Dear Tim Dickson,
This letter is in response to your question: what
is the other side of
Governor Bush's answer to your question, why was the decision reversed
to
permit a cement kiln at the Ichetucknee River. DEP tries to say
the governor
is merely acting within the law. I think differently.
Governor Bush denied Joe Anderson an air permit
for the cement kiln near
the Ichetucknee because Anderson has a record of non-compliance with
DEP
regulations. Look on the WEB for the Pensacola Journal's report
on
Anderson's dealings in North Florida, including a conviction for bribing
Bo
Johnson, President of the Senate. Anderson sued DEP when it did
not receive
the air permit, and the environmentalists and DEP were working together
on
the case against Anderson. While SICK, my organization, relaxed,
Anderson
and Bush made an insider deal, which stinks and outraged the citizens
of
Florida. The Deal is that Anderson gets the cement kiln in exchange
for
cleaning up the Blackwater River site in Bagdad (I just returned from
visiting that site), donating that site as a State Park. In addition
Anderson agrees to sell to the State for $23 million a mine he'd been
operating for many, many years, which most say is mined out; the mine
had
long been sought by Audubon and DEP's Jim Stevenson, so environmentalists
fought among ourselves about whether to sell out the Ichetucknee to
the North
or to the West...dividing the opposition is one of Anderson's ploys.
Both
mines should be purchased by the State, because dangerous blasting
can
destroy the limestone aquifer only three miles from the Ichetucknee
River.
At the January Cabinet Meeting, Governor Bush broke
the tie, voting to
fulfill the promise of the Deal, trade the mine in the Ichetucknee
Trace for
an air permit to mine and pollute three miles to the West of the State
Park,
and in the basin of three Outstanding Florida Waterways: the Santa
Fe, the
Ichetucknee, and the Suwannee. No degradation of the rivers is
allowed,
under law. Is Bush using the OFWs laws to protect the river?
No, he could,
but he is relying on laws which protect business, not the environment
in
directing DEPs decisions.
No studies of the area have been done to determine
if mining and
deposition of 97 pounds of mercury will affect the Rivers. In
a 14 hour
hearing, Dr. Curtis Pollman stated that even 20 pounds of mercury/year
will
be noticeable in the fish of the Santa Fe River. Mercury warnings
are
already issued not to eat the bass caught in the Santa Fe River.
No other public hearings have been granted to air
all the issues specific
to the case.
Did Governor Bush sell us out? Was he just
enforcing the law? You
decide. Anderson's organization is often called the Mafia of
the South.
Anderson contributed some hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Bush
campaign. In the words of a DEP high official, "When Anderson
contributed
the money to the campaign, he was promised an air permit for a cement
kiln."
A Republican elected official confirmed the opinion that the environment
is
not on JEB's priority list.
The Ombudsman of DEP was charged with receiving
our protest mail, and he
has received over 500 letters, two of which were singled out as "worthy
of
consideration." DEP is not listening. DEP is not protecting
the
environment. Why? Because Governor Bush is directing them to
do what
Anderson wants.
I have written thousands of words about the kiln,
the deal, mining,
pollution, and over ten thousand Floridians have signed a petition
against a
cement kiln at the Ichetucknee. Governor Bush is directed by
big business in
Florida, not by those concerned with the Environment. I will
now be
directing those concerned about the environment, especially about the
Ichetucknee River to vote only for those candidates who unequivocally
state
they are against the polluting of our Florida rivers by mining, dredging,
damming, or polluting air and water. I will be seeking a one
term limit for
Governor Bush.
I must say, Governor Bush can still respond to the
public outcry against
granting a permit to pollute our Outstanding Florida Waters.
He and Anderson
can make another deal; move the cement kiln, and I will not campaign
against
him. I still hope Governor Bush will act responsibly, since Joe Anderson
is
not the responsible businessman he should be.
You decide, is Governor Bush just following the
law?
In my opinion, Governor Bush can still, at this
point, stop the cement
kiln, if he so desires. Number one, he has never addressed the
500 letters
sent to the Ombudsman; two, Anderson has made NO attempt to clean up
the
Blackwater River (I just returned from the site April 14); three, Anderson
shows no change in his desire to follow the laws. His group still
lies; his
lawyer Jim Eaton actually physically pushed me when I was in the Capitol
Building. Are government officials "just following the law" when
our leaders
make deals with disreputable people who lie, cheat, bribe, and manipulate
the
law and government officials to get what they want?
The Deal was made out of the sunshine and is a shameful
revelation that
Florida's government is not honest and open; The Tampa Tribune and
the
Pensacola Journal speak against the Deal and against Anderson.
I am not
hearing many congratulations for the manner in which Bush has handled
the
Ichetucknee case. I do not agree that our Governor is looking
at the
appropriate laws which he claims to uphold. What about the Outstand
Florida
Waterways law? What about Bush's campaign promise to provide
buffers for the
existing State Parks, and to protect the parks we already have?
If the Governor wants to make a deal, let him make
one with Joe Anderson
to locate his industrial site in an industrial area, not directly across
from
a Florida Greenway and Trail, not three miles from the most visited
State
Park in the State, not in the basin of three Outstanding Florida Waterways.
I call on Governor Bush to forever protect the Ichetucknee Basin.
I believe
he and his staff are clever and strong enough to withstand the pressures
of a
group of greedy, corrupt businessmen whom no one I know respects, only
fears.
I call upon Joe Anderson to prove his good citizenship by willingly
moving
the cement kiln to a less environmentally sensitive site. They
can cooperate
to find another limerock mine away from a pristine river.
Virginia Seacrist
SICK, Chairperson