I SUWANNEE DEMOCRAT/LIVE OAK
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015
Public Continued From Page 1A topics related to Sabal Trail. “I want to raise with y’all some serious concerns,” said Graffenreid. “It has serious impacts on the health of the residents here.” She highlighted some of those concerns, such as some of the sensitive geological features in Florida. Sabal Trail also hasn’t provided any evidence for its assurances regarding the pipeline’s environmental impact, she said. Some of the studies it submitted were as old as 1986, she added. “Why is it this county is being deemed a sacrifice zone for this pipeline and this compressor station without any real analysis?” Graffenreid asked. The compressor stations, such as the one in O’Brien, for instance, could damage a vulnerable geological layer with its constant vibrations, she said. When the commissioners asked if they had the power to do anything, there was a discussion about the possibility of using county zoning laws to move the station. “You have total jurisdiction,” Graffenreid told Bashaw after he asked what actions the county could take other than sending the letter. “You do have control over zoning.” She also recommended the public demand more in-
City Continued From Page 1A be here.” Valenstein, who was chosen as the new director in September, is a former lobbyist for environmental groups and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He also worked as an environmental policy advisor to Gov. Rick Scott. After introducing himself and inviting questions, City Council President Keith Mixon wanted to talk with Velenstein about wa-
Shands Continued From Page 1A degrees in Health Administration and Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Central Florida. Evans has been active in the communities where he has lived, including serving as firefighter paramedic and flight paramedic for 10 years. A native of Lynn Haven, Florida, he looks forward to moving back to his home state with his family.
ASK DR. MANTOOTH PRIMER ON BRACES Q: Do braces have a function beyond a cosmetic one? A: The main function of braces is the straighten teeth. One of the results, of course is an orderly smile. But there are other reasons for braces as well. For one thing, crooked, out-of-line teeth are harder to keep clean and that can lead to gun disease, tooth decay and, if left unattended, tooth loss. Teeth that are misaligned are also an impediment to eating and talking. Over time, misaligned teeth can cause abnormal wear on tooth enamel. Today’s braces, also referred to as orthodontic appliances, are not your grandfather’s or your father’s generation of braces. Nowadays they can be as visible or as inconspicuous as a person prefers. For instance, brackets that are affixed to the teeth to hold wires and elastics, are clear or tooth-colored, so as to be relatively unnoticeable. Advances in the equipment have also made braces more comfortable and more effective than they were in the past. Braces come in two different categories: removable, which a patient puts in and takes out according to the dentist’s instructions; and fixed, which are installed and, after the duration of their period of wear, removed by the dentist. Generally, a person will wear braces for one to three years, followed by a considerably shorter period of wearing what’s called a retainer to hold the teeth in place. Talk with your dentist about whether you are a candidate for braces.
362-6556 (800) 829-6506
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Presented as a service to the community by HERBERT C. MANTOOTH, DDS, P.A. 602 Railroad Ave. Live Oak, FL
formation through requesting documents about the project from relevant government agencies by using the Freedom of Information Act, known as a FOIA request. Before Graffenreid spoke, Dave Shields, from O’Brien, was the first among numerous people to give citizen input at the meeting as he thanked the commission for bringing the resolution on the issue forward. “I very much appreciate how quickly you guys have moved on this,” Shields said. Shields has been vocal at previous meetings about the compressor station he says would be close to his home. It would be unlikely to stop the pipeline from running through the county, he said, but he also doesn’t want to transfer the problem to other people. “I certainly don’t want to give this issue to someone else,” he said. Another resident, Dana Stevens, spoke out, saying he received a letter from Sabal Trail the day before the meeting threatening to take him to federal court unless he settles with the company regarding his land. Stevens said he believes he is the closest or second closest resident to the station, but before the letter was widely ignored throughout the process. “This is who we’re dealing with?” he asked. “I’m
gonna fight it as long as I can.” Spectra Energy, based in Houston, Texas, would operate the pipeline. It would run from Alabama through Georgia and Florida to a compressor station in Osceola County providing energy for Florida Power & Light. It could provide over 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in the Southeastern market, according to the environmental impact study from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The project would need to have a permit from both the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and FERC. FERC had previously released an environmental impact study stating the risk to the environment was not significant. Debra Johnson, from the WWALS Watershed Coalition, which is engaged in a legal dispute with Sabal Trail to prevent it from getting a state permit, brought up the fact that Spectra Energy has a record of violating environmental safety laws and regulations, she said. “Spectra Energy has the worst history of violations with the EPA ever,” she said, citing 164 violations. It uses PCB on its pipelines, a material banned in the 70s, she said, which has spread pollution through 15 states. Several others also took the microphone to discuss
ter-related challenges in the local area. “Live Oak still has flooding issues,” Mixon said. Abby Johnson, communications coordinator for the water management district, responded. “We understand very clearly about the flooding situation in Live Oak,” she said. The city has applied for some of the water management district’s grants to address the problem, and the city might be on the Department of Transportation’s radar for infrastructure grants specifically to
alleviate flooding, she said. Drainage improvement projects are on the table, Johnson added. The city is still looking for money for water lines in most, if not every district in Live Oak, Mixon said. Valenstein suggested the city and the water management district have sit down together at some point to talk about the challenges the city faces and look at the possible resources from the state or the SRWMD to find funding. “That’s certainly what we need,” Mixon said. “Funding.”
