Tag Archives: Georgia

Proposed development next to Moody AFB has been withdrawn (REZ-2013-08)

Received in response to an open records request to Lowndes County, here is the developer’s withdrawal letter, and correspondence between Lowndes County Zoning and Planning with Moody AFB confirming that this was indeed REZ-2013-08 MFH Tract A on Roberts Road that was withdrawn. It seems the U.S. Air Force would also like to see GLPC minutes online; that request came from Deputy, Housing Division, Air Force Civil Engineering Center, located in San Antonio, Texas.. Also, doesn’t Georgia open meetings law require a summary of actions taken within a few days of a Planning Commission meeting? -jsq

Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 19:56:40 -0400
Subject: MAZ-1
From: Roger Sevigny <rsevigny@alleneng.net>
To: Jason Davenport <jdavenport@lowndescounty.com>, <bslaughter@lowndescounty.com>
Cc: Mike Fletcher <mfletcher@lowndescounty.com>, Joe Pritchard <JPritchard@lowndescounty.com>

Gentlemen,

I had no idea of the county anger with MFH LLC. I thought Continue reading →

Palisades nuke down 11 times since 2011

Decrepit nuke leaked radioactive water into Lake Michigan in May 2013, and “The same tank sprang a leak in 2012.” That reactor has been down so many times the reporter couldn’t count them all. When will we realize what Korea and now Japan has: the nuclear industry colludes to hide its mistakes from the public, and the public needs to do something about it.

David N. Goodman wrote for AP 6 May 2013, Nuclear Regulatory Commission: ‘Very slightly radioactive water’ enters Lake Michigan,

Early Sunday morning, the tank was ruled inoperable and the nuclear power plant began powering down. This is reportedly the ninth time that the facility has been shut down since 2011.

Nope, ten times; count ’em:

> Palisades nuke down 11 times since 2011

And it stayed down from May 6th to June 17th 2013. Plus who knows what it’s leaking now that they didn’t bother to take it down for? Continue reading →

EPA raising radiation limits? Comment period still open

Should we worry about those radioactive tuna off California? Should we raise radiation limits like EPA is proposing?

J. D. Heyes wrote for NaturalNews 30 May 2012, Fukushima radiation now detected in the U.S. food supply,

“I wouldn’t tell anyone what’s safe to eat or what’s not safe to eat,” Madigan told Reuters. “It’s become clear that some people feel that any amount of radioactivity, in their minds, is bad and they’d like to avoid it. But compared to what’s there naturally […] and what’s established as safety limits, it’s not a large amount at all.”

PR from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility 8 April 2013, WHITE HOUSE APPROVES RADICAL RADIATION CLEANUP ROLLBACK: Civilian Cancer Deaths Expected to Skyrocket Following Radiological Incidents,

The White House has given final approval for dramatically raising permissible radioactive levels in drinking water and soil following “radiological incidents,” such as nuclear power-plant accidents and dirty bombs. The final version, slated for Federal Register publication as soon as today, is a win for the nuclear industry which seeks Continue reading →

Southern Company backed off on cost overrun request

Fitch reaffirmed SO’s and Georgia Power’s (and Mississippi Power’s) ratings today after Southern Company backed off a week ago from risking losing the larger cost overrun request to GA PSC. Beware: SO will be back, when maybe fewer people are looking. Or maybe that tiger team will issue its summer report and the titanic Southern Company ship will finally change course towards distributed solar and wind power.

Jonathan Shapiro wrote for AP 31 July 2013, AP: Georgia Power To Waive Request for Extra Vogtle Costs

[Southern Company] CEO Thomas Fanning told analysts Wednesday that the Atlanta-based company reached a preliminary deal with Georgia officials.

Under the plan, the company would only seek right now to collect the $209 million that it spent building the two new reactors at Plant Vogtle from July to December.

The company would waive Continue reading →

News media finally reporting Fukushima leaking radioactive water into ocean

It’s not just a storage tank, either; radioactive water has been leaking for more than two years, from the broken reactor buildings into groundwater and the Pacific Ocean. It’s not just a local Japanese problem: Fukushima is here.

The cautious version, by Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito, Reuters, today, Radioactive water seeping into Pacific from Fukushima is ’emergency,’ official says,

Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an “emergency” that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country’s nuclear watchdog said Monday.

This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority task force, told Reuters.

Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) are only a temporary solution, he said.

VOA News, also today, admits leaks have been going on for more than two years and nobody knows how to stop them, Fukushima Operator Under Fire for Radioactive Leaks,

Rianne Teule, a nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace International, says the issue is a serious environmental concern.

