claims for cost overruns, extra work required, etc.
on work
that is not rated exceptionally high. Featured at the top of
the list for
most lawsuits is A/C with 14. Another Suwannee Basin contractor,
White
Construction, was reported to have filed 10 such lawsuits. Other
firms are
reported with 3!
What is needed to bring this into balance? Are the
citizens protected
by legislation and regulations or are they victimized by the system?
With
a heavy, dirty, chemical industry proposed for a lightly populated,
agricultural area, extraordinarily rich in sensitive natural resources,
extreme caution and diligence at the very least must be required of
the
industrial operators. We are told it will be so. The earlier
doubts of
the State were lifted with promises of gifts, bargains, and a new
atmosphere of environmental awareness within a company whose reputation
for
permit compliance was suspect. Is that enough?
Meanwhile, thanks again to those members and friends who
continue to
contribute to the Cement Fund for legal defense. You keep the
battle
going!
SAVE OUR SUWANNEE, INC,
P. O. Box 669
Bell, FL 32619
MERCURY
According to reports from Environmental Defense, in July the National
Academy of Sciences reported that 60,000 children may be born each
year in
the U. S. with neurological problems from mercury exposure. Electric
plants (coal burners) are the prime sources and national legislation
is
being considered. The Southeast Region of EPA is also launching
into some
new studies of mercury in Florida. We’ll stay tuned.
UP-COMING FESTIVALS
The 2nd Annual Florida Black Bear Festival will be from 9 - 5 at The
City
Park in Umatilla, Lake County, on Saturday, September 30, 2000.
There will
be wildlife displays, field trips, and the usual food, arts, and crafts.
Florida Bears are part of the natural heritage of North Central Florida,
and Save Our Suwannee will have its booth there. Do stop in.
More locally, the annual Pioneer Day festival will be
held in Mayo on
October 14, 2000, at the city park under the water tank, where all
the
wonderful spreading oak trees give us shade. We will be there
as usual,
and expect we’ll see a lot of SOSers.
JOIN SAVE OUR SUWANNEE
Send your name and address with $15 dues for Individuals; $20 for Families.
SOS is a Florida 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Editor: S.. Lindskold 904-935-2960
April 2000 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
VIII-4
NEXT MEETING
The next general meeting of the membership will be at 7:30 P. M. on
Tuesday, April 11, 2000 at the Gilchrist County Library, US 129 and
NE 11th
Ave. in Trenton (diagonally across US 129 from the north end of Trenton
High School).
The PROGRAM will concentrate on current Save Our Suwannee
activities
such as the Ichetucknee Cement Plant effort, the Gulf Sturgeon aquaculture
plan, boating regulation, and bills before the legislative session
in
Tallahassee. Unless he is required to be on duty that evening,
Toby Weeks,
Officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
will
join us to discuss boating enforcement on our rivers. Several
Officers and
Directors will discuss their projects and indicate how members can
help.
Several Standing Committees need members to help develop
up-dated
programs. Those opportunities may be touched on as well.
BRING YOUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS,
AND POTENTIAL NEW MEMBERS
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
remember also to bring
your aluminum cans for recycling
The Board of Directors will gather for their regular meeting at 6:30
PM;
all members are welcome.
FESTIVALS
The 3rd Annual Suwannee River Naturefest happens April 1.
Hope many of
you made it and visited our booth while there.
We can celebrate the return of spring and of that dashing and soaring
bird
of our summer skies, the swallow-tailed kite.
Other festivals coming up include the Florida Folk Festival
held at the
Stephen Foster State Historical Park during Memorial Day weekend, May
26 -
28 where Save Our Suwannee will exhibit alongside other Florida
environmental organizations and agencies while thousands of people
from all
over Florida come to enjoy the music and crafts of the diverse cultures
of
Florida.
Save Our Suwannee will also have our booth at the Blueberry
Festival in
Wellborn on June 3. Music, arts and crafts and the delicious
berries will
be in abundance.
3 RIVERS FEST AND BENEFIT CONCERT
FOR THE ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT PLANT
Concerned citizens of the area and the Town of Ft. White will hold
a
benefit concert at S. Columbia County Sports Complex on SR 47 just
north of
Ft. White on Sunday, April 30, 2000 from 2:00 to 8:00 PM. The
band, SEVEN
NATIONS, will be featured. All proceeds will go toward efforts
to protect
the Ichetucknee River and the State Park from the proposed cement plant.
The Save Our Suwannee booth will be there, and members will be helping
where needed.
CEMENT PLANT REPORT
The legal battles continue. Here’s a brief up-date on what has
transpired
on the three actions since last month’s Newsletter:
1) The appeal by local citizens of the Suwannee County land use
decision
still awaits action by the 1st District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee.
This is the case in which Florida Attorney General Butterworth has
intervened on our side.
2) The Save Our Suwannee and Florida Sierra Club appeal of the
DEP air
construction permit -- on grounds of mercury contamination of the
Outstanding Florida Waters (the Ichetucknee, Santa Fe, and Suwannnee
Rivers) -- at this writing is still in the hands of the Administrative
Law
Judge. His recommendation is expected momentarily. That
recommendation
will go to DEP Secretary Struhs, together with comments on the
recommendation from both sides. The next step would be the issuance
of a
Final Order from DEP. As we wrote last month, we have a problem
with DEP’s
impartiality at this stage; and that will intrude into the final decision
process.
3) The appeal filed by local citizens, aided by Talla-hassee
area friends,
is still in the discovery stage. The case has been referred to
the
Administrative Law Judge, and there are motions flying this way and
that:
to dismiss the petitioners, to disqualify the DEP, to question the
propriety and the process of the settlement made by DEP and the company
to
change the denial of last June to the OK of last November, to challenge
the
penalties imposed in the settlement, and so forth. The petition
turns on
many fine points of law.
