Tag Archives: sewage sludge

“I’m amazed at how someone could dare say…”

Brad Lofton responds to
Leigh Touchton’s letter of 16 September 2010.

-jsq

Date: Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 7:54 AM

From: Brad Lofton <blofton@industrialauthority.com>

Good morning Kay, Sandy et al.

Our unprecedented effort of educating the public included numerous public
hearings, briefings with all elected officials, the VDT Editorial Board and
groups all across Valdosta. We’ve even spent a great deal of effort trying
to brief the NAACP leaving messages and making numerous phone calls to Leigh
Touchton that have never been returned. We’ve spent more time educating the
community on this project then the sum of any other projects we’ve worked
combined. I’m amazed at how someone could dare say that we’ve not informed
the public. 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 or if she
would at least answer her phone when we call. Now that we’re moving into the
third year of due diligence, she’s concerned all of a sudden.

Continue reading →

Leigh Touchton wonders what Brad Lofton is hiding

This message was sent to me by the author, who requested I blog it.

-jsq

Subject: My response to Brad Lofton, why doesn’t he want his correpondence in
the Valdosta Daily Times? What is he hiding?

From: Leigh Touchton

To: blofton@industrialauthority.com

Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:53:56 EDT

(Please see
correspondence below mine which I am responding to:

Mr. Brad Lofton’s email to his “stakeholders”
which he doesn’t want to put in the newspaper )

Mr. Lofton:

My title is President of the Valdosta-Lowndes branch of the NAACP, I am not
the Chairperson. I have a Master’s in Science in Biology from the
University of Virginia, I have taught Environmental Science classes at the
college level. It is incorrect and furthermore rude for you to refer to the
President of the NAACP as part of the “misinformation on the street.”

I would be happy to deconstruct your arguments on the trip to Cadillac,
Michigan, and how “green” Biomass Incineration can be. I invite readers to
research all the Biomass incinerators around the country that have been shut
down. They are banned in Massachusetts. They have been blocked in
Florida. They show up in areas of the country where wealthy industrialists
control the government and environmental regulations are lax. All the major
environmental organizations in this country oppose them because they burn
more wood that can be sustainably harvested. In the decade that is the
hottest on record, in a crucial period in human history when life literally
hangs in the balance over Global Climate Change, the Lowndes County
Industrial Authority has decided to implement a Biomass Incinerator which
spews more carbon dioxide than a coal plant.

Continue reading →

Industrial Authority Response to Two Letters to the Editor

The appended message from a tax-supported public official
to many people about official business was forwarded to me;
perhaps the public would also like to see it.

The CCA press conference he mentions seems to have been
covered by the VDT in this article:
to be about
Private prison company picks Valdosta as potential site.

The rest of the letter is about issues related to the

biomass plant
proposed for Lowndes County by Wiregrass Power LLC
(wholly owned by Sterling Energy Assets of Atlanta)
and backed by the

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
of which Brad Lofton is the Executive Director.
Here’s the letter from Leigh Touchton of the NAACP to which he refers.

-jsq



From: Brad Lofton [mailto:blofton@industrialauthority.com]

Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2010 4:37 PM

To: ‘Brad Lofton’

Subject: Industrial Authority Response to Two Letters to the Editor Yesterday

Importance: High

Good afternoon everyone:

Thanks to all of you that were able to attend our CCA press conference and
breakfast yesterday. We’ve had positive feedback today from around the
region, and we’ve received congratulations from most of the other 15
communities competing for the project.

After reading the two letters to the editor yesterday, I felt compelled to
e-mail our stakeholders to provide you an update with facts and information
related to the biomass plant. We have intentionally avoided a response in
the paper because we do not want to energize a forum for continued
misinformation. Despite numerous town hall meetings and other meetings
we’ve facilitated for two years, there is still plenty of misinformation on
the street.

Continue reading →

LTE: Biomass is Environmental Racism

This is a letter to the editor that appeared in the VDT on about 17 August 2010.

-jsq

When Wiregrass Power chose the site for their Biomass plant, they put
it near one of Valdosta’s most affluent black communities. There are
at least six black churches:  New Life Ministries, Morning Star,
Evangel Temple, Southside Church of Christ, Church of Prophecy, Church
at Pine Hill. Two predominantly black elementary schools are in the
area: Southeast and Moulton Branch. A large senior citizen assisted
living community, Sands Horizon, is located in the affected area and
serves over 60 families. Scott Park, where the Sands Horizon residents
enjoy outings and the local children enjoy baseball games, is located
nearby. Huge apartment complexes with several buildings, Park Chase
and Brittany Woods, whose residents are primarily people of color, are
located near the proposed site.

Continue reading →

Video of Biomass Air Quality Hearing, Valdosta, 27 April 2010



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 →

Biomass Permit Expected Fortnightly



The VDT published on May 18

Projects in the works:
Industrial Authority reviews and discuss items at meeting,
by Kara Ramos,
in which there is this paragraph:

WIREGRASS POWER, LLC

The project should be approved and issued an air quality operating permit in the next 14 days, according to Lofton. A power purchase agreement should also be complete by June 1, 2010. The VLCIA granted an eight month extension for the project to begin construction.

(VLCIA is the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority.
Brad Lofton is its executive director.)

We know from previous reports that this wood and sewage sludge
incinerator is expected to produce a maximum of 25 long-term jobs.
Many questions were asked at the air quality hearing about particulates,
CO2, mercury, and other pollutants.

The answers ranged from “we don’t monitor that” to

Continue reading →

Biomass Plant Hearing Today

You can ask questions and expect answers.



The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Environmental Protection Division (EPD) Air Protection Branch issued a

Press Release on April 12, 2010 announcing a meeting:

EPD will hold a question and-answer (Q&A) session and a public hearing on Tuesday,
April 27, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room in the Valdosta City Hall Annex. The city hall annex is located at 300 N. Lee Street.

The subject is “on Proposed
Biomass-Fired Power Plant Application Submitted by WireGrass Power, LLC”

You can also submit questions and comments in writing:

Continue reading →