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Summer 2008 News & Issues
Public comment now being accepted on NBAF Environmental Impact Study
NBAF Draft EIS Public Meeting
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Afternoon Session: 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Evening Session: 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education
1197 South Lumpkin Street
Athens, GA 30602
Parking voucher provided for the South Campus Parking Deck
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) invites the public to provide oral and/or written comments on the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Draft Environmental Impact Statement (NBAF Draft EIS). The afternoon and evening sessions are identical in format. A one-hour open house to register to provide oral comments, view information materials, and speak informally with subject matter experts will be followed by a presentation on the NBAF Draft EIS. Comments will then be heard and recorded by a court reporter.
MEETING AGENDA
Afternoon Session
12:30 p.m. Open House
1:30 p.m. Presentation
2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Formal Comment Period
Evening Session
6:00 p.m. Open House
7:00 p.m. Presentation
8:00 p.m. – 10 p.m. Formal Comment Period
NOTE: Times are approximate and are subject to change based on meeting attendance.
For further information, download the NBAF Draft EIS, or request a copy visit the NBAF Web page at http://www.dhs.gov/nbaf
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the availability of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Draft Environmental Impact Statement (NBAF Draft EIS) in the Federal Register on June 27, 2008. This document and its executive summary are available online on the NBAF Web page (http://www.dhs.gov/nbaf/) and in public reading rooms at the following locations:
GEORGIA
University of Georgia Main Library
320 South Jackson Street
Athens, GA 30602
Oconee County Library
1080 Experiment Station Road
P.O. Box 837
Watkinsville, GA 30677
The NBAF Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of taking no action, as well as, siting, constructing, and operating the proposed NBAF at the six site alternatives: 1) South Milledge Avenue Site, Athens, Georgia; 2) Manhattan Campus Site, Manhattan, Kansas; 3) Flora Industrial Park Site, Flora, Mississippi; 4) Plum Island Site, Plum Island, New York; 5) Umstead Research Farm Site, Butner, North Carolina; and 6) Texas Research Park Site; San Antonio, Texas.
During the 60-day comment period (June 27 – August 25, 2008) on the NBAF Draft EIS, the Department will hold public meetings to present the results of the environmental impact analyses and give members of the public the opportunity to provide comment. The meetings will be held in the vicinity of the proposed NBAF site alternatives and in Washington, D.C.
Comments may be submitted orally or in writing at the meetings or by using one of the following mechanisms:
U.S. MAIL
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
James V. Johnson
Mail Stop #2100
245 Murray Lane, SW, Building 410
Washington, DC 20528
TOLL-FREE FAX
1-866-508-NBAF (6223)
TOLL-FREE VOICE MAIL
1-866-501-NBAF (6223)
ONLINE: http://www.dhs.gov/nbaf (click on Public Involvement)
All comments (oral and written), received between June 27 and August 25, 2008, will be given equal consideration and addressed in the final NBAF EIS.
One coal-fired power plant halted; another in the works!
On June 30, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore issued a ruling that effectively halts construction of a coal-fired power plant in Early County. Judge Moore ruled that an administrative law judge had erred in upholding EPD's issuance of a permit to Dynegy for the plant because, among other things, the permit failed to regulate CO2 emissions. According to our colleagues at the Sierra Club, Friends of the Chattahoochee, and Green Law, who brought the suit to overturn the permit, "The Judge held that EPD must limit the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
from the plant, a decision that will have far-reaching implications nationwide;
this is the first time since the April 2, 2007, Supreme Court decision requiring
the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate CO2 that a court has applied
that standard to CO2 from an industrial source rather than from motor
vehicles." More details about this significant decision - which will be appealed by Dynegy - are available at GreenLaw's web site.
Meanwhile, another proposed coal plant to be located in Washington County is still in the works. From our colleagues at the Sierra Club:
Just recently, Power4Georgians, a coalition of ten Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), including Jackson EMC, have proposed to build an 850-megawatt dirty coal-fired power plant on a 1,200-acre site in Washington County.
If built, the Washington County plant would have a hazardous impact on Georgia’s water and air quality. To obtain water for the plant, the EMCs are proposing to build a 30-mile pipeline to the Oconee River. In addition, they plan to dig 16 wells throughout Washington County to draw from groundwater during periods of drought. The proposed plant will also emit smog-forming nitrogen oxides, mercury, soot-forming sulfur dioxide, and global warming pollutants such as carbon dioxide for generations to come.
The good news is that there are clean energy alternatives such as energy efficiency, wind, solar and biomass that Georgia utilities could be investing in instead of new coal and nuclear power plants. IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF AN ELECTRICITY CO-OP, YOU HAVE A VOICE IN HOW YOUR POWER IS GENERATED.
Sierra Club is working with EMC members to fight this proposal. If you are a member of Jackson EMC, or want to get involved, contact Seandra Rawls at seandra.rawls@sierraclub.org.
Green Happy Hour every 3rd Friday
Join environentally-minded friends and colleagues for an informal gathering to network and discuss local environmental issues. We meet on the 3rd Friday of every month at 5:30 pm, downtown at a location to be annnounced.
Get Involved!
Join us! Grow Green members are working on a variety of land use issues: the local elections, TDRs, affordable housing, and greenspace protection, to name a few. You can download a membership form and mail it and a check for annual dues to:
Thank you!
Check out "Thinking About Getting Involved In Government And Community Issues?" by John Huie. If you haven't already joined our listserve, please sign up!
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