Call or Email Useless Governor Scott: Tell Him to Veto SB 682. By Geniusofdespair

 They are spreading this coal ash shit everywhere...let's help Clean Water Action stop it! I don't want to be breathing in dust laced with heavy metals and toxins, I posted on this problem before...Geniusofdespair

Clean Water Action's Angelique Giraud with Governor Rick Scott at Everglades Coalition Meeting.

Florida’s public health and water resources are in jeopardy. Clean Water Action is calling on Governor Rick Scott to veto dangerous legislation that could expose our communities to toxic coal ash, the waste from coal-fired power plants. Here is a link to tell Governor Scott to be a leader and protect public health and our water supply and veto SB 682 NOW! You can also call him at (850) 488-7146.

The Florida Legislature passed a bill that puts our communities at heightened risk of exposure to toxic coal ash. Governor Scott should veto SB 682 to protect the health of our communities, our water supply, and our environment.

Coal ash is the waste byproduct generated by coal-fired power plants. Emission controls are used to capture and trap heavy metals, radioactive particles, and other toxic compounds to keep them out of the air we breathe. Coal ash is the toxic remainder collected by these devices and contains toxic substances that are known to cause cancer and neurologic damage.

SB 682 threatens Florida's public health and water resources!

• SB 682 defines several ways to reuse toxic coal ash as filler in products like road pavement, agricultural soil, and roofing materials, significantly increasing human and environmental exposure. These uses have not yet been tested for safety with federally approved protocols.
• SB 682 allows coal ash to be used without any reporting to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) so the public won't know when, where, or how much coal ash is being used.
• SB 682 does not require modern testing for the safety of coal ash on human health or the environment.

Thank you, Angelique Giraud - Clean Water Action - Energy Community Organizer

Clean Water Action Booth at Miami River Day. By Geniusofdespair

At the Clean Water Action booth yesterday, Cara Capp made the kids earn their stars big time.  The kids were asked to match the amount of water used to a numbers of questions. I thought I would test you the readers.  We are talking about 1/4 acre lawn, an older toilet and an average sized washing machine. You can check your answers by hitting "read more."

Put the numbers on the right in order, with the questions on the left. Once you are finished hit 'read more' to see the answers.  I got a 'C'.

Environmentalists: The Young Ones...By Geniusofdespair

Kahlil Kettering, Stephanie Cornejo Cara Capp and Angelique Giraud

Environmentalists who work for environmental groups are called NGO's or...I don't actually know what that means, let me look it up.  Okay, I am back, Non-Government-Organizations. They go to the endless government meetings that you and I avoid. There are more of these young Environmentalists but I don't have pictures of them. They dutifully learn all the Army Corps acronyms and they use them. They all know where the C111 canal is. I have been an Environmentalist on Everglades issues for about 12 years and I have no clue where the C111 canal is. I guess if I needed to know I would look it up...like NGO.

These kids are the best hope we have to stop the destruction of the environment in Florida. Some of the rest of us are getting old and tired (getting old sucks don't let anyone tell you otherwise) and cannot stomach meetings anymore. Do any of you know what agony it is to sit through an 8 hour County Commission meeting? Unless you have done it, you have no idea how torturous it is.  Speaking of meetings, I just thought of this excellent conference I went to about 6 or 7 years ago on smart growth.  The only County Commissioner I saw there was Dennis Moss. All the County Commissioners should have been there -- glued to the seats.

Here is a bit about those pictured: Kahlil Kettering, LEED AP is the Biscayne Restoration Program Analyst for National Parks Conservation Association. Stephanie Cornejo works for Tropical Audubon Society as Outreach and Education Coordinator. Cara Capp is the South Florida Community Organizer for Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund. Angelique Giraud works as the Energy Community Organizer at Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund. The girls are so sweet and smiley, you have to love them, but when they talk to you they really know their stuff. I am always impressed with these kids. Kahlil, he is all guy, serious, deep voice, turning heads with his rugged good looks. I once traveled for a couple of hours to a meeting with him and a female NGO. Don't think he said more than 2 words to me.

One of my favorites of the young ones is Sara Fain.  I watched her come up through the ranks, she started as an intern for Audubon. Now she works as an environmental lawyer for the Everglades Law Center.  She is so smart it is a joy to talk to her. She graduated from Miami Law School, Order of the Coif, Magna cum Laude, in 2005. She could work anywhere but she wants to make a difference, and she is.

Angelique wrote the post below. How can you say no to a guest post for these kids?

The Tip of the Coal Ash Iceberg in Florida. Guest Blog by Angelique Giraud

A heart-wrenching story of one environmental injustice...

Steve Johnson and His Daughter Stand on Coal Ash Covered Driveway

Steve Johnson and his family live on 30 beautiful acres of Florida’s Blackwater Creek, in Middleburg, a preserved wetland in northeast Florida connected to the St. John’s River. It is a quiet rural residential area and appears to be perfect for raising his family and new born daughter while running his lawn care business. Steve’s property is well maintained, he takes pride in the natural aesthetics of his land. For many years, Steve even kept free range chickens for the family’s fresh eggs. However, his picture perfect lifestyle is not as it seems. Steve has been fighting for three years to have the toxic containing coal ash, a byproduct from a coal fired power plant, removed from his land.

Steve’s story is not unique. Steve was provided with approximately 1500 dump trucks each with 20 yard loads of a coal ash, commercially called EZBase, to build up his roads. The coal ash was taken from the Northside Generating Station, owned by Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), which is over 40 miles from his home. JEA did not advise Steve that using the product might cause dangerous repercussions, so he applied it thoroughly across his property. Soon after, the horrors began. Steve was visited by an enforcement officer from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The officer was investigating the application and placement of EZBase. FDEP instructed Steve to remove the product as it was too close to wetlands and water bodies, risking toxic contamination. Steve was also told that the material he applied on the roads should not be inhaled or ingested, and was warned that he should pen up his chickens and keep his daughter away from playing on the newly paved roads.

Pile of Coal Ash EZBase - Some is Gravel, Some Boulders -Steve Had to Break up Boulders Himself

According to JEA’s own marketing materials, EZBase is an electric generation byproduct made of coal combustion waste or coal ash. The federal government does not consider coal ash hazardous waste, but allows states to individually determine how to regulate its use. The FDEP classifies coal ash as a non-hazardous “special waste.” This designation leaves little public health protection, even though the product contains toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, mercury, and many others.

Alarmed and frustrated about being misled, Steve hired a lawyer to sue JEA to force them to remove EZBase from his entire property. JEA refused to remove EZBase completely, claiming Steve improperly applied the product, placing it too close to protected wetlands and other sources of open water.

Steve was taken aback at this accusation, as he had specifically discussed appropriate application sites with a JEA representative before EZBase was unloaded on to his property.

The Rock Mining Law Suit. By Geniusofdespair

Please note correction: JAVIER SOUTO WAS A "NO" VOTE. Rebeca Sosa joined the bad group with a YES.

Yesterday the Miami Herald featured a fine article by Andres Viglucci on a lawsuit brought by neighbors and environmental groups against the county for approving a rock mining application in October for Shoma Homes' owner - bigwig campaign contributor Masoud Shojaee. He bought the land to develop it for sprawl housing. When the market dropped so did his dreams for another Shoma giant development. He decided to rock mine the land to get some money out of it and cut his losses so he apparently made a product purchase and sale agreement and lease for the land to Rinker (Now the Mexican company Cemex) for rock mining.

County Commission Final Vote on the Shojaee application for Santa Fe Haciendas land:
Barreiro, Bell, Bovo, Diaz, Edmonson, Heyman, Jordan, Martinez, Monestime, Sosa were all: YES to approve the stupid plan to give Cemex a special use permit.

Lakebelt Moss is referring to.

Commissioners Moss, Sosa Souto and Suarez voted NO.

Moss said about the application: that approving it could allow the mining industry to get out of control. He was concerned that “we could have another lake belt potentially in southwest Miami-Dade County.” He has a brain at least.

The lakebelt is just a bunch of holes dug to extract limestone rock for enormous profit. The land left in the lakebelt is now good for little else except providing a vehicle for bacteria and dangerous amoebas to enter the shallow aquifer and infect our drinking water.

The Herald said:

The suit, filed by attorney Robert Hartsell, contends that in doing so the commission violated the county’s own comprehensive development plan, which has set aside that land exclusively for agriculture or compatible uses. According to the suit, that means the county has violated state law, which requires localities to abide by their comprehensive plans.

Environmental Groups party to the suit are: Tropical Audubon, 1000 Friends of Florida and Clean Water Action. Charles Pattison, President and CEO of 1000 Friends of Florida, notes that “the comprehensive plan is very specific as to where it does and does not allow new mines. This approval is clearly inconsistent with the provisions of the Miami-Dade Comprehensive Master Development Plan.”