TONIGHT - REGIONAL SEMIFINAL
SHS Bulldogs take on Ribault, 1B
Arrests Continued From Page 2A Ln, Lake City, FL, Writ of Bodily Attachment, $500 Cash + $70 Agncy Fee: SCSO- M. Hunter Nov 17, Alvin McQuay, Jr., 40, 11753 138th St, Live Oak, FL, Poss Cocaine, Dawson Co GA Warrant, VOP O/C Poss
Cocaine: SCSO- T. Wadford Nov 18, Dwayne Lamar Carter, 52, 7088 CR 249, Live Oak, FL, Battery Domestic Violence, Petit Theft: SCSO- M. Hunter Nov 18, Ruben Mejia Mejia, 49, 7410 129th Rd, Live Oak, FL, FTA O/C DWLS/R, VOP O/C DUI & DWLS/R: SCSO- A. Prins
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November 22nd at 12pm. (386) 438-4941 945134
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their personal experiences regarding the project, environmental or safety concerns and other issues. Suwannee County resident Lori McCraney read a memo from the Suwannee River Water Management District and talked about the thickness of the steel being used in the local segment of the proposed pipeline. Because Suwannee County is a rural area, the steel is less thick than
it is in other locales, she said, posing a safety risk for county residents. “Their lives are less valued simply because there are less of them,” McCraney said. The county commissioners unanimously passed the resolution to send the letter before allowing several other out-of-county attendees at the meeting to speak. John Quarterman, presi-
dent of WWALS, was one of them. Despite what Sabal Trail wants people to believe, he said, the battle is not over. For instance, the project still needs to be approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Why should money from Houston get to take our land and pollute our waters?” Quarterman asked in a phone interview. “Let’s repel the invasion.”
Sabal
agencies were reviewed by internal experts and by regulatory agencies, Grover said, in response to criticism from WWALS Watershed Coalition about the company lacking peerreviewed evidence to support its claims. There are qualified experts in the regulatory bodies capable of reviewing a study, said University of Florida geologist David Foster, but that is not the same as peer review. “It’s a form of review,” he said, "but it’s not what we would call formal scientific review.” Peer review, in the scientific community, means submitting a study to a nationally or internationally recognized journal for the science editor to send to experts around the world, who would then look at the results, the methodology and the interpretations of the facts and send an analysis of the study back to the journal. If the editor determines it is of sufficient quality, it will be published in the journal. The benefit is that the experts in a peer review have no relationship to the study or the entity that conducted it, Foster said. Grover agreed that Sabal Trail’s studies weren’t technically peer-reviewed, but said they were still looked at by experts in the
Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency. “We adhere to all the guidelines,” she said. As far as air pollution from the compressor station in O’Brien, Sabal Trail’s studies found it would only account for .29 percent of Suwannee County’s total emissions, Grover said. However, she wasn’t sure which specific kinds of emissions that research looked at and included in the figure. The company goes through several permitting processes that ensure the pipeline and its compressor stations are safe, she added. Sabal Trail representatives were not able to attend the last meeting because the company didn’t learn about it until the following day, Grover said. However, if the business was made aware of a public meeting beforehand that would involve the pipeline, it would try to send people to participate in-person, she added. “We’d be happy to come information,” provide Grover said. Grover can be reached through email at adgrover@spectraenergy.com. The project’s official website also lists other contacts at http://www.sabaltrailtransmission.com/contact.
Continued From Page 1A gy, gave a response to the concerns local residents and out-of-county opponents have regarding the Sabal Trail project. “We did not have the opportunity to attend the meeting (Tuesday night),” Grover said. “We really work with every landowner to ensure that issues are identified to resolve any questions or concerns.” Sabal Trail has worked with landowners on their properties to address their needs, she added. The project doesn’t infringe on anybody’s property rights, she said, because they are only easements for the pipeline to pass through underground. Once it is finished and operational, they can resume normal use of the property, she added. Some landowners at the meeting mentioned the risk of the project causing sinkholes. There’s a mitigation plan available on the Sabal Trail website that details the efforts that have been taken to avoid sensitive areas, Grover said. Areas most vulnerable to sinkhole formation, for instance, are avoided. The studies Sabal Trail submitted to regulatory