Category Archives: Forestry

Brad Bergstrom: “unsubstantiated assertions are not facts”

This message from Brad Bergstrom to the Valdosta Board of Education
is as he sent it, except instead of his blue font I’ve formatted
quotations the same as usual for the blog, and as usual I’ve not included
the entire list of email addresses copied.
He’s responding to
Brad Lofton’s message.

-jsq

To all:

I appreciate the opportunity Monday night to have briefly shared my perspective on the environmental impacts of biomass incineration with the BOE. It was at the urging of the "core group" (whom Mr. Lofton seems to disparage, below) that VBOE invited me
and my coleague Dr. Bielmyer to speak. As an ecologist and VSU professor for more than 24 years, I’ve long been interested in issues of conservation, forest resources and sustainable development in south Georgia. About a year-and-a-half ago, I met with Mr.
Ricketts, who kindly gave me and Mr. Seth Gunning a thorough presentation on the proposed biomass plant. Ever since then, I’ve been educating myself on the general issue of biomass power generation and specifically on the Wiregrass plant. I attended the
April 2010 public hearing (as did Mr. Ricketts and Mr. Lofton) conducted by EPD, and I asked several questions. I also submitted several written questions and comments to EPD for the public record, as did many others. All of those questions, and EPD’s answers,
and the complete application, and permit, can be seen here:

http://airpermit.dnr.state.ga.us/gaairpermits/

(After you open this link, type "Wiregrass" into the search box, then click on "Narrative"; the last 13 pages contain all the public comments and responses.)

I’m sure Mr. Lofton is a well-meaning and certainly a tireless advocate for new industry. That is his job. It is the rest of our jobs to determine what really is "fact" and "opinion." No matter how loudly one proclaims it, unsubstantiated assertions are
not facts, and inconvenient facts are not misinformation. I will point out some of these facts, along with links to document them, in blue font, interspersed among Mr. Lofton’s comments, below.

Continue reading →

‘if Mrs. Noll and any of her “experts” would actually meet with us’

Since the appended message was sent to a publicly elected
board chartered by the state of Georgia,
that makes it subject to Georgia’s open records law,
so I am publishing it here.

-jsq

From: Brad Lofton

Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 12:52 PM

To: Karen Ruff Noll, [and Valdosta Board of Education members]

Cc: Allan Ricketts; gkbielmyer@valdosta.edu; bergstrm@valdosta.edu

Subject: Re: Thank you to the Valdosta Board of Education

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen:

We were honored last night to provide you an update on a project that enjoys
so much support from environmental groups all across America, and we are
thankful for your invitation and partnership. Mrs. Noll won’t admit that no
governmental group or environmental group in this country that is charged
with setting environmental policy is opposed to our project. Not one. In
fact, they collectively point to biomass as the way forward for our country,
where nearly 45 percent of our existing renewable energy portfolio is
biomass. We were prepared last night to go into specific details regarding
the air permit and provide the actual facts for you as opposed to the
continued misinformation you are receiving from this core group. We ran out
of time and apologize for the length. Please let us know when and where we can have that discussion. Our plant will be carbon neutral, with a mercury
level that is so low it’s considered statistically insignificant by EPD.
There is a dramatic difference between what the state and federal law allows
under a statutory air permit and what our plant actually produces. This
group is stating the “permitted” allowances despite the fact that the actual
emissions are a very small fraction of that. Again, if Mrs. Noll and any of
her “experts” would actually meet with us, we would explain that.

Rest assured that this is a safe, green, renewable energy plant

that has
been vetted by scores of environmentalists, all the major universities in
Georgia (including Dr. Tom Manning, a biomass researcher at VSU), and
approved by every level of government. If Mrs. Noll has further concerns, I
would recommend her talking to President Obama, the U.S. Dept of
Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Environmental
Protection Agency, the state EPD, the Sierra Club, the World Wildlife
Federation, the state of Georgia’s Center of Innovation for Renewable
Energy, GA Tech, UGA, the Valdosta Daily Times (who support us), and scores
of others who support us.

We will not participate in a back and forth with this group. We’ll be happy
to meet with any of you in person to provide additional information and
facts. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but not the facts. Thanks so much
for what each of you do for our community, and it’s an honor to serve you.

Regards,

Brad

Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Verizon

Karen Noll thanks biomass opponents who spoke at VBOE

Karen Noll sent this letter to the Valdosta Board of Education (VBOE)
and asked that it be posted here:

Dear Valdosta City Board of Education,

I just wanted to thank you for responding to my concerns about the
proposed biomass incinerator by seeking further information. I also
want to thank Dr. Brad Bergstom and Dr. Gretchen Bielmyer for coming
and speaking before the board. Their expertise in the area of ecology
and toxicology provided valuable information to the discussion. At
the same time, I greatly appreciate that these two professors’
comments were succinct and to the point.

I am deeply disappointed that the Industrial authority chose to
consume the board’s time with a 45 minute presentation that never
answered the question: Is this plant safe for our students?
Never did Brad Lofton or Allen Pickett come close to discussing the
air pollution emissions and their effects on the health of our
children. Anecdotal information from hand-picked people in Cadillac,
Michigan does not convince me as to the safety of this proposed plant
for my children.

Meanwhile, the American Lung Association, a group that I trust,
has
spoken out against biomass and its emissions in regard to children’s
health:


http://www.lungusa.org/get-involved/advocate/advocacy-documents/Letter-to-Reps-Henry-Waxman-and-Edward-Markey-re-American-Clean-Energy-and-Security-Act.pdf

The American Heart Association collected many specialist to look at
the relationship between Particulate matter and our health and their
findings are frightening:

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/121/21/2331?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=particulate+matter&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

The American Cancer Society finds that extended exposure to air
pollution increases risks of cancer:

http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/news/News/epa-estimates-cancer-risk-associated-with-air-pollution

Lastly, the world Health Organization presents air quality guidelines
to prevent health risks, which pertain to most of the emissions from
the plant:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/index.html:

I am appalled at the disrespectful tone that Brad Lofton took when
addressing concerned citizens of this community. I am ashamed that
the Industrial Authority would be so callous as to waste the Valdosta
City Board of Education’s time with an endless sales pitch.

I truly appreciate the board’s effort to become informed about the
issue and hope that we can get to the bottom of the paramount
question: is the proposed biomass plant safe for our students?

Sincerely,

Karen R. Noll

“We’re moving forward with permits in hand.”

The Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)
responds to

my message about the biomass incinerator Wiregrass Power LLC
proposes to build in Lowndes County, Georgia, just outside Valdosta.
he copied the VDT and the usual list.

-jsq

From: “Brad Lofton”

To: “John S. Quarterman”

Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:19:12 +0000

John:

We’re moving forward with permits in hand. Have a nice day.

BL

Economic development affects the whole community

My response to
Brad Lofton’s previous mail to me
and

Sunday’s
exchange between Brad Lofton and Leigh Touchtom; I copied the VDT and the usual list.

-jsq

From: “John S. Quarterman”

To: blofton@industrialauthority.com

Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:06:31 -0400

Brad,

So you can’t provide a journal citation, thus your assertion that
the stack of slides about CO2 was peer-reviewed is false.

Your assertions of environmental group support are equally dubious,
as Leigh Touchton has demonstrated. Meanwhile, you ignore plain
statements of opposition from medical groups such as the American
Lung Association.

Dr. Tom Manning is a chemist whose specialities have little to do
with renewable energy. At least three times as many VSU faculty
oppose the biomass plant, as you know from reading their LTEs in the VDT.

You say you want people helping you. OK, what are these “other
renewable energy projects”? You complain that people don’t get
involved until late, so please tell us now, so we can get involved early.

Continue reading →

“We’ve read this a hundred times, and we understand it perfectly.”

Sunday correspondence between Leigh Touchton and Brad Lofton
about Sierra Club support for the biomass plant.
They copied the VDT and the same people as the previous messages.

From: Leigh Touchton

Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:50:57 -0400

To: blofton@industrialauthority.com

Sierra Club:
[quotes Sierra Club passage from

Brad Lofton’s previous message.]

I wish someone on the Industrial Authority would actually read the entire
Sierra Club position statement instead of cherry picking snippets they
think supports their incinerator.


http://www.sierraclub.org/policy/conservation/biomass.aspx

From: “Brad Lofton”

To: “Leigh Touchton”

Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:08:46 +0000

We’ve read it ma’am and appreciate their support.

BL

Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Verizon

Continue reading →

“we have other renewable energy projects”

The Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)
responds to
my request of 26 Sep 2010 for some real clean energy jobs, and a renewable energy strategy for Georgia; he copied the VDT and the same people as the previous messages.

From: “Brad Lofton”

Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:25:36 +0000

Hey John!

Thanks again for your e-mail. I refer you to my previous response, the large amount of data my staff has provided you, and all of the government (fed, local, and state) and environmental group support we enjoy. We have all permits in place, and we are moving forward enthusiastically to create green jobs in this economy! That’s good news.
You’ll be pleased to know that we have other renewable energy projects
we’re pursing as well in addition to our solar array (it may be small to you, but we’re being told that it’s currently the largest array in Georgia-not bad if you ask me). I wish people would spend half the energy assisting us recruit jobs than what they spend fighting economic development projects that will provide good jobs for this community. I want to apologize for providing you the wrong name for the VSU professor last week. Dr. Tom Manning is his name, and he is very much an active member of the VSU faculty. We also receive 1 mill of tax, not 1.5.

Have a nice day,

BL

P.S. Below is the direct quote from www.sierraclub.org not only

Continue reading →

How about some real clean energy jobs, and a renewable energy strategy for Georgia?

This is a response from me to
Brad Lofton’s letter of 22 September 2010.
I also refer to Leigh Touchton’s response of the same date.



From: “John S. Quarterman”

To: blofton@industrialauthority.com, Leigh Touchton

Cc: [VDT, elected officials, and other people]

Subject: Re: Brad Lofton, Executive Director Industrial Authority

Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 11:23:39 -0400

Brad,

I also appreciate you taking the time to meet with people,
but I am disappointed in the information provided by VLCIA.

For example, you say:

You are absolutely correct in stating that we provided you peer reviewed
scientific literature proving that biomass plants are indeed carbon neutral

Excuse me? What journal accepts a stack of powerpoint slides for
peer review?

Maybe you mean it’s based on some journal article. Citation, please:
journal, date, and page.

The only thing I can find in it that was peer-reviewed was a quote
from an IPCC 2007 report, which asks for “a sustainable forest
management strategy”. That’s what we don’t have; that stack of
slides certainly isn’t it.

You mention:

Continue reading →

“Carbon is absolutely not an issue with our plant.”

Below is a response to my letter of 22 September 2010.

-jsq

Date: On Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 3:16 PM

From: Brad Lofton <blofton@industrialauthority.com>

John:

Thank you for your e-mail and the professional way in which you have come
and met with our staff to discuss these issues. I certainly respect your
concerns, especially since you felt it important enough to take the time to
meet with us a number of times to pursue dialogue and exchange information.

You are absolutely correct in stating that we provided you peer reviewed
scientific literature proving that biomass plants are indeed carbon neutral.
Dr. Carl Manning, an environmental professor at VSU who has done
significant research in biomass, agrees and completely supports our project.
It is also important to note that we will be using inert landfill material
that would otherwise produce methane if left to rot in a landfill. As you
know, methane is considered a greenhouse gas. This is another very positive
environmental benefit of our project (one of many). Carbon is absolutely
not an issue with our plant.

Rest assured that no trees will be harvested for this plant. The plant’s
EPD permit is very specific about this point, and federal tax credits
require the use of “wood waste.” Any deviation will result in plant closure
by the EPD. Our Authority would not have supported “whole log” production,
because of the environmental impact and also because of the competition it
would create for several of our large existing industries (PCA, Langdale)
that count on whole logs for production. We made the use of “wood waste” a
condition of moving forward.

A couple of other areas of misinformation that we would like to correct:

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Unanswered Concerns about the Biomass Plant

I’m quoting myself here, responding to
Brad Lofton’s letter of 19 Sepember 2010.

-jsq

From: “John S. Quarterman”

To: <blofton@industrialauthority.com>, Leigh Touchton

Cc: [VDT and several elected officials; list available upon request]

Subject: Re: Brad Lofton, Executive Director Industrial Authority, doesn’t want his correpondence in the Valdosta Daily Times

Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:08:17 -0400

Brad Lofton,

Leigh Touchton has forwarded me copies of the correspondence between
you on behalf of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)
with her and the VDT.

I must say I don’t agree with your assertion that:

“The vast majority of her concerns for our project would have
been answered two years ago if she had come to any of our forums…”

Here are some examples of unanswered concerns.

Continue reading →