-jsq
| Dr. Gretchen Bielmyer speaking against the biomass plant. |
| Dr. Brad Bergstrom speaking against the biomass plant. |
| Brad Lofton and Allan Ricketts speaking for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) and the biomass plant. |
I did address the county commission on this topic over a year ago – in a public forum at a scheduled meeting.He provided no date nor link, but since this is the only Commission meeting minutes for which I can find his name, I’m guessing this is the one he meant. I’ve quoted here the relevant item, and I’ve added paragraph breaks to it to make finding individual speakers’ names easier. See also the VDT writeup. I would like to ask people, especially academics, who want to cite sources to actually cite them, not allude to them by some vague description.
-jsq
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERSContinue reading
MINUTES
Regular Session
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Chairman Ashley Paulk
Vice Chairperson Joyce E. Evans
Commissioner Richard C. Lee
Commissioner G. Robert Carter
Chairman Paulk called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.[…]
REZ-2009-05 Wiregrass Power, LLC, 2637 Old Statenville Hwy, 0164 025. 22.1 ac., E-A to I-S,
County Planner, Jason Davenport, presented the item, stating that both the Planning Commission and TRC recommended approval with conditions.
Chairman Paulk asked those in attendance to be patient with the Commission as the item was considered, since it was an issue that many in attendance may want to speak.
Dr. Michael Noll, 2305 Glynndale Drive, spoke against the request and presented the Commission with a list of questions prepared by himself, Dr. Brad Bergstrom and Mr. Seth Gunning.
Mr. Fred Deloach III, 1411 New Statenville Highway, addressed the Commission requesting that tires and coal be added to the list of prohibited fuel items.
Continue readingWhile certain entities see no negative environmental impact of the proposed biomass plant, the information and data that I have does not indicate that incineration of wood is efficient, environmentally sound, or safe for our citizens. Yet others see this as a win-win scenario claiming a vastly different perspective on the situation; economically, environmentally and in regard to the health of our citizens. Why is that?
A video of
a hearing about the biomass plant Wiregrass Power LLC proposes
to build in Lowndes County just outside of Valdosta was held
in Valdosta on 27 April 2010
by the Air Protection Branch (APD)
of the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Eric Cornwell of APD explains location, process flow, and specific items covered by the permit (soot, SO2, NOX, CO, VOC, HCL, etc., but not CO2). He remarks that Wiregrass Power LLC is building a small plant with a “lower emission limit in order to avoid some of the red tape” by getting a minor permit instead of a major permit. The first half hour concludes with Bob Turner, the plant manager, presenting similar material, ending with:
“No new carbon is added to the atmosphere when burning woody byproducts.”I beg to differ on that: in the time it takes trees to grow back, there is indeed new carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere. More from Dr. William Sammons on that.
Back to the video of the hearing. Questions start at 00:29:44. Here are some time markers and very brief summaries of Q and A; see the video for the full questions and answers. Continue reading
In 2004 the state of Georgia adopted a water planning
system, and in 2008 adopted a water plan,
with regional councils appointed in 2009 by the governor,
lieutenant governor, and Speaker of the House.
While I wonder why this organizational setup inserted a regional
layer of government that is unaccountable to the people in the region,
it’s good somebody
is doing some water planning.
In the event “gaps” between available water and future (or current) demands are identified, the Council will determine which water and land use management practices should be employed to ensure there is sufficient water and assimilative capacity to meet future needs. EPD will use computer models to test the ability of the recommended practices to close any identified “gaps.”If you remember Atlanta running out of water a few years ago Continue reading
Previously discussing the Glen Laurel subdivision on Old Pine Road near Bemiss, several of the people speaking against at the County Commission meeting mentioned the Greyfield subdivision.
That’s Greyfield Villas; see the entrance sign in the picture on the right.
It’s in Lowndes County but not in Valdosta; somebody correct me if I’m wrong abo
ut that.
In that picture it’s hard to read the sign in the background on the north side of North Oak Street Extension. Here’s a closeup:
For Rent. Just inside we see a dumpster with For Rent signs on the houses on either side: Continue reading
This is about exclusion zones around wells, and maybe about
restrictions on putting new wells next to pollution sources such
as cotton fields.
At their 8 June 2010 regular meeting, the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners, at the recommendation of County Planner Jason Davenport, tabled revisions to the Uniform Land Development Code (ULDC) about wellhead protection. Such protections are a new requirment by the Georgia EPD, and it’s taking a while to figure out what is appropriate for the ten wells operated by the county and the 140 private community wells, many of which have trust indentures with the county that require the county to take them over if their current operators do not supply enough water, or of good enough quality.
Picture by John S.Quarterman, video by Gretchen K. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, 8 June 2010.
-jsq
Quantifying something we can all feel:
ScienceDaily (May 1, 2010) — How much “green exercise” produces the greatest improvement in mood and sense of personal well-being? A new study in the American Chemical Society’s semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology has a surprising answer.The answer is likely to please people in a society with much to do but little time to do it: Just five minutes of exercise in a park, working in a backyard garden, on a nature trail, or other green space will benefit mental health.
All natural environments were beneficial including parks in urban settings. Green areas with water added something extra. A blue and green environment seems even better for health, Pretty noted.Here’s a link to a news blurb in the journal:
Pretty says that his goal with this study is not to provide just another recommendation for individuals but to provide data that can be used in policy discussions. Those data “could translate into what the landscape guidelines are for schools or for public housing,” says Nancy Wells, associate professor of community ecology at Cornell University.Here is a link to the actual article.
As
Steve’s Forestry Blog noted last summer:
ArborGen made a request to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to plant 260,000 flowering genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees over 330 acres in seven states. USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is processing this request. Several plantations already exist in Florida and Alabama.Paul Voosen writes in Scientific American that
The tree is Eucalyptus grandis x urophylla. The plant is a cold-hardy eucalyptus that ArborGen is developing for future commercial purposes, mainly pulp for paper.
Even given government incentives and a price on carbon, however, ArborGen must satisfy concerns from regulators and environmental groups that its engineered trees will not, especially when gifted with the ability to resist cold, spread untrammeled through forests.It’s easy to see pollen from such trees blowing onto neighboring land and new trees growing. And, given the tactics of a certain other GM plant producer, it’s easy to see the patent owner sueing the adjacent landowner for patent theft, even though the patented plant trespassed. This is the level of assurance that that won’t happen:
“When you talk about trees, storms happen, wind blows,” he said. “The containment is not absolute. There is the chance of some spread. Is it likely to become an invasive weed? Seems unlikely to me.”Not very reassuring. Meanwhile, the test stations continue to spread: Continue reading
News
in Discover Magazine from ancient Peru:
The new study, published in the journal Latin American Antiquity, found that the pollen in the older layers of soil came almost entirely from huarango trees. But by A.D. 400, pollen from corn and cotton plants had replaced the tree pollen, suggesting that the Nazca people had chopped down the forests to make room for agricultural fields. About AD 500, a major El Niño built up in the Pacific, deluging the nearby Andes with rain. Walls of water and mud washed down the valley and over the denuded landscape, sweeping away food crops, buildings and artifacts. Beresford-Jones compared it with the 1997-98 El Niño, which left the city of Ica 6 feet underwater [Los Angeles Times]. The floods of A.D. 500 were many times worse, the researchers say.Does this sound at all like the Georgia floods of 2009?