Michael,
The attorneys filed their
Proposed Recommended Orders on March 1 in
the mercury case. The cement co. attys are really pushing time,
so the
Administrative law Judge might respond with a pretty fast Recommended
Order.
The third case is just now
heating up with depositions being taken
today of the citizen-petitioners (two SOS members who volunteered to
take
the abuse).
HERE'S THE NEWSLETTER--------------------
SAVING THE
SUWANNEE
March 2000 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
VIII-3
NEXT MEETING
The next general meeting of the membership will be at 7:30 P. M. on
Tuesday, March 14, 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 SPEAKER will be Jean Skaife who will present
a program on Whooping
Crane recovery in Florida. A permanent flock of about 65 Whoopers
now
resides south of Kissimmee. Additionally, there are U. S. Fish
and
Wildlife Service plans to guide a flock of 10 to 12 by ultralight aircraft
from Wisconsin to the Chassa-howitzka National Wildlife Refuge in 2001
so
as to teach these birds to migrate from Wisconsin each winter.
Florida
fish and wildlife officials have some reservations about the plan:
Will
scarce funds be diverted? Will the Wisconsin birds bring disease?
Will
some of the Florida flock mingle with the new birds and join in the
annual
migration?
Jean has been wintering in Cedar Key for 23 years and
has done a lot of
crane-related traveling with the International Crane Foundation to
China,
South Africa/Botswana, Nepal and Brutan to visit with all 15 species
of
cranes. She has a slide program to illustrate the Florida recovery
and
will answer questions on all features of the big birds. She jokes
that
bird-watching is easier when you focus on the tallest birds of all,
who are
also the highest fliers.
BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
remember also to bring
your aluminum cans for recycling
The Board of Directors will have their regular meeting at 6:30 PM;
all
members welcome.
ANNUAL MEETING LAST MONTH
Officers and Directors were elected at the February Annual Meeting
of the
membership. Howard Corbett moved up from Board member to President.
Steve
Gamble will serve as Vice President for another year as will Joan Stephens
as Secretary and Lee Emerson as Treasurer. Terms of Officers
are one year;
Directors terms are two years. Newly elected Directors are Jim
Clugston,
Pearson Palmore, and Svenn Lindskold.
President Corbett called for members to find a committee
on which they
can serve to help do the work of the organization. As an increasingly
well-known and respected group, we have lots of work to do. If
he calls on
you, give it a try. It often can be fun, and a few hours or a
day away
from your usual routine every now and then can be a stimulating change.
Svenn Lindskold will continue as Newsletter Editor and
will also
continue to chair the Ad Hoc Committee focusing on the Cement Plant
near
the Ichetucknee.
CEMENT PLANT NEWS
The news this month is the slow grinding of the wheels of legal process.
The Appeal of the December 15, 1998 Suwannee County land
use decision,
which allowed the plant at the site in question as a “resource-based
activity,” is still pending before the First District Court of Appeals
in
Tallahassee. You will recall that three Suwannee county citizens,
representing all the citizens in opposition, brought this case.
Florida
Attorney General Butterworth has joined the appeal. No word yet
on when
the Appeals Court will rule.
The hearing on the Appeal of the DEP Air Construction
permit was held on
February 14. Attorneys are filing their Proposed Recommended
Orders this
week, and the Administrative Law Judge is expected to deliver his
Recommended Order by early April. His Order, together with commentary
by
both sides, usually would then go to the Secretary of the DEP for a
Final
Order.
In this case, however, Secretary Struhs is not impartial
and should not
take part in the appeal process. He participated in the Settlement
Agreement which, in exchange for “concessions” by the Company, changed
the
June denial of the Permit to approval in November. Thus, he has
taken
action already on the permit. There should be news on this “dilemma”
by
the time of the next Newsletter. Save Our Suwannee and the Florida
Chapter
of the Sierra Club filed this appeal on behalf of the objecting citizens.
The newest appeal, relating to the DEP action of changing
denial to
approval last November was filed by affected citizens in late November.
Working with Tallahassee-area friends in the environmental movement,
they
raise questions about DEP practices with respect to issuing notice
concerning citizen participation in cases containing a denial phase.
They
also question the nature and conditions of negotiations between the
DEP and
the applicant in this case. After considerable publicity in the
statewide
press and inquiry by the Attorney General, this appeal, after a two-month
delay, has been forwarded by DEP to the Florida Division of Administrative
Hearings for processing. Complex filings from both parties are
expected
before a hearing date is set. Especial thanks go to the Tampa
Tribune news
and editorial staff for their careful explication of this action.
CEMENT FUND REPORT
Save our Suwannee has served as the Treasurer for the Ichetucknee Cement
Plant Opposition since January 1999 when the informal group of
Branford-area citizens turned over the funds they had accumulated for
safe-keeping. SOS, speaking for all the local citizens, must
thank its
members and hundreds of other concerned citizens from all over Florida
and
several States for their donations to the Cement Fund. Except
for
approximately $800 spent in the first couple months for publicity,
tee-shirts, and bumper stickers, every cent of donations has gone to
legal
expense. Thank-you letters, newsletter copies, brochures, and
postage have
come from SOS general operating funds.
Yet, due to the complexities of the cases and the efforts
of the
opposition lawyers, the legal expense has at this point fairly well
exhausted accumulated funds. As we look forward to necessary
appeals, we
realize we still need additional funding.
So, once again, we ask members and non-member readers
who have already
given, to make yet another contribution so that we can continue as
tenaciously as possible in getting full legal airing of the issues.
Please
mark your check: “Cement Fund” and send to SOS at POB 669, Bell,
FL
32619.
CHEF: “HOLD THE STURGEON”
Save Our Suwannee has been consistently expressing reservations about
the
Florida Dept. of Agriculture/University of Florida plan to develop
aquaculture of the “threatened” Gulf Sturgeon, whose wild habitat is
now
restricted to the Suwannee River. For several years the
University has
raised sturgeon in tanks from eggs taken from temporarily captured
fish.
Now to market the prospects for sturgeon as a commercial fish, a plan
was
developed to send 700 of these captive-bred fish to a cooking school
in
Miami for taste testing experiments and free samples at a restaurant.
The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife service objected under the Endangered Species
Act.
Florida Sierra’s Judy Hancock and SOS’s Jim Clugston, joined the protest.
The plan was put on hold.
But money-making plans do not quiet down easily.
There will be a “risk
assessment” workshop on sturgeon in April at the Mote Marine Labs.
--
Let them eat caviar!??
CAVE CRITTERS
The Santa Fe Springs Water Quality Working Group will have a program
at
7:00 PM, March 7, 2000 at the Theater of Memory in High Springs (above
the
Great Outdoors Cafe). Biologist and cave diver Tom Morris will
speak on
“Troglobytes”, the amazing and threatened inhabitants of the Suwannee
basin
Karst underwater cave ecosystems.
PCS ECOSYSTEM AGREEMENT
PCS Phosphate of White Springs (formerly Occidental) has been mining
phosphate in Hamilton County since 1965. Their current permit
within the
100,000 acre project area runs out in October 2002. To extend
the permit
to as much
SAVE OUR SUWANNEE, INC.
P. O. Box 669
Bell, FL 32619
as 16,000 more acres (over 20 years) within the project area, the company
has chosen to process their permit application through the Ecosystem
Management Agreement route. After several years preparation,
PCS has
presented the Supplemental Technical Background Document which supplies
data to be used in preparing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
and permit applications to local, state, and federal agencies.
In addition
to Hamilton County, primary permits must be obtained from the U. S.
Army
Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Mine Reclamation of the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection.
Save Our Suwannee has been participating in discussions
and some field
work in the accumulation of these background data. They will
be reviewed
over the next month and then the agencies, environmental groups and
citizens will begin reviewing the EIS and the permits as they are submitted
this summer.
Alternative reclamation that involves acquiring property
in the Upper
Suwannee Basin for ecosystem preservation has been worked on for two
years
although Hamilton County seems to oppose any idea of off-site reclamation
in exchange for reduced on-site reclamation standards. The EMA
approach to
permitting also involves gaining some “Net Ecosystem Benefits” which
would
go beyond a standard permitting process.
SUWANNEE RIVER NATUREFEST
The 3rd Annual will be at Fanning Springs on April 1. We’ll be
there with
our display, and hope to see you. - rain or shine. The festival
celebrates
the annual return of the swallow-tailed kite plus all the unique natural
and cultural resources of the area.
PUBLIC INTEREST ENVIRONMENTAL CONF.
This conference at Reitz Union, University of Florida, March 24 and
25 has
a number of panel discussions of interest to us. Registration
should be
accomplished prior to March 17. Phone (352) 392-2237 or
e-mail at
<piec@law.ufl.edu>>
BOATING REGULATION
President Corbett, Aline Kazokas, Ben Poitevint, and Dave Lewis are
working
on getting some up-dated signs on the Suwannee and Santa Fe.
There are
currently some real safety hazards and intense user-conflict spots.
This
committee needs the cooperation of the Counties involved, area legislators,
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, County
law
enforcement persons, the SRWMD and other agencies. There is strong
recognition of the need by most officials, and the committee hopes
to do
the legwork necessary to get some action. It looks promising.
We thank
Senator Mitchell for the boost he and his staff have given to this
effort.
More next month.
JOIN SAVE OUR SUWANNEE
Dues are $15 for Individuals; $20 for Families. SOS is a Florida
501(c)(3)
nonprofit corporation.
Editor: S. Lindskold 904-935-2960
Svenn
December 1999 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
99-11
CEMENT PLANT
“SETTLEMENT”
Our focus has become more sharpened with the most recent developments.
The
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced
it has
reached a negotiated settlement concerning their denial of an air
construction permit to Suwannee American Cement Co. (SAC).
This action was not completely unexpected because
it was for this very
contingency that we appealed the DEP denial, basing our appeal (Florida
Sierra and Save Our Suwannee the named petitioners) on environmental
considerations -- specifically mercury contamination of the Outstanding
Florida Waters in the near vicinity of the proposed plant. DEP
had based
its denial on the history of permit compliance by Anderson/Columbia
and
associated companies. We anticipated that some type of claim:
of other
ownership, the bringing in of a new applicant, or some way of patching
up
the reputation issue could leave DEP in a situation where they
would then
be legally ordered to grant the permit.
The Settlement includes: resolving five enforcement
cases and taking
corrective action involving the Anderson family of companies at other
locations; $1 million dollars for environmental research and public
education; sale to the State at 70% of appraised value the limerock
mine
located atop the underground river that flows to the Ichetucknee, extensive
monitoring of emissions at the plant and in the locality and posting
the
monitoring results on the internet, making changes in the emission
control
technology to be used, quarterly inspection of operations and maintenance
by a third party. These “carrots” had been mentioned at the outset
of the
permit process only if the citizens did not attempt a legal challenge
--
which, of course we did.
At this writing we are still awaiting the Final Order,
to come from DEP
Secretary Struhs, on the motion by SAC to have our appeal dismissed.