Governor Scott & His DEP: Snap Out Of It! Guest Blog By Kathy Aterno

FAST TRACKING NEW ESTUARY AND COASTAL WATER STANDARDS WON’T HELP OUR COASTAL ECONOMY

Politically derived agendas could destroy Florida’s future economy. In the past month, we have seen the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) get approval from the Feds to create a new class of water quality protections with lower standards than any that have existed before. At the same time, DEP has been rolling out its sorely insufficient proposed standards to regulate how much pollution from toxics like nitrogen and phosphorous is legally allowed to be dumped into our fresh and flowing waters. The agency has barely finished wrecking havoc on our lakes, rivers, streams and canals, and now they want to fast-track another set of deficient standards for our estuaries and coastal waters. DEP plans to release its draft criteria, host only ONE public workshop, allow just two weeks for public comment, and have the criteria finalized all in only three months!

This process will directly impact the health of critical water bodies like Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay and the Keys. Wake up, Miami -- you should be worried!

Why are Governor Scott and DEP rushing through the rulemaking process and cutting out the public? Is it so certain private sectors of our economy will benefit at a cost to us taxpayers? Our coastal communities and tourism-based industries rely on clean and safe water. Residents and business owners with first-hand experience dealing with polluted waters should be engaged to ensure the final product is as strong as possible.

DEP will host ONLY ONE public meeting to take comments on this highly scientific and complicated issue. The meeting will be held on October 4th at Rookery Bay Research Reserve in Naples. As the draft criteria was publically released only five days prior to the public hearing, there is not ample time to weed through all of the documents and find scientists who can give their professional opinion as to the impacts this rulemaking will have on our estuarine and coastal waters. Based on DEP’s current trend and our initial read of the draft documents, we know the proposed criteria will undermine our existing efforts to prevent pollution and restore safe water quality of Biscayne Bay, the Keys, and other important coastal waters.

DEP is moving like the speed of light. The agency released its draft criteria on September 28th, set one meeting to be held on October 4th, and will accept public comment only through October 18th. Why don’t they have additional meetings in Miami- Dade? The Keys? Tampa Bay? It’s outrageous to know that such a serious decision, and one so incredibly important to the future of Florida’s tourism-based economy, beautiful beaches, and natural areas is moving on a bullet train.

I’m not a big gambler, but it’s a sure bet that we’ll have even more polluted water if DEP’s fast-track criteria are adopted during next year’s legislative session -- and that it will cost our local economy, threaten public health, and jeopardize all of the investments we have made to restore our water supply and beautiful native ecosystems. You don’t have to be a politician or a rocket scientist to know that preventing pollution is much cheaper than cleaning it up.

Come on Miami residents -- let’s take back our POWER. Be heard, be aware, and be involved. Please join Clean Water Action’s citizen POWER campaign (Protect Our Water, Economy and Rights) and help bring power back to the people. Stay informed and get involved with decisions that affect your quality of life and pocketbook. Visit Clean Water Action or email power@cleanwater.org today to sign up or learn more.

Eugene Flinn Gets an Important Environmental Endorsement. By Geniuofdespair

Clean Water Action, a non-profit grassroots environmental organization, announced their endorsement of Eugene Flinn in District 8 for the Miami-Dade County Commission.

“It will be hard to fill the void that will be left when Commissioner Sorensen ends her tenure on the County Commission but we feel that Eugene Flinn will do the best job in protecting out water supply, our land, and our environment" said Kathleen Aterno, National Managing Director of Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund. I was also told Flinn got the Sierra Club endorsement. This poor little publication doesn't get many press-releases, we have to wait for you guys to tell us, so I can't confirm Sierra Club yet.

Pictured: The Greenest Mayors in Miami Dade County... Paul Vrooman - Cutler Bay, Cindy Lerner - Pinecrest, Eugene Finn - Palmetto Bay and Philip Stoddard - South Miami.

Rockmining and Drinking Water Safety. By Geniusofdespair

Palm Beach, Miami... doesn't matter same bad issue.
Don't see video: Try this link.

Trying to Move the UDB Line: Ferro Property. By Geniusofdespair

Once again, someone wants to move the Urban Development Boundary line, this time it is for retail space. The only trouble is, there is already a lot of retail space in the area available (see all the pushpins in the map above created by Clean Water Action). For instance, the red pushpin is in the Hammocks, a retail complex with a Publix as an anchor store. There is already property in the Hammocks available for many usages, says the crack tag team at Tropical Audubon Society and Clean Water Action, and the Hammocks is only a little over a mile away. Of course, this is not the only reason NOT to be moving the line.

The hearing at the Planning Advisory Board is at the Stephen Clark Gov’t Center on Monday, 3/22 at 9:30a.m. The address is 111 NW 1st Street, Suite 200, Miami. If you can't go, contact Planning Advisory Board Members at mclf@miamidade.gov. Here is a list of the members of the board: