-- send money for legal expense.
Happy New Century!
Svenn
SAVING THE
SUWANNEE
January 2000 NEWSLETTER of Save Our Suwannee, Inc.
VIII-1
NEXT MEETING
The next general meeting of the membership will be at 7:30 P.M. on
Tuesday,
January 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).
Our program will be a re-scheduled presentation of the
program
originally set for September, which, you will recall, was scrubbed
by
hurricane evacuation along the Atlantic coast of Florida. Our
SPEAKER will
be Jerry Owen, Administrator of the Resource Management Section of
the
Northeast District of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection,
who will be joined by various expert members of his staff. They
will be
traveling from Jacksonville and Tallahassee and should be able to make
the
trip without dealing with bumper-to-bumper, parking lot traffic as
we had
in September!
Mr. Owen’s section deals with wastewater permitting, including
dairies
and other animal waste operations. Members of his staff have
become well
acquainted with Save Our Suwannee through our two permit appeals they
have
had to address and our many
inquiries and participation in nutrient management committees.
Because
nutrient pollution from agricultural operations has demanded great
attention nationwide, a national controversy has arisen regarding limits
and control measures. This emphasis will be felt in our State.
There are
changes in regulation and permitting of animal feeding operations in
the
works. These will be discussed as we look at permitting -- past,
present,
and future.
Best management practices have been proposed, installed,
and critiqued.
Are they adequate? Are the rotational grazing principles proving
effective? Are revisions to rotational grazing practices rendering
the
principles impractical?
Jerry and his staff will be there to discuss all
our concerns about
nutrient pollution in the Suwannee Basin from agricultural operations.
BRING YOUR QUESTIONS.
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
remember also to bring your
aluminum cans for recycling
The Board of Directors will have their regular meeting at 6:30 P.M.;
everyone welcome.
YARD SALE
A gigantic bushel of thanks to Rose Marie and Dave Lewis for their
work in
organizing the yard sale in Bell this year. Without Rose’s continuing
enthusiasm, the sale never would have happened. Given all
the competing
events at the time, we did extremely well, netting $372 for the treasury.
Thanks also to the folks who came through and donated
the “stuff” to be
sold and to the many members who helped cart stuff around and staff
the
tables.
FESTIVALS
In the last few weeks since Thanksgiving we’ve had our booth set up
at
three traditional festivals: Steinhatchee, Poe Springs, and Fanning
Springs. Thanks to the festivals volunteers for making this work
again.
We circulated our literature, talked to a lot of Florida citizens,
and
raised funds for the organization together with targeted donations
to the
“Cement Fund.”
Planning has been going on all year for the 3rd Annual
Suwannee River
Naturefest in Fanning Springs on April 1, rain or shine. Some
SOS members
have participated in the planning throughout, and we hope for a bigger
and
better third year celebrating nature.
CEMENT TALK
Writing this in the last days of 1999, there is not a lot to report
beyond
waiting on the court processes.
In the appeal of the Suwannee County land use decision,
the circuit
judge has now received the written briefs requested of the attorneys
at the
conclusion of the December 1 hearing. We are waiting for him
to issue his
final judgment, the date of which is in his hands. Should it
appear
necessary and feasible to appeal his judgment, we and the citizens
are
prepared to face that decision. Florida Attorney General Butterworth
has
also expressed determination to continue his intervention in our appeal.
We should give abundant thanks to Clarence McNamee, Bonita
Nicolodi, and
Robert Tyler, the three Suwannee County citizens who stepped forward
and
volunteered their names and testimony as Petitioners on the case.
Additionally, we extend great appreciation to Charles
Pattison,
Executive Director; Terrel Arline, the Legal Director; and the staff
of
1000 Friends of Florida for their aid in preparing and presenting this
case. Thanks also to Dr. Earl Starnes for his expertise as a
witness. And
especial thanks to Bill Ogle, attorney and one of the early citizens
in
opposition to the plant, who took final responsibility, pro bono, for
preparing and presenting this appeal.
In the appeal of the DEP decision to issue an air construction
permit,
there have been several developments since the last Newsletter.
First, the
recommended order to dismiss our appeal was rejected by DEP Secretary
Struhs, following commentary by his legal staff. The Administrative
Law
Judge granted the motion to disqualify filed by Patrice Boyes, attorney
for
the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club and Save Our Suwannee.
Translated,
that means the Judge who issued the recommended order to dismiss our
appeal
has recused herself. A new Administrative Law Judge has now been
assigned
the case. With these developments, preparation for the actual
hearing on
the merits of our case can now begin. We have a date set of February
14
for the hearing, but that date was set by the former judge and, hence,
may
be changed depending on the calendar of the new judge.
Our appeal now is the only impediment to the DEP issuance
of the permit
to Suwannee American Cement. Therefore, attention has been focused
on us.
