Tag Archives: WACE

“nothing short of irresponsible” –Dr. Noll to Mr. Lofton

Dr. Noll responding to
Mr. Lofton’s latest.
-jsq

From: “Michael G. Noll”

To: “blofton@industrialauthority.com”,
“Mary B. Gooding”,
“Ricketts, Allan”, <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>,
“Copeland, Roy”,
“‘John S. Quarterman'”,
“Susan R. Wehling”,
Kay Harris

Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC

Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 17:55:18 +0000

Mr. Lofton.

Moving forward with a project like yours

  1. after it has been established that biomass is dirtier than coal (see the
    data we shared from the Georgia EPD)
  2. after it has been established by medical associations throughout the
    country that the hundreds of tons of pollutants your proposed plant
    would spewout (as identified in your own application) would result in
    significant health issues (increase and/or worsening of COPD, asthma,
    cancer, heart disease)

is nothing short of irresponsible and speaks of the lack of respect
you have for the health of our community.

The fact remains that you have not been able to provide quantitative
data or scientific studies that prove that biomass is “clean” or

Continue reading →

“We’re moving forward now …ground breaking … Spring of 2011.” –Brad Lofton

I’m having deja vu from Lofton’s response to my request for substantion
of some of his claims back in September:
“We’re moving forward with permits in hand.”
-jsq

To: “Michael G. Noll”,
“Mary B. Gooding”,
“Ricketts, Allan” <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>,
“Copeland, Roy”,
“‘John S. Quarterman'”,
“Susan R. Wehling”,
Kay Harris

From: “blofton@industrialauthority.com” <blofton@industrialauthority.com>,

Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:08:10 -0500

Dr. Noll,

Please refer to my previous e-mail re our position and the ample
community awareness, substantial documentation, state, federal, local
and environmental support we are proud to enjoy. We’re moving forward
now, and we are looking forward to the ground breaking which will be
Spring of 2011.

Regards,

BL

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

“Your memory doesn’t serve you correctly” –Lofton to Noll

When can we see these actual studies? And if we could see those VLCIA videos, nobody would have to depend on memory. -jsq

From: Brad Lofton <blofton@industrialauthority.com>

To: Michael Noll,
“Mary B. Gooding”,
Allan Ricketts <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>,
Roy Copeland,
“John S. Quarterman,
“Susan R. Wehling”,
Kay Harris

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:51:53 -0500

Subject: Re: Wiregrass Power, LLC

Good morning Dr. Noll-

Thanks for your e-mail. With all due respect, however, your memory
doesn’t serve you correctly, and I would ask you to please review your
notes again. The environmental consultant from Golder referred
extensively to a seven month environmental analysis performed by the
EPD in our state. I’m confused why a seven month study performed by the
impartial environmental and regulatory group empowered to provide
governance and decisions related to this project isn’t a sufficient
enough environmental study for you. During the forum, Golder and
Associates, a world renown environmental engineering firm, also went on
to provide results of their extensive air modeling study. The fuel
supply expert presented the results of a detailed study his firm had
just completed that showed 13 times the required regional wood waste
fuel needed for this plant. This was his firm’s 20th study across the
country, and they are considered experts. The Ph.D economist cited an
extensive study his firm had just completed successfully defending a
similar biomass facility before the Wisconsin Public Service
Commission. The Toxicologist has over 27 years of experience and is a
leading expert at a major U.S. University. If you would read his CV,

Continue reading →

“Your determination to sell our community your biomass project” –Dr. Noll to Brad Lofton

First of a series. -jsq

From: “Michael G. Noll”

To: Brad Lofton <blofton@industrialauthority.com>, “John S. Quarterman,
Allan Ricketts, <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>

CC: “Susan R. Wehling”, “Mary B. Gooding”, Roy Copeland, Kay Harris

Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:46:25 +0000

Hello Mr. Lofton.

I can certainly admire your determination to sell our community your
biomass project as “green” or “safe”. However, as WACE already pointed
out, there is a difference between fiction and fact (see my guest
column in the VDT on December 12, 2010).

In the last couple months, WACE has provided the Industrial Authority
and the community with a plethora of scientific literature and
statements made by medical organizations that unequivocally state that
biomass is neither “green” nor “safe”. At the same time, neither you
nor Mr. Ricketts have been able to provide up-to-date scientific proof
to us to challenge the position that biomass is, in fact, dirtier than
coal and bears significant health risks.

Anyone who cares enough for the community he or she lives in, must
understand the responsibility to provide such proof. I have
difficulties to imagine that you or Mr. Ricketts do not share such a
sentiment, despite the disagreements we might have.
Let’s cut to the chase in regard to your panel of experts:

Continue reading →

Video of Dr. Sammons’ talk at VSU



Here is

a video of most of Dr. William Sammons’ presentation
at the

SAVE Biomass Forum at VSU.
His slides from that talk
are available on the LAKE web pages, so you can follow along.