Because the DEP’s General Counsel has filed a brief supporting our
position, we are optimistic. It is extremely important to all
Floridians
to know that Outstanding Florida Waters get the protection that is
required
by Florida statutes and rules, regardless of the type of
permit sought. It is unacceptable to us that our water quality
issues be
excluded on the argument that the specifications on air permits do
not
specifically mention Outstanding Florida Waters protection.
area.
We have to carry forward that appeal as it is critical
for the 3 Rivers
area. We also have to pursue our appeal of the Suwannee County
land use
decision to give a permit for a big industrial, chemical operation
on the
doorstep of the Ichetucknee, with heavy trucks by the hundreds streaming
through the roads in that recreation area and throughout Suwannee County.
We continue to call for your support of our action.
Send your year-end
donation to SOS, PO Box 669, Bell, FL 32619, marking your check:
“For
cement fund.”
ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT PLANT
For
the fourth consecutive issue, we focus on the cement plant proposed for
southern Suwannee County. The developments on this potential disaster
slowly unfold. Attorney Bill Ogle, on behalf of three Suwannee County
citizens residing in the vicinity of the proposed plant, has now filed
in
the Circuit Court to challenge the County's action of approving the project
after merely considering a site and development plan. By sidestepping
zoning and Special Exception processing, the County Commission did not
adequately deal with their planning responsibilities for the County --
nor
give the citizens appropriate opportunities to consider the location as
appropriate for an industrial operation and whether it is compatible with
the neighborhood. To fast-track a heavy industrial, chemical processing
plant into an agricultural area, with all the natural and recreational
features of Ichetucknee Springs State Park and the Santa Fe and Suwannee
Rivers close by, seems so absurd and inconsiderate that heads still shake
--uncomprehending. We are confident that the Judge must agree with
us.
At the same time, a permit to construct the plant is being processed
through the Air Pollution Division of the Florida DEP. That process
began
with the
application being filed on November 30, 1998. Within 30 days DEP
asked
a couple dozens questions of the applicant. Answers were received
by
the DEP near the end of February. The DEP Division of Air Resources
Management
announced a public hearing for Branford on March 25. At the
hearing,
DEP reviewed the project and their process. It was announced that
they looked to be prepared to declare the application complete the
following day. Thereafter, they would take up to 60 days doing additional
analyses before they would publicize a "Notice to Deny" or a "Notice of
Intent to Issue."
At the hearing a number of air quality experts joined citizens in
voicing their objections to the project as proposed. A number of
serious
challenges
to the information on file was raised during the comment period,
which lasted about 2 1/2 hours after DEP's presentation.
At this writing we have heard oral reports that DEP will not declare the
information complete and will ask additional questions. We await
written
confirmation of that. Then there will be another set of answers for
DEP to
examine and for our experts to question.
At some point, the DEP must declare the permit process complete and
issue one or the other Notice. Bear in mind, the permit process for
large
projects such as this often lasts for many months. Should DEP issue
an
Intent to Issue, we will evaluate the prospects for an appeal and then
make
that decision.
In the last 3 issues we've discussed many of the questions we have about
the project, the applicant, the locations, the business prospects for
another cement plant, the nitrate issue in the Middle Suwannee Basin,
further damage to Outstanding Florida Waters, the great contribution of
truck emissions to the air pollution of the area, the problems of
ground-level ozone for health and for crop yields, all kinds of other
health risks, de facto creation of an industrial zone in a part of Suwannee
County where recreation and natural resources set the tone, and so on.
We're asking you to do what a citizen in the "leading democracy in the
world" must do. Take your pen in hand and write the Governor, the
Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, and the State
Legislators from this area and say in your own words why they should push
to have this application examined with the thoroughness appropriate to
a
neighbor of one of Florida's premier State Parks, taking into account all
the implications of locating such an activity there. This is not
just a
matter of counting a few numbers from a selected set of pollutants coming
from smokestacks; there is a wide, ecosystem set of concerns that must
go
into the final equation.
SAVING THE SUWANNEE
January 1999 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
99-1
NEXT MEETING
The next general meeting of the membership will be at 7:30 P.M. on
Tuesday,
January 12, 1999 at the Gilchrist County Library, US 129 and NE 11
Ave. in
Trenton (diagonally across US 129 from the north end of Trenton High
School).
The course of current events has chosen the topic for us: CEMENT
PLANTS:
AIR AND WATER QUALITY. Although we attempted to organize opposition
in the
short time available to us during the
holiday season, the Suwannee County Commission on December 15 (actually
it
was December 16, because the meeting lasted until about 1:30 AM) voted
unanimous approval of a second cement plant for North Florida.
An air
emissions permit is required from the Florida DEP before construction
can
begin. See more below.
Our program is designed to present some elementary information on what
a
cement plant is, how it is fired, and what environmental impacts result.
Some serious abuses of cement kiln operation will be described in a
Videotape that will be presented. Discussion of the permitting
process and
the part that Save Our Suwannee can play will then round out the program.
CEMENT KILNS AND THE SUWANNEE
An unanalyzed part of the Suwannee nitrate problem is that portion
of
nitrates deposited from the atmosphere. In the Middle Suwannee
area a
textbook figure of 6% is used for lack of any better data. In
the two
counties, Suwannee and Lafayette, that 6% can be compared with 10%
from the
45 dairies, 5% from all the beef
cows estimated, and 1% from human sewage and septage. That 6%
deposited
from the air is certainly less than the 33% said to be contributed
by
poultry operations and the 45% from all the nitrogen fertilizer sold
in the
counties. But if we are concerned with all sources, and rightfully
point
our fingers at septic tanks and central sewage treatment systems, then
we
have to put atmospheric nitrogen under the microscope as well.
All the nitrogen oxides emitted through the stacks of
the cement kiln
will eventually become nitrates and will be deposited on land and surface
water. The same, of course, is true of the emissions from the
heavy trucks
hauling out cement and hauling in coal, tires, clay, gypsum, and diesel
fuel -- some 240 trips per day.
Fine particulate matter, an increasingly investigated
health hazard, is
perhaps the most dangerous emission from the smokestacks. Diesel
trucks
produce 40 times the emissions of “spark ignition” engines.
In addition to the environmental and health concerns,
there properly are
concerns about the location of the proposed plant: on the north
side of US
27, between Ichetucknee and Branford. This operation is heavy,
dirty,
chemical industry. This is not the kind of industry sought by
cities and
counties that are concerned about their environment and their eco-tourism
potential. The Three Rivers area is a rural and recreational
area of great
significance to the region. Ichetucknee Springs State Park is
the
destination of 200,000 to a million visitors each year -- all but 5%
residing more than 25 miles from the park. What will 250 foot
tall stacks
towering over this area, with emissions curling forth, do for the future
of
southern Suwannee County, and Columbia County, and Gilchrist County,
and
Alachua County? What industry will follow the heavy trucking
to the area?
What neighbors will move in under the stacks?
A significant, and very
sensitive, consideration in this whole
process is the applicant -- the Andersons of Anderson-Columbia, now
identified as “Suwannee American Cement Company, Inc.” The Pensacola
News
Journal ran a series on A-C over five days beginning December 13.
There is
a history of damage, fines, agreements, revisions, more violations,
ignoring instructions, working without permits, poor performance ratings,
cost overruns, and so on and so on. The incident leading to Repr.
Mackey’s
conviction is only the most publicized.
In short, questions are raised about the reliability of
the applicant.
Cement plants burn at approximately 2800 degrees F. This one
is to burn
coal and 40% tires. Great conscientiousness is needed and no
short-cuts
can be permitted. Will the highest quality, low-sulfur coal always
be
used? Or will money
dictate cutting corners? The plant that burns tires gets paid
for every
tire burned. Why not burn a few extra to save on coal and get
a bonus in
the bargain? Cement kilns have become notorious for burning toxic
waste of
various kinds. Up to $200 a barrel is paid to the incinerator.
What a
nice extra bonus -- and who would ever know as it all goes up in smoke?
In short, great trust is placed in the operator of a cement
kiln. The
community justifiably can demand a long record of reliability -- not
the
reverse.
SAVING THE SUWANNEE
February 1999 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
99-2
SUWANNEE CEMENT PLANT
An appeal of Suwannee County’s December 15, 1998 action approving the
cement plant on the north side of US 27 between CR 49 and the Ichetucknee
River was filed on January 13. Three Suwannee County residents
were the
named parties in the Verified Complaint. Save Our Suwannee has
participated in the effort from the outset. The complaint alleges
that an
improper interpretation was made of the County Comprehensive Plan and
Land
Development Regulations in awarding the Site and Development Plan approval.
The County has 30 days to respond to the Complaint; and if the
response is
not satisfactory, an appeal will be filed in Circuit Court.
While this goes on, the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection
continues to evaluate the Cement Company’s application for an Air
Construction Permit. On December 29 DEP sent the applicant a
list of 24
items on which more information was requested. These items have
to do with
many technical considerations including the quantity of tires to be
burned
as fuel, tire-burning technology, the addition of control technology
to
lower the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted, etc. The Company
will respond
to these items within the 90 day period allotted, and DEP can then
ask for
further clarification if deemed necessary. Eventually, within
a couple
months from now, DEP must decide, based on the regulations and limits
they
are authorized to enforce, whether to grant the permit.
If a construction permit is granted, an operation permit
will also be
necessary prior to firing up the kiln and beginning operations.
The Alachua County Commission has just conducted a review
of the County
permit granted Florida Rock Industries to build a similar cement plant
northeast of Newberry. They have attempted to enforce the emission
limits
cited in FRI’s first application to the County. That may wind
up in court.
In the meantime, the City of Newberry has taken action to annex
the cement
plant site into the city. This adds a new set of complexities
concerning
zoning, permits, etc.
When an area exceeds air pollution standards it is said
to be in
non-attainment status. Such status is assigned if, for two years
in a row,
the standard is exceeded. All of North Central Florida exceeded
the
standard for ozone last summer as a consequence of weather events,
combined
with the ambient ozone. Thus, should the region exceed the standard
again
this summer, non-attainment will be assigned. When this happens,
various
events follow. New air applicants have tougher standards to meet.
But,
also, at some point a vehicle testing program may have to be instituted
to
test all automobile emissions. Many areas of the country have
had such
programs instituted, to the annoyance and chagrin of many. Pocketbooks
have groaned. Our health, and that of the planet, is more important
than
our pocketbooks; but we know the rules in this nation: once pocketbooks
squeal, action follows. But only after a lot of screaming and
suing.
One of the prime reasons for Save Our Suwannee’s objections
to the
cement plant is that the locality will be converted to an industrial
area
-- without any citizen consideration of where in the County industry
should
be located. Certainly not in the midst of the natural wonders
of the three
rivers -- their springs and their parks. Already a trucking firm
has
applied for the special exception to allow a trucking terminal in
agricultural zoning nearby. That’s the way it goes!! Each
month we ask:
What’s Next?
Farmers also ought to protest against industrial operations
and trucking
moving in. Many studies show that ozone concentrations reduce
crop yields
as much as 10%. Farmers have enough problems without this too.
If zoning decisions are dodged and industrial uses are
approved on the
flimsiest basis, the neighbors have no control -- indeed, no knowledge
--
of what is going to be their next new neighbor. That’s a violation
of
every measure of what it is to be a citizen in America. Yet,
because some
business interests favor such development and choose to ignore the
natural
wonders in their own backyard, they vigorously promote the development
and
in various ways intimidate the citizens who wish to express their
opposition in a meaningful way. Either the voice of the people
will be
heard -- or not. How should it be?
Members of Save Our Suwannee and others who oppose the
development of
the chemical processing, heavy industrial activity of the cement plant
by
the Ichetucknee, can make a silent contribution. Send donations
to Save
Our Suwannee, P. O. Box 669, Bell, FL 32619. SOS is handling
the treasury
for the coalition of groups involved. Appeals are expensive and
involve
everything from getting transcripts printed and copied to paying the
fees
of expert witnesses and attorneys. Write “cement plant fund”
on your
check.
SAVING THE SUWANNEE
March 1999 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
99-3
CEMENT PLANT DEVELOPMENTS
This ain’t funny, folks, Now we have THREE new cement kilns to
contemplate. As an aside, we constantly run into people who do
not
distinguish between cement and concrete -- between a cement plant
and a
concrete-batching plant. Please pass the word as you go through
your days
that people have got to form impressions on what’s really going on.
A
concrete batch plant (or block plant (such as in Bell) mixes sand,
gravel,
Portland cement, and water to make concrete which then goes into
constructing slabs, driveways, roads, house foundations, and concrete
products such as blocks, stepping stones, and flamingoes. But
what is this
Portland cement?? It is a product of intense chemical transformation,
at
3000 degrees F., of limestone, sand, iron oxides, and other chemical
components. The burning of coal and old tires to this temperature
creates
air emissions that are released at the top of stacks standing 318 feet
tall
(in the Ichetucknee case). The trucks on the road will not be
carrying
concrete, they carry coal, tires, high quality clay, gypsum, equipment
fuel, and the fine, dusty product known as Portland cement, which you
can
buy in 94 pound bags at the building supply company. When you
buy premixed
“Sakrete” or similar products, the sand, the gravel, and the Portland
cement, are all in their in appropriate proportions. So when
we talk of a
cement plant we’re talking heavy, chemical industry, with air pollutants
drifting out of towering stacks.
To repeat: we’re constantly amazed at how many people, even those
close to
the scene, confuse cement and concrete. Help them make their
judgments
based on what really will be going on, not what they erroneously assume.
What does three plants mean? Florida has become a State
with 15 million
people without these three. The cement came from somewhere.
Now three
plants are going to be battling for the market. They will try
to put one
another out of business. Foreign suppliers (there are many in
the cement
industry, and there are plants in the USA owned and traded by firms
from
Mexico, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, France, England, Norway, Sweden,
Greece) will lower their price to remove the threat as they have done
repeatedly around the globe. That’s the market at work!
How are these new plants with high cost equipment and
processes designed
to control air quality going to compete? They will have to cut
costs.
Maybe the coal will not be “low sulfur” as required. Maybe they
will burn
more tires than allowed because they are paid pollution credit and
money
for each tire burned. Maybe they will be tempted to burn toxic
waste --
which would be illegal without a toxic waste incineration permit --
but can
bring in $200 a barrel!!!
Are the operators of the plants knowledgeable in cement
production and
capable of competing with the international cement cartel? Do
we sit and
watch, placing our bets? Or do we try to get this race to destruction
stopped?
What to do?
The Newberry plant of Florida Rock Industries is described
as being
ready to open in August of this year. A number of court cases
involving
Alachua County, FRI, the City of Newberry, and private citizens
are raging
over pollution standards and monitoring as well as annexation by the
City
of the plant site.
Citizens of Suwannee County and the Ichetucknee Basin,
together with
Save Our Suwannee, are appealing through the courts the Suwannee County
decision to allow development of the Ichetucknee Cement Plant by Suwannee
American Cement Co., an Anderson/Columbia enterprise.
People in Hernando County have just heard about another
Florida Rock
Industries plant there. Their air quality is under attack.
With two other
existing cement
plants in the area, how will market battles affect their economic welfare
as well?
To focus on the Ichetucknee Plant, here’s what you can
do. Write the
Governor at: The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001; or phone
him at
(850) 488-4441. Express your concern about the potential
destruction of the Three Rivers area. Challenge him to consider
the
economic white elephant this flood of cement plants represents.
Challenge
him whether an untested operator who, according to newspapers,
investigations, court files, and the fate of various state politicians,
cannot be trusted to adhere to standards. Remind him how much
public and
private money is going into efforts to clean up the Santa Fe and Suwannee
Rivers. Ask him to check into the value and importance of the
Ichetucknee
Springs State Park. Send copies of your letters and calls to
Fla. Sen.
Mitchell; Representatives Stansel, Boyd, and Casey; and US Congressman
Boyd. (Check your phone book for addresses or the Election
Supervisor at
your Courthouse.)
SAVING THE SUWANNEE
April 1999 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
99-4
ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT PLANT
For the fourth consecutive issue, we focus on the cement plant proposed
for
southern Suwannee County. The developments on this potential
disaster
slowly unfold. Attorney Bill Ogle, on behalf of three Suwannee
County
citizens residing in the vicinity of the proposed plant, has now filed
in
the Circuit Court to challenge the County’s action of approving the
project
after merely considering a site and development plan. By sidestepping
zoning and Special Exception processing, the County Commission did
not
adequately deal with their planning responsibilities for the County
-- nor
give the citizens appropriate opportunities to consider the location
as
appropriate for an industrial operation and whether it is compatible
with
the neighborhood. To fast-track a heavy industrial, chemical
processing
plant into an agricultural area, with all the natural and recreational
features of Ichetucknee Springs State Park and the Santa Fe and Suwannee
Rivers close by, seems so absurd and inconsiderate that heads still
shake
--uncomprehending. We are confident that the Judge must agree
with us.
At the same time, a permit to construct the plant is being
processed
through the Air Pollution Division of the Florida DEP. That process
began
with the application being filed on November 30, 1998. Within
30 days DEP
asked a couple dozens questions of the applicant. Answers were
received by
the DEP near the end of February. The DEP Division of Air Resources
Management announced a public hearing for Branford on March 25.
At the
hearing, DEP reviewed the project and their process. It was announced
that
they looked to be prepared to declare the application complete the
following day. Thereafter, they would take up to 60 days doing
additional
analyses before they would publicize a “Notice to Deny” or a “Notice
of
Intent to Issue.”
At the hearing a number of air quality experts joined
citizens in
voicing their objections to the project as proposed. A number
of serious
challenges to the information on file was raised during the comment
period,
which lasted about 2 1/2 hours after DEP’s presentation.
At this writing we have heard oral reports that DEP will
not declare the
information complete and will ask additional questions. We await
written
confirmation of that. Then there will be another set of answers
for DEP to
examine and for our experts to question.
At some point, the DEP must declare the permit process
complete and
issue one or the other Notice. Bear in mind, the permit process
for large
projects such as this often lasts for many months. Should DEP
issue an
Intent to Issue, we will evaluate the prospects for an appeal and then
make
that decision.
In the last 3 issues we’ve discussed many of the questions
we have about
the project, the applicant, the locations, the business prospects for
another cement plant, the nitrate issue in the Middle Suwannee Basin,
further damage to Outstanding Florida Waters, the great contribution
of
truck emissions to the air pollution of the area, the problems of
ground-level ozone for health and for crop yields, all kinds of other
health risks, de facto creation of an industrial zone in a part of
Suwannee
County where recreation and natural resources set the tone, and so
on.
We’re asking you to do what a citizen in the “leading
democracy in the
world” must do. Take your pen in hand and write the Governor,
the
Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, and the State
Legislators from this area and say in your own words why they should
push
to have this application examined with the thoroughness appropriate
to a
neighbor of one of Florida’s premier State Parks, taking into account
all
the implications of locating such an activity there. This is
not just a
matter of counting a few numbers from a selected set of pollutants
coming
from smokestacks; there is a wide, ecosystem set of concerns that must
go
into the final equation.
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.
SAVING THE SUWANNEE
May 1999 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
99-5
CEMENT PLANT AT ICHETUCKNEE
Last month we described the Public Hearing held on March 25 by the
DEP Div.
of Air Resources. The DEP followed up by requesting responses
to nine
questions. On April 21, the applicants filed their responses
to the nine,
some of them brief and sketchy. The Applicants also exercised
their right
to request the DEP to begin processing their application for the air
construction permit. By law, that must be completed within 90
days. The
Department informally estimates that their decision will take some
60 - 74
days to prepare. The decision will then be published as a “Notice
of
Intent to Issue” or a “Notice of Intent to Deny” the permit.
Thus, we
expect such a decision around the end of June.
The Governor and the DEP have received many letters from
citizens around
the state protesting, each in their own way, the sense of allowing
such a
facility as a near neighbor to the Ichetucknee Springs State Park.
There
is nothing to recommend such an installation in a rural area, featuring
major recreation and tourist commerce. The site is remote from
major urban
development and from major highways.
We reissue the call we made to our readers last month.
Do what every
citizen in the “World’s Greatest Democracy” must do. Even though,
in this
electronic era, you seldom write letters any more, do so now.
It will make
a difference. Add your letter to the stack piling up on the Governor’s
Desk. Send a copy to the members of the Cabinet and to the Secretary
of
DEP.
SO WRITE: Hon. Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida
The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
David B. Struhs, Secretary,
Department of
Environmental
Protection, 3900 Commonwealth
Blvd.,
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000
At the Capitol you can also write each Cabinet Member:
Attorney General Robert
Butterworth
Agriculture Commissioner
Bob Crawford
Secretary of State Katherine
Harris
Comptroller Bob Milligan
Insurance
Commissioner Bill Nelson
Education Commissioner
Tom Gallagher
As an indication of the state-wide importance of the Ichetucknee
River
and State Park, newspapers around the state have carried articles and
editorials concerning the proposal. For example, see the editorial
below
from the Miami Herald of April 8, 1999:
"PROTECT THE ICHETUCKNEE FROM INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION
Florida's
'most pristine stream' may be in jeopardy.
Imagine the reaction if someone proposed building a pollution-belching
factory near the John Pennekamp Coal Reef State Park in the Florida
Keys.
No doubt the uproar would be loud and long, probably eclipsing the
recent
record set when Florida Power & Light sought a permit to burn the
tarry
fuel Orimulsion at a generating plant near Tampa Bay.
After all, Pennekamp Park and its reefs are recognized
as treasures of
national significance. Environmentalists justifiably would raise
hell if
Keys officials approved any project that risked harming the state park
by
degrading its waters.
Luckily, Pennekamp isn't the target this time. In
jeopardy instead is
another unique Florida treasure: Ichetucknee Springs State Park
near
Branford northwest of Gainesville. The Ichetucknee rightly has
been called
the most pristine stream in Florida.
It's also an economic asset, drawing upwards of 200,000
visitors a year.
On hot summer days they can enjoy the cool waters meandering at a languid
pace from the river's source in a deep spring to its confluence with
the
Santa Fe River.
