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Projects

2011-2013 NGC President's Project: PROTECTING AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

BECOME INFORMED:
HELP SAVE LOWER ALABAMA AND OUR GULF WATERS FROM
OTHER STATES' GARBAGE
 
WHY CONECUH COUNTY ALABAMA?

In 2006 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation establishing a new solid waste management plan, which will use barges and trains to export 90% of the city’s 12,000 daily tons of residential trash. In doing so, he created a tremendous opportunity for landfill and waste disposal interests. The only requirement was being able to receive the trash. If a landfill had a railhead so much the better.  If it was in short commuting distance from a port to receive barge traffic that would be good too. 

Solution: Export solid waste by rail and barge to remote locations. Here are some excerpts of the plan:

Conecuh Woods in Conecuh County  is:
-      Close to a railhead in Range, Alabama
-      It is only 72 miles from the Port of Pensacola and 79 miles from the Port of Mobile.

March 19, 2007
Proposed Supersized Landfill in Rural Conecuh County, Alabama

Landfill developers search out rural counties where there is little established law or regulation to block them. The developers in the Conecuh County planned landfill have options on 5000 acres of property near the "Fob James" landfill. The land is owned by a large company involved in the insurance industry.  If a 1500 acre landfill were to be constructed out of this acreage it would be one of the largest in the United States.  It will be a “disposal cell” from Range to Repton, AL, to near the Big Escambia Creek.   Big Escambia Creek flows southward into Escambia County, Alabama, Flomaton and drains through a North Escambia swamp into the Escambia River and then into Escambia and Pensacola bays.  According to the Escambia County (Fla.) resolution, the county opposes the landfill because it poses a threat to Escambia River, Escambia Bay and Pensacola Bay, as well as the drinking water supply in the county.

The principals in "Conecuh Woods," the landfill development company, are Donald W. "Jimmy" Stone and David W. Kirby are both from the Tampa Bay area.  Kirby is also a regional manager for the Tenax Corporation which has a plant in Evergreen, Alabama.  Kirby is listed as a "landfill consultant." Tenax, among other things, manufactures liners for landfills. Their main office is in Baltimore, Maryland and their president's name is Giovanni Capra. . Further checking reveals that the Chairman of the board of Tenax is Cesare Beretta who is also president and CEO of Advanced Geotech Systems which among other things does landfill design.

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June 16, 2011

Escambia County (Fla.) is set to join a lawsuit aimed at blocking the proposed Conecuh Woods landfill.

The Escambia County Commission approved a resolution Thursday night to participate in the lawsuit that was initiated by the Town of Repton, Ala., and Repton Mayor Terri Carter.In late April, attorneys filed the suit in Conecuh County Circuit Court on behalf of Repton (pop. 280) and Carter seeking an injunction to block the 5,100 acre Conecuh Woods landfill. The landfill was approved 3-2 by the Conecuh County Commission just a week before the lawsuit was filed contending that the application violated applicable law and the public did not have ample opportunity to comment on the proposal.

Depositions of the Conecuh County Commission were scheduled for the end of June. The Town of Repton, Carter, and their attorneys Balch and Bingham requested participation from Escambia County, Fla. along with several other local governments including the cities of Brewton, Grove Hill, Atmore, Flomaton and Orange Beach in Alabama; the counties of Monroe and Escambia in Alabama and the Town of Century in Florida to oppose the landfill. Escambia County, Ala., and Atmore voted to join the lawsuit earlier this week.

October 27, 2011

An Alabama judge has ruled that a lawsuit can proceed against the developers behind the 5,100 acre Conecuh Woods Landfill near Repton, Alabama.

 
What Can the National Garden Club and Garden Club of Alabama do to Help?  

The Concerned Citizens for a Clean Southwest Alabama  need your help to keep New York City's garbage out of the Gulf Coast of Alabama.  Their website is:  http://www.nodumpconecuhcounty.com/index.html

They can use help with
1.  Contacts to ADEM to help influence the new guidelines for landfill siting called for by both the legislature and the governor.
2.  Contacts to legislature to  help Allen Baker pass new laws to protect against Conech Woods type developments
3.  Contacts to Governor to help us get representatives on Committees to help with environmental issues.
4.  Individuals financially supporting CCSA; our legal fight is not cheap. 
5.  Protect Aquatic Ecosystems Award Application

May 10, 2012

With assistance of Garden Club of Alabama members, Rep. Alan Baker was able to get HB 556  - the Landfill Moratorium Extension Bill - on the schedule and passed on the last day of the regular Alabama Legislative Session.  The Moratorium will now expire in 2014.
 
To find contact information for your Alabama representative and senator, please go to:

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/representatives/houseroster_alpha.html

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/senate/senators/senateroster_alpha.html

August 2012

Representative Alan Baker credits the Garden Club of Alabama with getting the bill to extend the moratorium on new landfills brought before the Senate and for the bill being passed.  Our emails and telephone calls made the difference when we stood together with the Citizens for a Clean Southwest Alabama.
 
Solid Waste Public Hearings are being held around the State by Auburn University.  Auburn  was selected to do a study and make recommendations concerning the solid waste recommendations for the State of Alabama.  This is in response to the moratorium that was extended recently.

We need representation from The Garden club of Alabama  at all these public hearings. This is our opportunity to make our concerns heard and to impact our environment and that of our children and grandchildren.
 
Public meetings seek input on potential improvements to solid waste management from across the state in an ongoing series of meetings throughout the remainder of 2012. Maps, flow charts, and other visuals presented at our public meetings are available on Auburn University's Samuel Ginn College of Civil Engineering's website under the "Other Resources" section for reference prior or after these meetings. 
http://www.eng.auburn.edu/programs/civil/research/asws/resources.html
 
In an effort to solicit as much public feedback as possible, the research team at Auburn University will accept online comments during a two-week period following each public meeting. All comments will remain anonymous and be used solely for the purpose of improvements to the solid waste management programs in Alabama.

Public Meeting #4 - Friday, August 31, 2012
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Gulf Coast Research & Extension Center Auditorium
8300 State Highway 104
Fairhope, Alabama
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Public Meeting #5  - Wednesday, September 5, 2012
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Pike County Cattlemen's Association
4200 U.S. 231 South
Troy, Alabama
____________________________________________
Public Meeting #6 - Thursday, September 6, 2012
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Alabama A&M University, Auxillary Services
Huntsville, Alabama
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Public Meeting #7 -Wednesday, September 19, 2012
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
City of Uniontown, 100 Front St.
Uniontown, Alabama