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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 12, 2019 - PAGE 5A
Opinions
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should
“Your actions speak so loudly, I can
not hear what you are saying.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
If Emerson was living in our neck of
the woods these days, I am confident he
would repeat those words about Geor
gia Renewable Power (GRP) plant’s
early track record in Madison County.
Maybe, just maybe, the biomass ener
gy plant can recover its reputation. But
burning sooty creosote crossties in Col
bert has decreased those odds. GRP’s
Camesville plant, in its early stages, is
getting some environmental pushback,
too.
I don’t live in Madison or Franklin
counties, but I can stand in our Ogletho
rpe County yard and see the black
smoke, hear the clanging, and smell the
creosote in the air. And at night — when
I look past the mule bam — I see more
than the customary stars twinkling in
the black-velvet sky. There is the big-
city, bright-white glow of multi-storied
GRP in Colbert. On Dec. 5, when I re
turned from the Madison County Clean
Power Coalition’s town-hall meeting in
Danielsville, I was greeted by the dan
gerous odor just described by scientific
experts.
Two Saturdays earlier, I got a more
potent sniff. After picking up supplies
from the feed store in Colbert, I drove
next door to get a closer view of GPR.
I wanted to see the much-talked-about
mountain of railroad ties. The street talk
was spot-on. There the ties were, thou
sands of them, stacked and ready to be
Guest
column
By Dink NeSmith
chipped for the fire.
It was the kind of day marked by
dreary, low-hanging clouds. At first,
I thought it was fog over the asphalt
road. As I drove through creosote-laced
smoke, my nose and throat told me oth
erwise. I coughed all the way back to the
farm. The experience left me with a bad
taste in my mouth — two ways. Creo
sote is repugnant to your taste buds. An
industry burning wood pumped full of
toxic materials ethically tastes bad, too.
If you or I made a backyard bonfire
of creosote crossties, we could expect
the long arm of the law to knock on our
doors. In GRP’s defense, it cites an En
vironmental Protection Agency (EPA)
2016 rules shift that allows industries to
operate by a different standard. If you
follow the money behind the change,
you’ll discover public-be-damned in
dustrial lobbyists behind the scenes.
As the meeting at Madison County
High School droned on, I had to leave.
But I had heard enough to make me
wonder why GRP would risk the public
uprising evidenced in the school’s caf
eteria and the recent rip tide of letters
to the editor. Again, I kept thinking:
“Follow the money. Follow the money.”
And that thought was punctuated by
what Dr. Norman Vincent Peale once
pointed out: “There’s no right way to
do a wrong thing.” So how does GRP
defend its crosstie-buming logic?
I understand why Madison and
Franklin counties would want new in
dustry and a broadened tax base. Jobs
are vital to the economic health of ev
ery community. I’m sure — in the be
ginning — that’s what drove both sets
of leaders to go pro-biomass burning.
Now, you have to wonder whether this
is a classic bait-and-switch scheme,
where one thing was ballyhooed and
another thing was delivered.
A Madison County friend said that he
was told the only emissions would be
fast-dissipating white-smoke steam. He
said, “We were hoodooed.”
I’ve read GRP’s published we-want-
to-be-a-good-corporate-citizen mes
sage in The Madison County Journal.
I’d like to believe that. I really would.
But propped on our pasture’s fence and
looking at the black smoke belching
from three miles away, I can hear the
spirit of Ralph Waldo Emerson whis
pering into my ear.
Dink NeSmith is president of Ath
ens-based Community Newspapers,
Inc. and a resident of the Smithonia
community in Oglethorpe County.
Madison County Clean Power Coalition thanks neighbors
Dear Editor: We want
to thank all of the people
who took time out of their
schedules to attend the
Madison County Clean
Power Coalition (MCCPC)
meeting about the dangers
of biomass burning power
plants.
We hope our goal of
providing you with valu
able information to better
understand the possible
health risks associated with
the Georgia Renewable
Power plant was success
ful. We also want to apol
ogize for running out of
time before we could get
to the question and answer
session. There were around
75 cards collected and each
question showed the deep
concerns you have about
GRP. We are working on
and will answer all of them.
We will make the questions
and answers available on
our Facebook page and/or
other sources.
The number of people
who came to the meet
ing, over 200, should be a
wakeup call to GRP, our
county and state officials,
and state regulatory agen
cies. Changes in the way
that GRP is operating their
plant need to be addressed.
These changes need to be
made now. not later! The
citizens of Madison Coun
ty are not going to go away.
We live here.
