Ichetucknee River In The Media
From The Gainesville Sun
May 25 2002
by Sun Staff Writer, Ron Matus:
A State Agency Maintains that Suwannee American Cement has not Obeyed the Terms of a 1999 Settlement: State environmental officials and the company building a cement plant near the Ichetucknee River are clashing again, this time over air pollution monitoring data the company agreed it would have before the plant could open. In an unusually blunt letter to the company Friday, the Department of Environmental Protection said without the data, company plans to operate the controversial plant are "in serious jeopardy."
Officials with Suwannee American Cement fear the latest dispute with DEP may delay the plant's opening as long as two years, with millions of dollars in lost sales. "You're talking about a $100 million investment here," said company spokesman Jim McClellan. At issue is a 1999 settlement agreement between Suwannee American and DEP. The agency agreed to give the plant a permit--and reverse a decision to deny the permit five months earlier--in return for a list of concessions, including a company promise to provide more than two years" worth of background air pollution data before the plant starts burning coal to make cement. The data would allow the state to compare pollution levels before and after the plant begins to operate.
Suwannee American says it hasn't been able to provide the data because two sophisticated pollution monitors it bought from an Atlanta company in 2000 turned out to be, in the words of Suwannee's consultant, "lemons." "If we knew we were going to have the continuous problems...we would have gotten some other monitors," said John Koogler with Gainesville-based Koogler & Associates. Koogler said he finally "got the bugs worked out" in March, which would give the company nine months' worth of data before the plant's anticipated opening early next year.
The company promised 27 months worth of data in the settlement. In March, DEP fined Suwannee American $15,000 for not having the monitors up and running as promised. On Friday, it issued an ominous warning. "Because this data collection requirement is intended to provide important baseline air quality information before the plant becomes operational, your ability to bring the plant on line is in serious jeopardy," wrote DEP Deputy Secretary Allan Bedwell to plant manager Robert Sagmeister. "While additional legal notices regarding this issue are forthcoming, do not make plans or have any expectations to test or operate the plant in question until this issue is resolved."
The letter's tone rattled company officials. "This didn't just come out of left field," McClellan said. "This came out of the cheap seats." Koogler called it "a Friday afternoon shocker." McClellan said the company was trying to arrange a meeting with DEP as soon as possible to "find some reasonable solution." "The question that needs to be asked is: Are we holding up this business and these jobs for legitimate scientific reasons," he said, "or is this an arbitrary time period?" DEP Secretary David Struhs could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. Other DEP officials who were reached said they could not comment or were not familiar with Bedwell's letter.
The flare-up is the latest round in a 3 and one half year battle between DEP and Suwannee American, an affiliate of Lake City road builder Anderson Columbia Inc. In June 1999, DEP stunned environmentalists by denying a permit, saying the company could not provide "reasonable assurance" it would operate the plant safely because of Anderson Columbia's long list of environmental violations. It was the first time DEP had denied a permit on those grounds. But the settlement agreement was announced five months later. Now the plant is under construction off U.S. 27 in Suwannee County, 3 miles west of the Ichetucknee River and 40 miles north of Gainesville. It will burn 100,000 tons of coal and used tires each year and employ 80 people.
The monitors required in the settlement measure particulates, dust-like pollutants that can cause lung problems if inhaled. Koogler said the monitors collected data while they were on the fritz, just not as much as DEP requires. There is still enough information for the agency to know what typical background levels are for particulates in that area, he said. Getting data over a longer period of time will allow DEP to see the ups and downs in pollution levels during different seasons, when winds, rain and other weather conditions come into play.
The latest development surprised both critics and supporters. But Tallahassee activist Linda Young, a leading opponent of the plant, remained skeptical about DEP's intentions. "Don't believe it for a second," she said about the agency's new attitude. If DEP intended to enforce the settlement agreement, it would have jumped on the company just a few months after it was signed, when Anderson Columbia was being cited for environmental violations on a road project in the Panhandle. The dispute in that case remains unresolved and likely to head to court. The Friday letter is "posturing and bluffing and boob-dazzling the public," she said. "When the rubber hits the road, they're going to cave to political pressure."
At least one Suwannee County commissioner who strongly supported the plant gave DEP a thumbs up. "I'd have a problem if DEP allowed a company to open without meeting the agreement," said Commissioner Doug Udell. As for the jobs, "You can't miss what you don't have," he said.
From First Coast News: Good Morning Jacksonville
7/18/2006 by Phil Amato
Link to story
FORT WHITE, FL -- Ichetucknee State Park is one of the top five most visited state parks in Florida. It has a natural resource that attracts more than 100,000 people a year. That resource is a river that you can float down on a tube.
Big and small kids alike love tubing the Ichetucknee. If you don't have your own tube you can rent one right outside the park for $5. Rafts are $10.
Craig Harper from Lowes Tubeland will tie them on the roof of your car then off you go. After paying a $5 per person admission to the park a tram will take you and your tube up the river to start your journey.
Rose Preston from St. Augustine has wanted to float the river for 20 years, today is her day. "Finally, after all these years I'm here, I'm so excited," said Preston.
The Ichetucknee stays at a constant 72 degrees year round. The water is clear and cool and slowly flows at around 3 mph. Watch for turtles, great blue herons and wild turkeys while floating the river. Park officials say there are no alligators but some snakes make the Ichetucknee home, however, none are poisonous.
It will take about 90-minutes to float down half the river. Three hours for the entire stretch. Best of all, you can do it over and over again until the park closes. Now that's getting your money's worth!
Rose Preston says her first time won't be her last, "I should have done it earlier. It was wonderful. Everybody should do this."
There's no age limit to float the Ichetucknee but if you don't know how to swim you should wear a life jacket. The river is 12 feet deep in some areas. Also, make sure to get to the park early especially on summer weekends. The park service limits the number of tubers on the river.
What's nice about renting the tubes is that after you are done floating just leave your tube in the assigned area. The tubing company will come by and pick it up for free. The Ichetucknee is one of Florida's premier natural wonders. It's a river that is just waiting for anyone to experience adventure.
The park is located near Fort White which is right off Interstate 75. The 100 mile trip will take you about an hour and 45 minutes from Jacksonville.
