Category Archives: Safety

VSU professors write to USAF consultant about Moody Family Housing @ LCC 2013-08-27

Presented to the Lowndes County Commission yesterday
by Dr. Noll; video to come. I’ve added a few links and illustrations. -jsq



AFCEC/CZN

2261 Hughes Ave.

Lackland AFB

TX 78236-9853
ATTN: Mr. Allan Richmond

Thursday, August 15, 2013

PUBLIC COMMENT_

RE: Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), Moody
AFB, Georgia



This letter is written in response to the

Environmental Assessment (EA)
of the

proposed Military Housing Privatization Initiative
(MHPI) northwest of Valdosta, Georgia, on Val Del Road (also
referred to as the “Val Del parcel”).

After a careful analysis of the report, we have come to the
conclusion that the current EA of the proposed site for military
family housing


does not address a number of

potential issues
commonly found in areas of karst topography. Such areas display
unique geophysical conditions, including the presence of sinkholes
and the potential for future sinkhole formation, as well as
geohydrological conditions that need to be studied more carefully
and in a larger geographical context than currently given in the EA.



Without a more thorough environmental analysis and planning of the
construction phases, the danger exists Continue reading →

Entergy shutting down Vermont Yankee nuke: tenth down or never to be built in past year

As Entergy

has been preparing to do for some time,
it’s down forever for Vermont Yankee.
That’s at least ten (10) down forever
(Vermont Yankee,
Kewaunee,
Crystal River 3,
San Onofre 2 and 3)
or never to be built
(Calvert Cliffs 3,

South Texas Nuclear Project 3 and 4,
Bellefonte,
and

Levy County)
in the past year.
How many will it take before Southern Company (or more likely GA PSC
or even the Georgia legislature)
realizes

new nukes make no financial sense
and terminates the Plant Vogtle 3 and 4 boondoggle on the Savannah River?

Entergy blamed Vermont Yankee on shale gas, but you ain’t seen nothing yet, as

Moore’s Law for solar really kicks in.
Next one to go: I say
Entergy’s often-down Pilgrim 1 in Massachusetts;
everything Entergy said about Vermont Yankee applies in spades to Pilgrim 1.
Or maybe

ten-times-down-this-year Palisades.
Or bouncy man-killer

Arkansas Nuclear One.
So many to choose from!

Entergy PR on Market Watch today,

Entergy to Close, Decommission Vermont Yankee
–Decision driven by sustained low power prices, high cost structure and wholesale electricity market design flaws for Vermont Yankee plant –Focus to remain on safety during remaining operation and after shutdown,

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Entergy


Corporation ETR -0.21% today said it plans to close and decommission
its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vt. The station
is expected to cease power production after its current fuel cycle
and move to safe shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2014. The station
will remain under the oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
throughout the decommissioning process.

“This was an agonizing decision and Continue reading →

Getting our road fixed after garbage trucks –Anita Armstrong @ LCC 2013-08-13



Yet another side effect of that

exclusive franchise to Veolia (excuse me, ADS):
dirt roads being damaged by garbage trucks,
came up
at the

13 August 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

County resident and taxpayer Anita Armstrong
said now that garbage trucks are coming
down her road it’s in bad shape and they need help.
Commissioners seemed to think that was comical.

Here’s

the video:



Getting our road fixed after garbage trucks –Anita Armstrong

Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 August 2013.

-jsq

No-bid contract for Alapaha Water Treatment Plant @ LCC 2013-08-13



A no-bid contract for the engineering firm that already wrote a letter
to GA EPD on behalf of the county, this one for upgrading the
Alapaha Plantation Water Treatment Plant, at the

13 August 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

7.b.

Engineering for the Alapaha Water Treatment Upgrade


Alapaha Water Treatment Plant Parcel 0261 057


Timeline --Demarcus Marshall
Utilities Director Mike Allen said the
engineering agreement with Lovell Engineering

(presented at the previous morning’s Work Session
was ready for the board to approve in a no-bid agreement with Lovell Engineering.

County Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know Continue reading →

Fourth or fifth flooding at Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater plant this year?

So many I’ve lost track; somebody help me….

Valdosta City PR Friday,

Public Notice for Permit Violation at WWTP,



Due to continued heavy rains in Valdosta and surrounding areas in
recent days, moderate flooding of the Little and Withlacoochee
Rivers caused a hydraulic overload at the Withlacoochee Wastewater
Treatment Plant. As a result of a peak hourly flow of 15.58 million
gallons, the incident led to a discharge of total suspended solids
in excess of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit limit.

The total suspended solids result for the effluent sample collected
August 22, 2013 was 203 milligrams per liter. This is greater than Continue reading →

Salem 1 nuke back up in NJ

No, that can’t be: NRC hasn’t said it’s up
after

Salem 1 was scrammed down last week..
Of course, NRC never posts

events or

status on weekends, no matter
what’s down, up, or on fire.

Bill Gallo Jr. wrote for the South Jersey Times yesterday,

Salem 1 nuclear reactor returns to service after faulty valve is repaired,



The Salem 1 nuclear reactor was returned to service today, less than
48 hours after a leaking valve caused the plant to be shut down.

The plant began sending electricity out over the regional power grid
at 4:47 p.m. today, according to Joe Delmar, spokesman for the
reactor’s operator, PSEG Nuclear….

On Thursday, operators became aware Continue reading →

Pilgrim and Salem nukes scrammed down

Two nukes down Friday:
“lowering reactor water level was due to the trip of all three Feedwater Pumps”
(Pilgrim 1 in Massachusetts) and “unidentified leakage” (Salem 1 in New Jersey).
That’s the fifth downtime for Entergy’s Pilgrim 1 this year:

cold, heat, leak, and now feedwater pumps.
Remind me about the reliability and safety of big baseload nuclear?


Pilgrim 1 and Salem 1 down 23 August 2013


Event Number: 49296 Facility: PILGRIM,

REACTOR PROTECTION ACTUATION (SCRAM)

“On Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 0755 hours [EDT], with the reactor
critical at approximately 98% core thermal power, and the mode
switch in RUN, a manual reactor scram was inserted due to lowering
reactor water level. The cause of the lowering reactor water level
was due to the trip of all three Feedwater Pumps. The cause of the
Feedwater Pump trip event is currently under investigation.

“Following the reactor scram, Continue reading →

How big might a sinkhole be? @ LCC 2013-08-13


Viral Internet video
of a human-caused sinkhole swallowing a clump of trees whole,
in Bayou Corne, Assumption Parish, Louisiana.

>

WCTV posted 22 August 2013,

Sinkhole Swallows Trees In Seconds



Assumption Parish, LA – Cameras were rolling just as a sinkhole swallowed a group of trees….

CBS News reports that the sinkhole now covers 25 acres, and is expected to keep growing.


Video from NOLA.com of another tree going in: Continue reading →

AGL pipeline station in Atlanta leaking, eroding, substandard construction

Citizens are calling for GA PSC Chuck Eaton to call it off.
Since apparently

GA PSC does have authority over natural gas pipelines,
maybe we should talk to our Commissioner
H. Doug Everett about that

proposed Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline through Lowndes County.
Wasting resources on natural gas now is foolish when

solar will overtake everything within a decade
and we should be getting on with sun power for Lowndes County
instead of methane for Florida.

Brookhaven Post 23 August 2013,

Deteriorating conditions at AGL regulator station site has citizens calling for its removal,



An Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) regulator station that is being
constructed on Parcel 36 off of Clairmont Rd., has been a project of
concern for some time now. Site conditions such as trenches full of
water, deteriorating banks, eroding foundations, corrosion,
substandard and hazardous construction practices, and a host of
other issues, have become the catalyst to amplifying an effort to
have Public Service Commissioner, Chuck Eaton, intervene and ask
that AGL cease construction and remove the station.

-jsq

Violations at Alapaha Water Plant in Lowndes County –EPA @ LCC 2013-07-23

Did Demarcus Marshall know

when he asked, “The water is good now, right?”
about the
15 “Health Based Violations”
and the 4 “Complete Failure to Report” plus the 1 “Monitoring, Routine Major (TCR)”, all in the last ten years?
Maybe some of those have to do with why

Lowndes County is doing major upgrades to the Alapaha Water System
by the end of March 2015.
However, given all those “Complete Failure to Report”, how will we know
when or if it’s fixed?
These reports found by Chris Graham.
-jsq



U.S. EPA

SWDIS Violation Report:

LOWNDES CO.-ALAPAHA PLANTATION S/D
VALDOSTA, GA 31601-1349
229-671-2504
Primary Water Source Type Population Served
Groundwater 205

This report was created on AUG-22-2013

Results are based on data extracted on JUL-30-2013

NOTICE: EPA is aware of inaccuracies and underreporting of some data in the Safe Drinking Water Information
System. We are working with the states to improve the quality of the data.

The tables below list all violations that the state reported to
EPA for this water system. Health-based violations are listed first,
followed by monitoring, reporting, and other violations.

Health Based Violations:
amount of contaminant exceeded safety standard (MCL) or water was not
treated properly.

Type of Violation Compliance Period Begin Date Compliance Period End Date Drinking Water Rule or Contaminant Analytical Result Violation ID
MCL, Average JUL-01-2012 SEP-30-2012 TTHM .166 11422



Follow-up Action Date of Response
St Public Notif requested MAR-05-2013
St Violation/Reminder Notice MAR-05-2013


Continue reading →