Viral Internet video of a human-caused sinkhole swallowing a clump of trees whole, in Bayou Corne, Assumption Parish, Louisiana.
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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
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:
This report was created on AUG-22-2013 Results are based on data extracted on JUL-30-2013 |
| 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 |
Received yesterday on Florida sinkholes spreading real estate effects in same Aquifer as under Lowndes County. -jsq
John — Thank you for pressing forward on this important issue for the airmen and their families at Moody AFB as well as for all citizens of Lowndes County. My colleagues and I are also concerned and hope that we can eventually obtain the Phase I geotechnical study. Of course, we have our own research agendas as well as a desire to see our students working on these problems close to their own university campus. In particular, one of my undergraduate students just completed his thesis on karst subsidence beneath a house in Lowndes County. Here is a link to a poster where he presented those finding to our undergraduate research conference: GPR Investigation of Subsidence.
-Don Thieme
Ground-Penetrating Radar Investigation of Subsidence
Benjamin Davis, Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
in Covered Karst near Valdosta
Faculty Sponsor: Donald M. ThiemeAbstract
Continue reading
in
the 22 July 2013 Work Session
Here is the letter discussed (“So at this point, in order to comply with the deadline submitted by EPD, it was necessary to go ahead and work with Lovell on this.”)
and approved (“The water is good, right?”)
at the
23 July Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission,
obtained through an Open Records Request by April Huntley,
plus a transcription.
You may wonder, as I do, why the county didn’t just put it online
along with the agenda, like so many other county commissions and
city councils do. Continue reading
A County Commissioner wanted the Utilities Director to confirm that the water was already good before the county fixes the treatment plant at Alapaha Plantation, at the 23 July Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
7.b. Letter to Environmental Protection Division concerning Alapaha Water Treatment Plant Upgrade
Regarding the letter written by Lovell Engineering to GA EPD on behalf of the
county, discussed in the previous morning’s
22 July 2013 Work Session,
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked:
I just had a question regarding the timing of the letter. I know it says eight month pilot study. And I just wanted to know for the record, that the water is good now, right? It’s drinkable, and so forth, just for the public to be aware that it’s not some public health risk out there.
Answer from Utilities Director Mike Allen: Continue reading
Gretchen Quarterman said she was concerned not just about traffic on Val Del Road, but
Once they leave Val Del, how will they get to the base safely?
Also what happened at Nelson Hill, just up Val Del Road, even though she was neither for nor against REZ-2013-09, at the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.
She specifically expressed concerns about GA 122, Hambrick Road
and Radar Site Road, among others,
as she had done
at the Planning Commission.
The previous morning at the Work Session,
Commissioner John Page had asked about
McMillan Road and GA 122
and had gotten an answer from County Engineer Mike Fletcher
which only addressed Val Del Road.
Gretchen Quarterman also expressed concern about another development
out in the county going bad like Nelson Hill did,
with many of its 13 conditions not being met.
Here’s the video:
Continue readingNo geotechnical study was seen from the developer before drawing the sinkhole buffers shown in the the Air Force Draft Environmental Assessment for the proposed Moody Housing on Val Del Road, just rezoned as REZ-2013-09, PDF courtesy of Prof. Michael Noll of VSU. You can see sinkholes and wetlands in its maps:
Most of the site area, including all of the Phase I area subject of REZ-2013-09, is colored for medium wetland habitat quality: Continue reading
A VSU professor
said he was in favor of the economic benefits,
but geotechnical issues should determine whether
the new Moody Housing on Val Del Road
(REZ-2013-09)
should be built, and those were still unclear,
at
the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.
Dr. Michael Noll of VSU said he was speaking because he had been referred to by previous speakers (Jason Davenport and Tom Kurrie), and he was neither for nor against REZ-2013-09. Dr. Noll’s neither-in-favor-nor-against position seemed to puzzle County Engineer Mike Fletcher. Noll said he and his colleagues had looked at the Environmental Assessment (EA) which has been available at the public library and concluded that they had a number of questions they’d like answered, and he was sure the developers had similar concerns for safety of the project.
Dr. Noll said they’d been trying to get a copy of the geotechnical analysis Continue reading
“Officers can’t even entertain guests at the houses they are living in”
said a Hahira business man,
at
the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session,
speaking in favor of
REZ-2013-09 for proposed new Moody Housing on Val Del Road.
Previously at the Planning Commission Coombs had
asked for use of local contractors
at this new Moody Family Housing project.
Both at GLPC and at this County Commission meeting Coombs
expressed concern about what he called that “botched” previous housing
project.
(Much more detail on Magnolia Grove
here.)
This time he said he thought the new project would be
“of great economic impact in a time when it is really needed”.
What happened to his concerns about use of local contractors?
Here’s the video:
Continue readingAll about public-private partnerships (PPP) and military rank waterfalls by an Atlanta and K Street lawyer at the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session. about REZ-2013-09, introduced by local lawyer Tom Kurrie to answer a question by Commissioner John Page.
G. Scott Rafshoon of
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
of Atlanta and K Street in DC spoke for.
His law firm bio says in part:
G. Scott Rafshoon has a diverse legal practice that includes corporate law, government affairs and project finance. Combining these disciplines, Mr. Rafshoon is a leader in the Firm’s public-private partnership (“P3”) practice….
Manages the Firm’s representation of Balfour Beatty Communities, a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty plc, in the privatization of family and unaccompanied personnel housing at military installations around the country. To-date, Mr. Rafshoon has assisted Balfour Beatty with privatizing facilities at 48 Army, Navy and Air Force installations in 23 states and the District of Columbia, in separate transactions valued at more than $4 billion.
This is apparently the same Continue reading