\r\n\r\n \r\nThursday, August 15, 2013\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n After a careful analysis of the report, we have come to the\r\nconclusion that the current EA of the proposed site for military\r\nfamily housing\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n![](\"http:\/\/ww2.valdosta.edu\/~bhojjati\/vsu_logo_ov.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>\r\nAFCEC\/CZN\r\n
\r\n2261 Hughes Ave.\r\n
\r\nLackland AFB\r\n
\r\nTX 78236-9853\r\nATTN: Mr. Allan Richmond\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\nPUBLIC COMMENT_\r\n<\/H3>\r\n
\r\nRE: Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), Moody \r\nAFB, Georgia\r\n<\/H2>\r\n
![](\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/govt\/loco\/rezoning\/REZ-2013-09\/mime\/REZ201309Z.jpg\")
<\/a>\r\nThis letter is written in response to the\r\n\r\nEnvironmental Assessment (EA)<\/a>\r\nof the\r\n\r\nproposed Military Housing Privatization Initiative\r\n(MHPI)<\/a> northwest of Valdosta, Georgia, on Val Del Road (also\r\nreferred to as the “Val Del parcel”).\r\n<\/p>\r\n![](\"http:\/\/www.esi.utexas.edu\/outreach\/caves\/images\/karst\/karst_fig1.jpg\")
<\/a>\r\n does not address a number of\r\n\r\npotential issues\r\ncommonly found in areas of karst topography<\/a>. Such areas display\r\nunique geophysical conditions, including the presence of sinkholes\r\nand the potential for future sinkhole formation, as well as\r\ngeohydrological conditions that need to be studied more carefully\r\nand in a larger geographical context than currently given in the EA.\r\n<\/p>\r\n![](\"http:\/\/msnbcmedia4.msn.com\/j\/streams\/2013\/August\/130815\/6C8640811-130815-sinkholes.blocks_desktop_medium.jpg\")
<\/a>\r\nWithout a more thorough environmental analysis and planning of the\r\nconstruction phases, the danger exists that housing units will be\r\nconstructed in geologically unstable areas with\r\n\r\npossible consequences<\/a> for the safety of military families occupying these\r\nenvisioned homes. Although the designation of “Phase I” and “Phase\r\n\r\nII” areas may have been intended to avoid certain environmental\r\nhazards, the “Phase I” area of the EA does include poorly drained\r\nsoils and shallow wetlands which would presumably be impacted by\r\n\r\n![](\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7341\/9527187802_23f4c9bf3d_n.jpg\")
<\/a>\r\n\r\nimmediate construction. Issues of soil moisture and runoff therefore\r\nneed additional investigation as well as the extent to which these\r\nshallow wetlands are interacting with underlying aquifers occupying\r\nfissures and voids in the subsurface. In addition to issues of\r\npossible land subsidence and formation of sinkholes, the EA should\r\nstate whether potential pollutants from this residential area will\r\nbe delivered as runoff or directly piped into the Upper Floridan\r\naquifer.\r\n
![](\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/govt\/loco\/rezoning\/\/USAF-EA-Val-Del\/Moody_MHPI_Public_DEA-66_1.jpg\")
<\/a>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPlease note that our program in Environmental Geosciences has for\r\nmore than a decade used an area near the Withlacoochee, just one\r\nmile east-southeast of the Val Del parcel, to educate our students\r\non matters of sinkholes and karst topography, so we are rather\r\nfamiliar with the general area. Consequently we must emphasize the\r\nimportance of further geophysical studies with the help of such\r\ninstruments as a GPR (ground penetrating radar) to address questions\r\nthus far not answered by the EA.\r\n<\/p>\r\n![](\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7286\/9553240501_4b22287088_n.jpg\")
<\/a>\r\nRespectfully,\r\n