“Most of all it proves TEPCO is incapable of dealing with this situation and that the Japanese authorities should really step in and ensure that proper action is taken to stop the leaks,” said Teule.

But it is not clear what other actions TEPCO could take at this point. Former Nuclear power plant designer Masashi Goto worked on several projects with TEPCO.

“The situation is already beyond what Tepco can handle,” said Goto. “If Continue reading →

Path of proposed pipeline through Lowndes County

That pipeline that starts in PCB-polluted Anniston, Alabama, where would it cross Lowndes County?

Two routes, one north to south, another from Brooks County southeast to the Florida line.

Pipeline points with streets Pipeline points with imagery

On this google map, A is the land mentioned in Massive pipeline project may cross Lowndes, by Jason Schaeffer, VDT, 30 June 2013, B, C, and D several of the parcels listed in the letters Sabal Trail Transmission LLC sent Lowndes County (another is very near D). They all form pretty much a straight line north to south. The actual route probably Continue reading →

Expansion of Azalea City Trail for bicycles

More bicycling soon in Valdosta. Still no map of Azalea City Trail on Valdosta’s website that I can find. The picture of bicyclers comes from Parks and Rec. Heads-up by Corey Hull of VLPRA.

Valdosta PR 1 August 2013, Portion of Williams Street Closed for Improvements and Expansion of Azalea Trail,

On Monday, August 5, the City of Valdosta will begin construction on the Williams Street Improvements Project. The project, which spans from Ashley Street to Park Avenue, will include the reconstruction of the Williams Street centerline, new curbs and gutters at various locations, minor storm drainage repairs and a new asphalt surface.

The project also features the construction of a 10-foot wide sidewalk that will tie into the existing 2.7 mile Azalea Trail, which currently stretches from the Vallotton Youth Complex to the Craig Center on Gordon Street. This multi-purpose trail will soon after be extended to Woodrow Wilson Drive, providing additional recreational opportunities and a safe route for citizens traveling to the South Georgia Regional Library.

During the construction, Continue reading →

The Korean nuclear mafia: power companies, vendors, and testers

Document-forging Doosan was just the tip of the Korean nuclear corruption iceberg.

It’s different stateside, right? San Onofre 2 and 3 Oh, wait: U.S. NRC is refusing to supply Congress with safety documents related to the closing of San Onofre. But Plant Vogtle is much safer, right? Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning told us so. Of course, he also told us Kemper Coal would come in on budget, and now SO is writing off $611 million after taxes. But that bad concrete pour, the misplaced reactor vessel, the leaking tritium; those are all flukes, right? Meanwhile, solar panels don’t leak tritium, and if you misplace one, you only lose money, not risk lives.

By Choe Sang-Hun in NY Times yesterday, Scandal in South Korea Over Nuclear Revelations,

Korean nuclear reactor Weeks of revelations about the close ties between South Korea’s nuclear power companies, their suppliers and testing companies have led the prime minister to liken the industry to a mafia.

The scandal started after an anonymous tip in April prompted an official investigation. Prosecutors have indicted some officials at a testing company on charges of faking safety tests on parts for the plants. Some officials at the state-financed company that designs nuclear power plants were also indicted on charges of taking bribes from testing company officials in return for accepting those substandard parts.

Worse yet, Continue reading →

Thanks for a boat ramp & a new community center –Kristofer Graham, Naylor

Received yesterday. -jsq

State Park style trash can I just want to take a min of my time & thank you all the Lowndes county commissioners for Consideration of Proposed List for a boat ramp & a new community center in our community. This mean a lot to our community & our surrounding counties. It’s a good asset to Lowndes county. Lowndes County needs public access to the beautiful scenic Alapaha River as residents have enjoyed the river for generations. Now our community will have something to cherish for generations & more generations to come. I hope the community will come together. Continue reading →

Nuclear an economic boon despite high costs –Tim Echols

Some of the “stuff” that happened before and after GA PSC Tim Echols cheered nuclear Friday.

GA Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols wrote in the Athens Banner-Herald Friday Echols: Nuclear power can be economic boon to Southeast,

Just when we thought nuclear power might be on a comeback, well, stuff happened. Only time will tell if Georgia and South Carolina can “jump-start” a nuclear renaissance. Let’s hope we can, because low-cost base-load energy — the amount of electricity available 24 hours a day — is a key to economic growth.

Stuff like this happened: