Since launching its campaign against a pipeline that would reroute much of a Palatka paper mill’s effluent into the St. Johns River, the St. Johns Riverkeeper has continued to maintain a drumbeat around the issue. On June 10, representatives of the nonprofit met with Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard and state Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. #
Vinyard offered to continue the dialogue about potential alternatives to the pipeline for a limited period of time, but the St. Johns Riverkeeper still believes that critical questions concerning the sources of Georgia-Pacific’s pollution must be answered before a specific solution — in this case, the pipeline — can be identified. #
Because the waste from Georgia-Pacific’s Palatka mill isn’t meeting color and conductivity standards, an administrative law judge issued an order requiring the construction of the pipeline in 2002. During dry periods, around 95 percent of the water in Rice Creek is comprised of the mill’s effluent, which has been pumped into the creek since 1947. The rationale is that a pipeline (which will cost somewhere around $40 million to construct) will reroute, and dilute, the pollution. #
The Riverkeeper has long been opposed to the pipeline and argues that a more effective measure would be to find the root of the problem — look at where the effluent originates, within the mill itself — rather than solve it retroactively, by diluting the pollution in a larger body of water. #
In January, the Riverkeeper officially launched its grassroots effort to halt the pipeline, with a website that included a petition addressed to Gov. Rick Scott, asking him to require further toxicity testing of Georgia-Pacific wastewater and to require Georgia-Pacific to find an acceptable alternative that will protect the health of St. Johns. The Riverkeeper’s Neil Armingeon said he never received a response from Scott’s office. #
Though Scott has yet to respond to the Riverkeeper’s inquiries about the pipeline, nor the hundreds of petitions submitted by Florida citizens, he has retained ties with the anti-regulation billionaire Koch brothers, whose company, Koch Industries, owns Georgia-Pacific. Scott recently attended a retreat hosted by the Kochs near Vail, Colo. ”It was very interesting,” Scott told the St. Petersburg Times. “They wanted basically to know what am I doing in Florida.” #
On June 17, the Riverkeeper submitted a list of its specific questions to Vinyard’s office that, according to Executive Director Jimmy Orth, must be addressed before an analysis of potential alternatives to the pipeline can take place. #
Orth says the questions were based on two evaluations of a Brown & Caldwell study that was in part used to justify the pipeline. The Riverkeeper contracted Dr. Bob Hayes to do a peer review of the Brown & Caldwell study. The Department of Environmental Protection hired Dr. Lucinda Sonnenberg to provide technical assistance and to review the Brown & Caldwell study. #
“While Lucy and Bob don’t agree on everything, they both independently came to the same conclusion,” says Orth. “They both concur that more information is needed to thoroughly understand and pinpoint the sources of G.P.’s pollution problems and to sufficiently identify and evaluate all of the alternatives to the pipeline that may exist.” #
Hayes recommended a comprehensive chemical engineering study of the mill and its entire waste stream. Both Hayes and the Riverkeeper agree that retroactively moving the waste won’t do as much good as cleaning up the waste at the source. #
“Hayes has over 50 years of experience in the pulp and paper industry, and has identified and worked on numerous mills that have solved their wastewater pollution problems with a variety of alternative strategies,” says Orth. “So we know there are alternatives that have worked and could work for G.P., but until the ‘MRI’ is done, it is almost impossible to select the best option for G.P.” #
Hayes also says that “there is good reason to believe” that dredging and closing a treatment pond might solve a lot of the problems. “Apparently, much of the bad stuff (dioxin, aluminum) is probably in this pond,” says Orth. #
On Friday, Orth met with Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary Jeff Littlejohn and Director of Water Resource Management Mark Thomasson to discuss his concerns. Orth says that Secretary Vinyard promised to have “a fresh set of eyes take a look at this issue to see if anything has been overlooked.” #
“We clearly don’t agree on everything, but Littlejohn did assure us that they are still looking at this issue and have not made a decision yet to issue the permit,” says Orth, adding that he was told to expect a response to his questions sometime next week. #
“The bottom line is that we believe that more analysis is necessary,” says Orth. “You have to thoroughly understand the problem you are trying to solve before you can effectively identify a solution, including a pipeline.” #
Read the Riverkeeper’s full letter to the Department of Environmental Protection: #
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