Representatives of the company have met with Attorney Boyes and SOS
and
Sierra representatives to ask what would satisfy us. We supplied
a list of
eight items: re-locate the plant, furnish railroad service to
any site,
study again natural gas as the fuel, reduce the allowable mercury in
the
permit, propose other mercury control technology, monitor mercury deposits
in the rivers and establish a procedure for shut down in the event
of
exceedence, do a geological study of the site to discover any fractures,
do
ambient monitoring of particulate matter of 2.5 microns in size rather
than
the 10 microns proposed. Company answers are expected in the
first week or
two of the new millennium. This list is not considered complete
or
exhaustive; nor are there promises of agreement to settle on the table.
The company obviously would like to avoid going to hearing either to
avoid
further delay or to avoid losing in the appeal. We have no reason
not to
listen to their overtures.
Also, the DEP staff is concerned with our appeal and has
scheduled a
conference early in the new year. An agenda for the conference
has not
been established. There has been a lot of questions asked recently
about
the portion of the Settlement Agreement between the company and DEP
that
involves selling the Anderson Mine on the Ichetucknee Trace.
We hate to
see this made a football in the cement plant controversy because we
supported this acquisition when it was being considered for the CARL
list.
Unless new evidence positively shows the mine not to be crucially connected
to the underground river, we are chiefly concerned that a proper appraisal
be conducted and that the sale to the public not be treated as a carrot
to
extend or withdraw anytime other agreements or permit applications
go sour.
What you can do. Once again, the matters being in
the courts, the
citizen role is best seen as supporting the legal action through financial
backing. We renew our invitation to readers to send donations
to Save Our
Suwannee, the designated treasurer for the legal action. Mail
your tax
deductible contributions to Save Our Suwannee, Inc., P. O. Box 669,
Bell,
FL 32619. Please mark your check: “Cement Fund”.
Thanks.
The response of donors so far over the past 13 months
has been steady
and sufficiently supportive to see us through the legal entanglements
so
far. There clearly will be more expense as the cases go forward,
and we do
not have sufficient funds to see us all the way. So we need you
to keep
the steady flow going. Some groups and
SAVE OUR SUWANNEE, INC.
P. O. Box 669
Bell, FL 32619
individuals have made extraordinarily generous donations for which we
all
must be grateful. But any and all contributions do add to the
total.
NEXT MONTH’S MEETING
Mark your calendar for the evening of February 8, 2000 for the Annual
Meeting of the membership. This formality called for by the By-Laws
is the
time for annual election of Officers and Directors. All Officers
are
elected for one year terms; this year two Director positions are to
be
filled for two-year terms. The Nominating Committee is chaired
by Rose
Lewis (352-542-7070), so contact her regarding your own or others’
candidacy for these positions. We like some regular rotation
among
Officers and Directors to give vitality and change to the organization.
RICHES INTO ANOTHER CENTURY
What would be appropriate to say in this first Newsletter of the new
century? Over the last couple years I’ve found myself examining
parallels
between the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite the lengthy
technological leaps made in the last 100 years, the political, labor,
corporate, agricultural, and environmental similarities are discouraging.
Currently we’re celebrating great prosperity in much of the United
States,
while ignoring the declining quality of life of many of our fellow
citizens. Are we celebrating the right things? Do huge
numbers of
computers and VCRs, airplanes, cars, boats, ships, houses, factory
farms,
and consolidating corporations represent riches? Will they transport
well
through the next 100 years?
Closer to home and to our interests, will the natural
riches of the
Suwannee Basin thrive and be celebrated through the next century?
What
does the eco-tourist development in Big Shoals mean in terms of riches.
Does the prosperity enabling the development of the recreational facilities
in this great natural area guarantee its survival? Is more RECREATION
at
the Big Bend Wildlife Management Area the way to improve and pass on
to the
22nd century the natural wealth there? Will building bigger,
faster boats
continue to represent an audacious display of personal riches while
condemning the natural riches of rivers and estuaries to gradual erosion
and pollution?
These are Save Our Suwannee questions. They express
what we value and
strive for. Failing to adopt a century-long perspective in favor
of
immediate gratification and exploitation is ruinous of our quality
of life.
How can a future population vastly larger than our present numbers
ever
have natural beauties and restful places if the craze for personal
wealth
and aggrandizement flourishes at the expense of the environment?
This week as we think in 100 year spans of time, can we
perhaps see the
present more clearly.
Editor: S. Lindskold (904) 935-2960
REMEMBER THE FLORIDA SPRINGS CONFERENCE, FEB. 8-10 IN GAINESVILLE.
Phone
850/488-4892
JOIN SAVE OUR SUWANNEE
Dues are $15 for Individuals; $20 for Families. SOS is a Florida
501(c)(3)
corporation.