DEP has declined to disqualify itself from the case, and that decision
has
been appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeals.
THE LEGAL FUND: Contributions to the cement fund
are still needed to
deal with day to day expenses of pushing the actions forward.
The prospect
of additional appeals must also be confronted. Mark your checks
“Cement
Fund” and send to SOS, P. O. Box 669, Bell, FL 32619.
NEW BOARD MEMBER
Owing to health problems in his family, Joe Lang had to resign from
his
Board responsibilities. At the March meeting, the Board appointed
Loye
Barnard to fill his unexpired term. Thanks Joe for all you’ve
given to
Save Our Suwannee over the years; we’ll continue to look for you at
our
meetings.
Welcome to Loye, a long-term resident and activist in
North Florida who
is back in the area after living outside the country for quite a few
years.
DROUGHT
For months now we’ve been accustomed to seeing low river levels,
exceptionally clear water because of the lack of dark water flowing
downstream from the upper rivers, some springs drying up, native trees
sagging and dying, farmers’ fields scorched and unproductive, and clouds
of
dust blowing up from those fields and along the unpaved roads of our
region. Even the flood of 1998 was temporary and localized relief
from the
dry conditions of several years running. Although there was an
average
amount of rain at my house over the entire year of 1999, the rainfall
was
not balanced. Sets of extremely dry months were broken up by
an occasional
very wet month (e. g., over 18 inches in June).
It seems that drought has become a worldwide problem at
the same time as
floods occur with record destructiveness. Consequently, global
weather
patterns are being analyzed and described more carefully than in the
past.
El Nino, global warming, and the green-house effect are debated.
What
relation exists between Suwannee Basin weather and global weather?
Next month we will have a program on water quantity trends
in the
Suwannee Basin presented by Tom Mirti of the Suwannee River Water
Management District staff. It should be interesting to turn our
attention
momentarily from issues of water quality to look as the quantity issue
as
it shapes up in our region of historically plentiful water -- the object
of
the lust of our thirsty Tampa Bay neighbors.
We can only look disapprovingly on the proposal now before
the
legislature to allow private individuals to mine the groundwater from
their
land to sell to parched localities who no longer have water resources
to
fuel their growth. Of course Florida Water Managers already do
this to
some degree with their permits to bottle spring water for shipment
to
wherever a market exists.
BOATING PRACTICES
A Save Our Suwannee committee is working with state and local officials
in
Gilchrist County on boating control signage along the Santa Fe and
Suwannee
rivers. There are congested spots where safety is an issue such
as at
spring run entrances and places where users are in conflict with one
another such as cruisers vs. racers or fisherpersons vs. jet skiers.
SAVE OUR SUWANNEE, INC.
P. O. Box 669
Bell, FL 32619
Signs are called for where such danger and conflict occur. Enforcement
officers do see it as part of their duty to eliminate hazards and clashes
among users -- all with rights, but not all mutually compatible.
The alarm is sounding all around us. On March 1
slow speed/minimum wake
restrictions were placed on several zones of the Withlacoochee River
at
Yankeetown. Parks, nationwide, are restricting “jet ski” use.
On land,
public meetings were just held to limit off-road vehicles from Ocala
National Forest. A huge campaign is underway to ban snowmobiles
from
Yellowstone National Park. A fishing columnist in a local paper
decries
the adding of 70-mile per hour racing to bass fishing tournaments,
a
phenomenon that Carl Hiaasen gloriously lampooned in his Double Whammy.
THANKS TO THE MAREN FOUNDATION
for generously renewing their support of Save Our Suwannee’s activities
for
yet another year. The recognition is valued and energizing.
WATER QUALITY
The 1999 annual report from the SRWMD shows that once again there is
an
increase (statistically significant) in nitrate levels in the middle
and
lower Suwannee River and in the lower Santa Fe River. Years of
concern and
mended practices are not sufficient to reverse a deep-seated trend
that
involves water that may take 20 or more years to work its way from
the
groundwater of the basin to the rivers. An occasional demonstration
of
concern is not enough; and attempts to laugh off or minimize the threat
are
extremely counter productive.
We all can help; recommendations made by Florida Yards
and Neighborhoods
at the recent Florida Springs Conference should be familiar to us all:
1)
chose the right plant for the right place, 2) water efficiently, 3)
mulch,
mulch, mulch, 4) recycle yard waste and leaves, 5) fertilize appropriately
(1# N/1000 sq. ft.), 6) control pests responsibly, 7) capture stormwater
runoff, 8) provide for wildlife, 9) protect the waterfront.
JOIN SAVE OUR SUWANNEE
Dues are $15 for individuals; $20 for Families. SOS is a Florida
501(c)(3)
nonprofit corporation.
SO WRITE: Hon. Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida
The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
(850) 488-4441
David B. Struhs, Secretary, Department of
Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400
(850) 488-1554
Hon. Richard Mitchell, Florida State Senate
The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5017
Hon. Janegale Boyd, Fla. House of Representatives
The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
(850) 488-7870
Hon. Dwight Stansel, Fla. House of Representatives
The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
(850) 488-9835
At the Capitol you can also write each Cabinet Member:
Attorney General Robert Butterworth (850) 487-1963
Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford 488-3022
Secretary of State Katherine Harris
488-3680
Comptroller Bob Milligan
488-0370
Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson (850) 922-3100
Education Commissioner
(850) 487-1785
IF YOU WANT A BROCHURE DESCRIBING SOME OF THE PROBLEMS,
WRITE S. O. S.
IF YOU WISH A "NO ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT PLANT" BUMPER STICKER,
send $1.00,
plus 35 cents postage to S. O. S. All donations are tax-deductible.