Dr. Noll responding to
Mr. Lofton’s latest.
-jsq

From: “Michael G. Noll”

To: “blofton@industrialauthority.com”,
“Mary B. Gooding”,
“Ricketts, Allan”, <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>,
“Copeland, Roy”,
“‘John S. Quarterman'”,
“Susan R. Wehling”,
Kay Harris

Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC

Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 17:55:18 +0000

Mr. Lofton.

Moving forward with a project like yours

1. after it has been established that biomass is dirtier than coal (see the
   data we shared from the Georgia EPD)

2. after it has been established by medical associations throughout the
   country that the hundreds of tons of pollutants your proposed plant
   would spewout (as identified in your own application) would result in
   significant health issues (increase and/or worsening of COPD, asthma,
   cancer, heart disease)

is nothing short of irresponsible and speaks of the lack of respect
you have for the health of our community.

The fact remains that you have not been able to provide quantitative
data or scientific studies that prove that biomass is “clean” or

“safe”. Repeatedly using the term “green” in your narrative does not
make it so either and is by now misleading at best. Moreover, referring
to “substantial documentation” on the issue of health risks associated
with your project, without actually being able to share them with this
group, speaks volumes on its own.

By the way, statements made by entities like the EPA and the USDA (in
reference to the question of “carbon neutrality”) cannot be used to
back up your claim that biomass is safe. Likewise, your toxicologist
(who is neither a medical professional, nor does seem to understand the
dangers of dioxin) cannot be taken seriously in his “assurances” that
biomass is safe … when the ALA, the ACS, and the AHA, to name but a
few, say otherwise, backed up by numerous studies.

I guess I should not be surprised that an individual who likes to use
Wikipedia for doing research (a source my students are not allowed to
use) would fall into the occasional mis-informational trap. Most of us
have done this at some point. Eventually, though, it is time to wake up
and to do some serious research … which for reasons, as of yet
unknown to me, you refuse to do.

Be assured that WACE (and the multitude of members in the community who
have joined us / a number that is growing steadily) will continue their
work to educate our community about your misguided project, and to
provide alternatives for a truly sustainable future for Valdosta and
Lowndes County. Our forum on January 13 will be another step in that
direction. All members of the Industrial Authority and the community at
large are cordially invited to attend this forum.

Until then, I encourage you to share your documentation proving that
biomass is “clean” and “safe”, or your environmental impact analysis
you referred to yesterday. In this day and age, it is fairly simple to
do so via email attachments (pdf, doc, etc.) or you can simply post
them to your website … unless, of course, you do not have such
documents, which brings us back to the beginning of this email …

Best regards, Michael G. Noll.