Instead of dirty biomass we could have clean efficiency and conservation (retrofitting produces twice as many jobs as biomass)
and solar power, which is booming nationwide,
burns no trees, and emits no pollutants.

You can also contact your
local elected or appointed officials.

-jsq

Due Diligence on Biomass Combustion, by Dr. William Sammons



Monday a week ago
Dr. William Sammons, a pediatrician
who has studied biomass plants nationwide, called them

“a medical atrocity.”
His

slides from that talk are now available on the LAKE web pages.

For example, he demonstrated that burning wood is dirtier than burning coal:


This slide shows data taken from biomass plant permits.
Also notice

Continue reading →

VDT Elevates Biomass and Renewable Energy as Political Issues

The Valdosta Daily Times (VDT) has apparently decided biomass and real clean energy instead are political issues.
As part of the VDT’s

sudden turn against the VLCIA and its biomass plant,
which was

provoked by citizen and student activism,
the VDT started a week of articles with the headline



“Proposed plant said to be ‘medical atrocity'”,
about Dr. William Sammons’ Monday
talk about health problems of biomass and how solar is better.

The VDT then featured biomass in

its reporting
on the

AAUW Candidate Forum:

Continue reading →

Why is the VDT suddenly anti-biomass and pro-solar?

What has caused the VDT to decide to look into the matter?
Johnna Pinholser acknowledges that it was Growing oposition of proposed biomass energy plant:



A growing organization of concerned citizens are opposing the building
of a biomass energy plant in Lowndes County.

Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy hope to promote clean and sustainable
energies while also educating the public on how a biomass plant could
be detrimental to community health.



The goal of the organization and the opposition to the plant is not to
inhibit economic development but to promote a conversation on sustainable
energy, Dr. Michael Noll, WACE president, said.

The new organization is not the only one in the community speaking out
against the biomass plant.

Continue reading →

“Proposed plant said to be ‘medical atrocity'”



Johnna Pinholster writes in the
the Valdosta Daily Times (paper 25 Oct,

online 27 Oct 2010)
about the

the SAVE Biomass Forum at VSU:

A medical atrocity.

That is the phrase Dr. William Sammons used to described biomass energy
plants at Monday night’s biomass forum at Valdosta State University’s
Student Union theater.

Dr. Sammons answered many of the unanswered concerns about the biomass
incinerator, and,

unlike the lack of peer-reviewed evidence from the plant proponents:

Continue reading →

Banned or Blocked Biomass Incinerators

Leigh Touchton responds to Brad Lofton’s letter of 22 September 2010.
WACE is Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy; more on that new organization later.

-jsq



From: Leigh Touchton

Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 20:04:48 -0400

Subject: Mr. Lofton once again misrepresents the facts

To: wace-georgia@googlegroups.com

Cc: blofton@industrialauthority.com, [and the VDT and some elected officials and other interested parties]

Dear WACE:

1. Mr. Lofton stated: “Despite what Mrs. Touchton stated, we’ve been in
touch with the Massachusetts and Florida EPD, and in no way, shape, or form
is either state banning biomass facilities. In fact, there are 15 scheduled
now for New England, many in Mass, and a number in Florida. There have been
discussions regarding the level of incentives (tax credits) allowed, but no
moratorium. We’ll be happy to share our contacts with you.”

I would like for Mr. Lofton to share his contacts with WACE. Because
previously his contacts at the Sierra Club were misrepresented by him.
Sierra Club does NOT endorse Biomass Incineration, neither does any other
major environmental organization in America.

I would also like Mr. Lofton to share his private email list of stakeholders
with WACE, in particular the investors, because I would like to share some
information with them. I expect transparency in our public officials and
his refusal to address my letter to the editor of the Valdosta Daily Times
in the same newspaper in which it was published does not lead me to believe
that he is operating in good faith. I am very disturbed that any public
official would state that they did not want to “energize a forum for
misinformation” regarding published concerns in the local newspaper. Mr.
Lofton has a duty to respond to all citizens’ concerns publicly. I am very
disturbed that he thought he could privately email a group about my
published letter to the editor and that the first I learned of it was nearly
a month after he did so. And no, I still don’t wish to have a private
telephone conversation with him or a private meeting with him, I’ve been
reading all the public documents that have resulted from his supposed
lengthy due diligence period. As I stated, the first I learned of this
proposed biomass incinerator was when the EPD called for public comments.
Mr. Lofton and Councilman James Wright were both invited to the June Women
in the NAACP meeting and neither man showed up so I don’t really care to
engage in who didn’t return whose phone calls. Additionally he could have
made contact with the schools and churches in the area, or attended an SCLC
or NAACP meeting but he did not. All our our meetings are open to the
public, unlike his private list of stakeholders.

Here’s one internet article on the moratorium in Massachusetts.

Continue reading →