Into The Abyss: The Case of the Collapsing Sinkhole

 http://www.sciencecases.org/abyss/abyss.pdf

SINKHOLE SUIT SEEKS MILLIONS*
The State of Maryland and Redland Genstar, Inc.(renamed LaFarge Corporation), are each being sued for $13.5 million by the widow of a man who was killed when his minivan plunged into a sinkhole on Maryland Route 31.

One early morning in March of 1994, Robert W. Knight, 24, was driving down a darkened stretch of pavement between Westminster and New Windsor when the road ran out. Sometime during the night a 45-foot-wide hole had developed without warning that the driver never saw until it was too late.

The Taneytown native died at a hospital later that day.

Sinkholes can occur when underground limestone or marble bedrock slowly dissolves, leaving behind caves that eventually become so large that they collapse.

In her suit against the state and Genstar, based in Hunt Valley, the plaintiff claims emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship, financial support and other losses on her part and on behalf of her two children. Her suit was filed in Carroll County Circuit Court and targets a Medford quarry situated close to the sinkhole site and belonging to Genstar.

According to the suit, Genstar failed to look into possible hazards, failed to provide the state with reports on the impact of the mining, failed to prevent sinkholes on Route 31 and failed to warn the public of possible danger. The suit further alleges that “Genstar drew off billions of gallons of water from underground streams and severely lowered the water table, leading to the development of sinkholes throughout the immediate area
surrounding the quarry and the sinkhole on Route 31 in which Robert Wayne Knight lost his life.”

A spokesman for Genstar denied responsibility for the accident.
 
According to a recent state law, “spheres of influence” are drawn around quarries indicating areas in which sinkholes and other geologic activity can be attributed to mining activity. A company is liable for property damage within these spheres if it is caused by its mining activity.

However, Genstar claims that the area where the sinkhole occurred on Route 31 lies outside the company’s jurisdiction.

*Based on an original 1996 AP article, “Mining firm sued for
$13.5 million, WESTMINSTER, Md.”

The final outcome of the case:
BaltimoreSunSettlementReachedInLawsuit

* Karst geography is by definition unstable. Sinkholes can form in unexpected areas, in particular where ground excavation occurs and where there is a change in the groundwater flow rate. 

Examples of the risks involved with lagoon construction in karst regions are documented by Dr. Nicholas Crawford of Western Kentucky University's Department of Geography and Geology in an August 5, 1998 report.

He has documented a 1984 sinkhole collapse under a hog waste lagoon in southwest Barren County, which poured 2.4 million gallons of hog waste into the karst aquifer in less than five hours.

Another sinkhole collapse under a hog waste lagoon in Logan County on April 29, 1991, drained more than one million gallons of hog waste into the karst aquifer, according to Crawford. This lagoon had a synthetic liner, but the collapse occurred above the synthetic liner. Crawford also documented lagoon leakage from two lagoons in Logan County which contaminated a spring.

If this year is anything like 2000, Central Florida residents are in for some real catastrophes.

Last summer, a sinkhole opened under Lake McCoy in Apopka and sucked dry what had been 140 acres of water teeming with fish, anglers and boaters.

Within a week, thousands of fish lay rotting on the dry bottom. Almost no place seemed safe.
 (End)

There must be stronger legislation against the devastating effects of sinkholes from rock mining.

Far too often these mining companies "get away with it" claiming the terrain is already prone to sinkholes.

They are correct, these areas are prone to subsidence and sinkholes, but if the incidence of sinkholes greatly increases near the quarrying activities in comparison to the adjacent terrain, "something else" is clearly influencing the accelerated sinkhole development.

ABC Reporter Hassled at Alabama Coast by BP: Days After Thad Allen Directed Open Access, Media Clampdown Continues

“People Want ADEM to be an Omnipotent Power”

This was a response from Chief of the Air Division at ADEM, Ron Gore, in response to property values, noise/truck traffic and environmental issues in the Montevallo quarry public hearing 2005.
Mr. Gore said; "Those issues are not covered by us."


From the story:
Gore said by state law, all ADEM can be concerned about is that the air and water leaving the facility meet standards. He said if an applicant can show that it can meet those standards, it is entitled to the permit.
Gore said if a court ruled in favor of the UM and the UM Foundation, then Middle Tennessee could not operate the quarry, but it would not invalidate the permit.
 SCRDecember2005ADEMGrantsPermitstoTannerGroup 

If ADEM is not concerned with with noise, blasting, environmental and sinkhole issues exactly what are they concerned with? The name of the agency has "environmental management" as part of its title, yet they refuse to acknowledge real issues that have everything to do with protecting Alabama's environment. Instead they hide behind "Best Management Practices" submitted by industries and cite those as the reason to issue permits.

These industries are well aware of this and exploit it to their full advantage: "If we put it on paper we will be "good neighbors" then they will have to issue permits." ADEMs self-imposed impotence ensures there will be no challenge to them, so they don't get heat from the Alabama legislature for upsetting the special interests that have Montgomery bought and paid for.

ADEM seems more concerned with collecting permitting fees above all else. Their water standards are archaic at best, and their enforcements do little to stop repeat offenders. Is this why they allow violations to continue, to add more monies to their coffers? It is certainly more profitable to continue fining entities that are serial offenders than to take strong steps to ensure that they will remain in compliance.

Since the inception of the agency in 1982,  it has been rife with corruption, malfeasance, conflicts of interest (i.e. Anita Archie who lobbied for the Business Council of Alabama) and a resistance to truly protect Alabama's environment and her citizens.