Like the region's children and generations of students
from the nearby
University
of Florida, ``ecotourists'' now float lazily downstream aboard canoes
or
inner-tubes, gazing into crystal waters below and a canopy of moss-draped
trees above.
Now, however, the Suwannee County Commission unwisely
has approved a
site plan for a $130 million cement-manufacturing plant on land zoned
for
agriculture a mere three miles from the park. Upwind from the park,
the
plant is designed to burn coal and old tires.
Worse, the applicant is a politically influential company
with family
ties to Anderson Columbia Co., a business whose checkered past includes
environmental violations and bribery. So this applicant's promises
to
cleanse emissions can't be trusted.
It's time to raise hell. Sadly, Suwannee County's elected
officials fell
for the
Florida developers' classic line: ``We'll create jobs and expand the
tax
base.'' The same snare led officials in nearby Taylor County to tolerate
a
pulp mill that turned the once-pristine Fenholloway River into a putrid
industrial sewer whose stench fouled the air.
Fortunately, the county may not have the final say. An
environmental
group, Save Our Suwannee, has sued. And such a plant also requires
a
permit from Florida's Department of Environmental Protection. DEP,
which
got an earful at a March 25 hearing in Branford, is awaiting additional
data on several issues, including
smokestack emissions, mercury levels, nitrat
es and the impact of heavy-truck
traffic.
This will be a revealing test for the DEP's new leadership
under the
Bush
administration. As Florida's environmental regulator and the operator
of
the state's park system, the agency should be in the forefront of
safeguarding the state's investment.
That's true even if it requires overruling myopic local
officials who'd
sell out Florida's environment and their own grandma's health for the
promise of economic growth." ---------
In addition to writing letters to the Governor, people from around the
state have been sending in donations designated for the Cement Plant
Legal
Fund. Send your donations to the Save Our Suwannee address on
this
newsletter.
IF YOU WANT A BROCHURE DESCRIBING SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WITH THE PROPOSAL,
WRITE S. O. S.
IF YOU WISH A “NO ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT PLANT” BUMPER STICKER, FOR YOUR
DONATION, please add 35 cents postage.
SAVING THE SUWANNEE
June 1999 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
99-6
NEXT MEETING
The next general meeting of the membership will be at 7:30 P.M. on
Tuesday,
June 8, 1999 at the Branford Library, US 129 at the north end of town,
one
block south of Scaff’s Grocery.
This will be the last meeting of the 98-99 program series.
As
customary, because of all the family activities of the summer, we do
not
hold evening meetings in July and August. The Board of Directors,
however,
continues its regular meetings during those months on the second Tuesday
evening. Should you have any items or questions for the Board,
phone or
write SOS and the Board will get back to you.
The PROGRAM for the June meeting will be a review of current
developments regarding the “Ichetucknee” Cement Plant proposed by the
Suwannee American Cement Company. The Florida DEP, Air Regulation
Section,
is scheduled to give, during the week of June 14, notice of intent
to deny
OR to issue a permit for the construction of the plant. Persons
aggrieved
by the decision (the applicant in the event of an intent to deny or
the
citizens in the event of an intent to issue) have 14 days after formal
notice to file a petition for appeal.
Just as critical, we await scheduling of a hearing date
for the citizens
appeal of the Suwannee County action granting the company a permit
for a
“resource-based” activity. This is an important issue for us
-- and for
all the citizens and all the building and zoning agencies of Florida.
Did
the County give appropriate notice and take appropriate action, or
did the
“fast-tracking” deny citizens adequate protection and necessary review?
There is much to discuss here, and a question and answer
format will be
followed.
CEMENT PLANT MUSINGS
The State-wide outpouring of rejections for this plant confirm the
sense we
all feel that this proposal represents a project grossly unfitting
the
site. A prize State Park and one of the State’s truly stunning
natural
resources should not be placed in the fall-out zone of a huge 24-hour,
seven days a week, chemical processing plant. What’s more, the
area
surrounding the park is surely destined for development. But
that should
be recreational and residential development, not heavy industry of
a type
that must be considered extremely carefully before a location suitable
for
it is decided upon. As the population of North Central Florida
grows, the
land in this area will climb steadily in value as it becomes increasingly
desirable in the eyes of persons seeking full-time residence, a retirement
site, or a weekend and vacation refuge. Substantial building
then will
occur, employing a sizeable workforce of builders and maintenance persons
readily exceeding the jobs promised by the cement plant. The
area will
grow in appraised value, and all of Suwannee County (and Columbia and
Gilchrist Counties as well) taxpayers will benefit from the increased
building activity and appraised valuation.
But look at a letter to the editor published May 16 in
the Gainesville
Sun. The writers tell of the long process of seeking a home site
in a
wooded area, near a State Park, safe from industrial development.
A week
after finding the site, and arranging for its purchase, they heard
of the
Suwannee County Commission approval of the cement plant. They
then went
back to the realtor for failing to divulge this information about the
area
as required by Fla. Statute 475.278. They got their money back
after
beginning legal proceedings, but the family’s dream was spoiled.
That is what will happen time and again as people lower
the value of the
property in their minds because of the presence of the factory.
The Wrong
Place!
It’s still timely for you to write your thoughts to the Governor and
other
State and County Officials.
CEMENT PLANT WAR CHEST
A big thanks is owed by all of us to all of you --members and non-members,
permanent area residents, part-time residents, occasional visitors
and
lovers of the Ichetucknee from south Florida and elsewhere around the
United States -- for the fine contributions you’ve made to our appeal
for
funds needed to make the court challenges. Without the willingness
of
cooperative attorneys to grant much of their time and skill, we would
be
hard pressed to make the necessary appeals. We still will be
needing funds
because the expenses will soon begin to pile up, but we are confident
that
we will make it. Citizens Together!!
---------------THE "SAY NO" BROCHURE FOLLOWS
SAY
NO
to
THE
ICHETUCKNEE
CEMENT PLANT
FACTS ABOUT THE PLANT
· Smokestacks 318 feet Tall
· Fired at 2,700 degrees F.
· Coal and Old Tires for Fuel
· Health Threatening Emissions - not only workers, but everyone
· Heavy, Chemical Industry in Agricultural Area
· Fast-Track County Approval
· Future of Eco-tourism threatened by incompatible development
· 300 (approx. count) heavy trucks traveling in and out every
day
· Operates 24 hours, 7 days
· Noise from Dynamite, Rock Crushers, Machinery and Trucks
WHAT TO DO
PHONE AND/OR WRITE:
· Suwannee County Commissioners
· Area State Legislators
· Governor and Cabinet
· Secretary, Florida DEP
(see addresses on other side)
WHAT TO SAY
1. Comment on heavy truck traffic -- 300 trips per day between
the hours
of 5:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Because of weight must use US Highways.
Consider
the congestion on US 129, the noise through town, the safety of school
children, the rapid road wear, and costly road repair showing up in
your
taxes.
2. Diesel trucks produce 40 times the Fine Particulate Matter
pollution
produced by a car. But none of it is counted in the DEP evaluation
of the
Plant (i, e., only “stationary sources” are considered.) Diesel
trucks
produce 80% of all vehicle NOx (ozone precursor pollution).
3. US 27 and the area surrounding the proposed site experience
frequent
sink hole formation. Renewed mining, dynamiting, factory
vibrations and
rumbling trucks will make it worse.
4. A Nature Conservancy property named Sims Sink is across US
27 from the
site. This large sink is protected as one of three locations
of a rare
blind cave crayfish, Procambarus erythrops. Disruption of water
level or
water flow into the caverns as little as 5 feet would have disastrous
effects on the crayfish.
5. The plant site is only three miles from the Ichetucknee State
Park, one
of the State’s foremost natural attractions, with over 200,000 visitors
per
year and featured on national television and in the National Geographic.
6. Many local small businesses depend on park visitors to succeed.
Those
businesses represent jobs for local citizens, all of whom are concerned
with their environment and the County’s future.
7. Mercury is one of the smokestack emissions. The Ichetucknee
and the
Santa Fe rivers are already under mercury advisories. Science
now
indicates that coal burning stacks are the prime source.
8. Fine Particulate Matter is a major pollutant from the stacks.
These
microscopically fine particles find their way deep into the smallest
branches of our lungs. They can reduce life expectancy two years
on the
average. They are disastrous to those persons, young and old,
with
respiratory problems.
9. Coal and tire-burning plants produce dioxins, one of the deadliest
atmospheric pollutants. Without precise firing controls,
emissions can be
extreme.
10. 1175 tons per year of nitrous oxides (NOx) are estimated to
be
emitted. NOx becomes Nitrate in the atmosphere and will be deposited
near
and far, on land and water. This will add to the existing Nitrate
emergency in the Middle Suwannee Basin where millions of public and
farmers’ dollars are being spent to achieve any reduction in nitrates.
11. Nitrates now producing algae growth in protected waters.
12. NOx and other organic emissions become ozone when interacting
with
sunlight. Stratospheric ozone is good. Ground-level ozone
is bad. At
ground level it is dangerous to health and agriculture. Persons
with
breathing problems suffer and must stay indoors. Crops yields
have been
shown to be reduced up to 10%, costing $500 million in the United States
yearly. Suwannee County is an agricultural county!
There was an ozone alert last year throughout this region. It
will
probably happen again this summer. Three years in a row and highway
funds
are cut off, auto inspections are mandated, etc.
WHO THEY ARE
HON. JEB BUSH, GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL
32399-0001
(850) 488-4441
e-mail : fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us
FLORIDA CABINET
(Write each Cabinet Member at:
The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399)
Attorney General Robert Butterworth
(850) 487-1963
Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford
(850) 488-3022
Secretary of State Katherine Harris
(850) 488-3680
Comptroller Bob Milligan
(850) 488-0370
Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson
(850) 922-3100
Education Commissioner Tom Gallagher
(850) 487-1785
* * *
David B. Struhs, Secretary
Department of Environmental Protection
3900 Commonwealth Blvd.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000
(850) 488-4805
HON. RICHARD MITCHELL
FLORIDA STATE SENATE,
406 10th Ave., NW, Jasper, FL 32052
904-719-2733
e-mail: mitchell.richard.web@leg.state.fl.us
HON. DWIGHT STANSEL
FLA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
212 N. Marion St., Suite 202, Lake City , FL 32055
904-758-0480
e-mail: stansel.dwight@leg.state.fl.us
HON. BOB CASEY
FLA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE
4401 NW 25th Pl., Suite L., Gainesville, FL 32606-6569
352-334-1700
e-mail: casey.r.rep@leg.state.fl.us
HON. JANEGALE BOYD
FLA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
P. O. Box 551, Monticello, FL 32345-0551
850- 342-0286
e-mail boyd.janegale@leg.state.fl.us
SUWANNEE COUNTY COMMISSION
Jerry Scott, Chair 362-4955
Douglas Udell 362-4189
Barry Baker 776-2285
Robert Taylor 963-4138
Donald Odom 935-1647
* * * * *
CONCERNED CITIZENS
of THE ICHETUCKNEE AREA
c/o SAVE OUR SUWANNEE, INC.
P. O. Box 669, Bell, FL 32619
Michael, that seems to be it. Thanks to you for this.
Cheers,
Svenn