The number of people
concerned about the plant
will continue to grow as
more facts about the dan
gers are exposed. Every
citizen of Madison County
should be concerned about
the operations at the GRP
plant. Your neighbors close
to the plant are being sub
jected to conditions that are
unbearable. The noise, the
smells, the lights, the toxic
emissions and the worry
about water pollution have
already had a negative im
pact on the quality of their
lives. Those who live a lit
tle further away may not
have the same direct expo
sure now, but the long-term
adverse effects of this bio
mass burning plant (GPR)
operating for 25 to 30 years
will eventually negatively
impact their lives too. No
one is immune from GRP.
The fight to force GRP
to make changes will not
be easy. Our best weapon
is our voice. Please write,
call or email your county,
state and federal officials.
Let them know about your
concern. Their contact in
formation can be found on
the Madison Clean Power
Coalition Facebook page.
Demand our leaders take
the proper steps to make
sure that GRP does not
continue to have a negative
effect, now or in the future,
on the health and quality of
our lives.
Join the Madison County
Clean Power Coalition and
help make these changes a
reality. Our next work ses
sion will be on Thursday,
Dec. 19 at the Madison
County Library from 7-8
pm. What to do next and
assigning tasks to accom
plish our goals will be the
main topics at the meeting.
Come and be part of this
important effort. Your chil
dren’s children are depend
ing on you!
Sincerely,
Drago Tesanovich
dragojoe@msn.com
Disappointed in county Jenkins
leaders over GRP
cont’d from 5A
Dear Editor:
How disappointed I am
that my county commis
sioners allowed Georgia
Renewable Power (GRP)
to change the understand
ing county citizens had
about the power plant.
Having run water to the
plant which will use an
enormous amount of water,
now we run the real health
risk of toxins from creo
sote blanketing my garden
and polluting my well wa
ter and the noise from the
operations and the steam
discharge are pretty darn
loud, too.
Some of the greatest
Send us
your letters:
Have an opinion
you would like to
share with Madison
County? Send your
letters to us at zach@
mainstreetnews.com.
Please include your
first and last name,
town of residence
and a phone number
for verification pur
poses.
“quality of life” benefits
we have enjoyed living in
Madison County for 32
years have been the peace
and quiet, clean air and
fresh water, which are now
under threat.
Poor management on the
part of our “leaders” is my
impression. I hope these
guys can find their way to
representing citizen health
and wellbeing while also
building our tax base and
being good stewards of the
trust allowed them by those
of us living in our beautiful
county.
Sincerely,
JR Buffalo
would expect, down came
the cold. But in 2013-14.
it was right the opposite:
The NAO turned sharply
positive after New Years,
but the cold came anyway
and it was even more se
vere than in 1978-79. So
clearly there are other fac
tors such as western U.S.
ridging and disruptions of
the polar vortex to look for.
This is what happened in
January, 2014. But disrup
tions to the polar vortex, as
well as a negative NAO are
only predictable about two
weeks out.
So what will be our fate
this winter? Will we even
tually turn much colder or
will we continue to stay
normal to a little above?
With the Pacific water tem
peratures in such a state of
flux and the NAO in a neu
tral stage as well, it’s any
body’s guess. Take your
pick. Weather du jour. Or
maybe my answer should
be “Allez savoir pourquoi”
— only God knows.
Weather averages for
November, 2019: Avg.
low: 39. Avg. high: 61.
Lowest: 22. Highest: 75.
Mean: 50.3 (-2.4). Rain
fall: 2.87” (-1.37”). 2019
rainfall to November 30:
53.75” (+7.87”).
Mark Jenkins is Madi
son County’s cooperative
weather observer.
Lung association does
not support biomass or
creosote-treated railroad ties
Dear Editor:
The American Lung Asso
ciation does not suppon bio
mass combustion for electricity
production, a category that in
cludes wood, wood products,
agricultural residues or forest
wastes, and potentially highly
toxic feedstocks, such as con
struction and demolition waste.
Burning biomass can emit rec
ognized air pollutants, includ
ing particulate matter (PM) and
other carcinogens, which cause
premature death and endanger
respiratory health. Because of
the multiple, ongoing risks to
human health, the Lung Asso
ciation urges Georgia Renew
able Power to consider clean,
renewable options to fuel its
Madison County and Franklin
County plants instead of bio
mass.
Biomass is far from “clean”
- burning biomass creates air
pollution that causes a sweep
ing array of health harms, from
asthma attacks to cancer to
heart attacks, resulting in emer
gency room visits, hospitaliza
tions and premature deaths.
Among the most dangerous of
these emissions is particulate
matter, also known as soot.
These particles are so small
that they can enter and lodge
deep in the lungs, triggering
asthma attacks, cardiovascular
disease and even death. Partic
ulate matter can also cause lung
cancer. Railroad ties, like other
wood products, can contain
other chemicals from its years
that may be highly toxic, in
cluding particulate matter and
other carcinogens. Particulate
matter is a recognized carcino
gen, as well as a cause of pre
mature deaths.
Biomass emissions contain
fine particulate matter, sulfur
oxides, carbon monoxide,
volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), and various irritant
gases such as nitrogen oxides
that can scar the lungs. Like
cigarettes, biomass emissions
also contain chemicals that are
known or suspected to be car
cinogens, such as polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
and dioxin.
Burning railroad crossties
containing creosote (or coal tar
as it is frequently described),
as is proposed by Georgia Re
newable Power for its Madison
County and Franklin County
biomass plants, adds additional
unacceptable health risks due
to the large increase in VOCs
from the creosote coal tar re
sulting from burning of the
crossties. These compounds in
railroad crossties add to health
threats from particulate mat
ter and other toxins already
produced by biomass power
plants.
The National Institute of En
vironmental Health Sciences
(NIEHS) has determined that
coal tars are human carcino
gens. Several studies reviewed
by NIEHS show that occu
pational inhalation of coal tar
fumes results in excess cases
of lung cancer as well as can
cers of the bladder, kidney and
digestive tract. NIEHS states
that coal tars may release tox
ic gases when they are burned.
The Agency for Toxic Sub-
MadisonJournalTODAYcom
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26036NB1
COMER WATER SYSTEM
HYDRANT FLUSH
City of Comer Maintenance personnel will per
form a hydrant flush beginning the morning of
Monday, December 16, 2019 and continue until
all hydrants have been operated and flowed. It is
anticipated that the procedure will take no longer
than three (3) days. The multi-day schedule is
necessary to allow an adequate water reserve to be
maintained.
The flushing sequence to be used will minimize
problems during the flushing procedure as well as
clear the system of as much natural mineral build
up as possible. Customers should be alert to pres
sure reductions and discolored water during and
shortly after these dates.
Thank you for your understanding.
stances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) has also concluded
that coal tar creosote can cause
some cancers due to human
contact. ATSDR states that
VOCs, when released from
creosote, are rapidly absorbed
through the lungs, stomach or
intestines.
For vulnerable populations,
such as people with asthma,
chronic respiratory disease, and
those with cardiovascular dis
ease, biomass and diesel emis
sions are particularly harmful.
Even short exposures can
prove deadly. An increasing
number of studies are pointing
to the direct impact of increase
particle pollution levels and an
increase in heart attacks. The
particles produced by biomass
and diesel emissions are ex
tremely small and are unable
to be filtered out of our respi
ratory system. Instead, these
small particles end up deep in
the lungs where they remain
for months, causing structural
damage and chemical changes.
In some cases, the particle can
move through the lungs and
penetrate the bloodstream.
The potential for increases
in local particle pollution emis
sions due to the expansion of
biomass is a significant con
cern for local communities,
and especially those already
impacted by asthma and other
respiratory and cardiovascular
illnesses. The American Lung
Association supports the pro
tection of all people from the
harm of air pollution, especially
those who suffer disproportion
ate exposure from local sources
of emissions. The American
Lung Association recognizes
that major sources of air pol
lution are often located near
where many people, especially
communities of color or lower
income, live and work, which
means their exposure to pollut
ants emitted can be more im
mediate and disproportionately
harmful.
The use of energy is essen
tial to the growth and function
ing of the U.S. economy and
for the quality of life enjoyed
in the United States. Howev
er, certain energy practices,
fuel sources and technologies
place a heavy toll on human
health and the environment,
impacting the lives of millions
of people, including those who
are most vulnerable to harm. If
biomass is combusted, state-of-
the-art pollution controls must
be required.
The mission of the Ameri
can Lung Association is to save
lives by preventing lung dis
ease and improving lung health
through research, education
and advocacy. For 115 years,
the American Lung Associa
tion has led the fight for healthy
lungs and healthy air. Thank
you for the opportunity to offer
comment.
Sincerely,
JuneDeen
Senior Director, Advocacy
American Lung Association
Headmaster’s
Corner
by
Steve Cummings
CHRISTMAS FOR THE
FAMILY AT ACS - This Thurs
day, December 12, we will pres
ent our annual Christmas for the
Family program at Athens Chris
tian. The program will begin at
7:00 p.m. in the ACS Drama
Center.
We will celebrate the Christ
mas season in word and song,
while being entertained by our
Middle School and High School
Bands and our Middle School
and High School Choirs. As we
listen to some of our favorite
Christmas songs and passages
from Scripture, we will be re
minded that the gift of the Messi
ah was the GREATEST gift ever
given to mankind.
The program is free and open to
the public. We hope you will come
and celebrate with us on the 12th.
ATHENS
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970”
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristianschool.org