Archie's job description, posted on the Business Council's Web site, describes Archie and her staff as "your daily eyes and ears whenever and wherever public policy that affects your business bottom line is being made." 

Nice.  The fox watches the hen house.
StateEnvironmentalHeadSees"NoConflictofInterest"
BhamNewsCommentaryNotAppropriateforArchie 

In Talladega, Alabama just six months ago, ADEM refused to allow a public hearing on the ongoing battle against the waste water treatment plant citing a technicality:
 A memorandum between ADEM Air Division employees Scott Sanders and Wes Thornhill published on the ADEM Web site stated Sanders explained to Curtis over the telephone that the petition was not directly related to matters listed in the consent order, which was the failure to properly install and operate a scrubber and basin cover at REEF.

Since the petition was not related to the consent order, the approximately 1,800 signatures were not considered. The submitted comments that did not directly relate to the consent order were also not considered when determining if any changes should be made to the consent order, the memorandum stated.

ADEMDeniesTalladegaResidentsRequestForHearing2010 

The Talladega story is yet another prime example of how much you can do wrong and continue to operate with ADEM.

So are all the lime production plants in Alabaster, Calera and Sylacauga that operate with quarries. Those files will be posted on this site soon. What is happening in this county is almost criminal and it is past time Shelby Countians knew what they are living with.

Columbiana and the power structure that employs a stranglehold on this county has a lot of things to answer to.

We have little faith that any real change will ever come to Alabama to bring about sorely needed environmental reform on its own, it has to start with the citizens voices banding together and being heard.


We urge all Alabamians to speak loudly each and every chance they can, especially about the current pending quarry in Vincent. 


ADEM has vast authority, it could be said their capability borders on omnipotence, but clearly Mr. Gore echoes their real position; do as little as possible to keep the violation money rolling in.
(**Editors note: We have it on good authority that the fight over the quarry in Montevallo is continuing. More will be reported on that as information becomes available.)

The Spill, the Scandal and the President

NOAA "We consider this to be a human tragedy and environmental disaster" 
June 8, 2010 10:23 am est 

Initial water samples have confirmed low concentrations of subsea oil from the ruptured wellhead, said Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

"We suspected that, but it's good to have confirmation," Lubchenco said at a news conference Tuesday, June 8, 2010.

A University of South Florida research vessel confirmed oil as far as 3,300 feet below the surface 42 miles northeast of the site and 142 miles southeast, NOAA's Lubchenco said at a Tuesday morning briefing, who's monitoring the spill response for the government.

"We're certain it's oil," said Ernst B. Peebles, a USF biological oceanographer and chief scientist aboard the college's Weatherbird II research vessel, the ship that did the sampling. "We've done the analysis."

Peebles said laboratory tests were performed on water drawn from two layers of oil, a 98-foot thick layer found about 1,300 feet down and a second, even thicker layer found at a depth of about 3,200 feet.

BP has not commented on the latest development but in the past denied underwater oil plumes exist.

BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward said the oil is on the water's surface and that samples retrieved by the company's scientists showed "no evidence" of oil deep beneath the waves.
"The oil is on the surface," said BP's Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward. "There aren't any plumes."

BP continuing to deny.....

Were there warning signs that a disaster was about to happen on the BP oil rig? Five survivors of the rig tell Anderson Cooper about the days leading up to the explosion. Watch "AC360°" at 10 ET p.m. Tuesday. 

Why Colonial Pipeline "isn't concerned with the effects" of WRQs quarry

Because their history is one of not being concerned......

Colonial Pipeline Company Civil Settlement
Seven Oil Spills Forming Basis of Penalty

Overview: On April 1, 2003, the United States announced a settlement with Colonial Pipeline Company resolving violations of the Clean Water Act arising from spills from the company’s pipeline in several states.

Under the consent decree, Colonial will upgrade environmental protection on the pipeline at an estimated cost of at least $30 million, and pay $34 million, the largest civil penalty a company has paid in EPA history.

The United States filed a complaint on Nov. 28, 2000, in the Northern District of Georgia. The Clean Water Act authorizes penalties up to $1,100 per barrel discharged, and up to $3,300 per barrel discharged for violations that are the result of gross negligence.
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/cwa/colonialfs.pdf

The EPA document regarding the history of this company, belies the intent of the Colonial Pipeline Company letter to White Rock Quarries that "they are not concerned with the nearby quarry's effects on their pipelines."

NTSB PDF file on South Carolina 1996 rupture in the Reedy River :

http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/1998/PAR9801.pdf 

Read the Conclusions section to learn how often and habitually this company has operated in a negligent manner. There is no precedent for us to believe anything in the letter from Colonial Pipeline presented to our Council.

An interesting question is why did Plantation Pipeline not respond to queries from WRQ and their representatives regarding their own concern for their line from the effects of the WRQ quarry?

WRQ Geologist, Robert Wood, "answered for them" in his March 2010 Memorandum to the Vincent Planning Commission; in his clients' interest of course.

Arrogance

Defined as: an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions

The monthly City Council meeting was an exercise in frustration for Vincent's citizens who could hear little of what was being said in the workshop or council meeting.


More than once "We can't hear you" was met with "You're of order, it's not your time to talk." (Joy Marler)
(superiority)


When the Town clerk, Joy Marler, was confronted with this during a brief adjournment period she responded with; "You have a right to be here, you do not have a right to hear what is being said."
(overbearing manner)


Arrogance beyond all measure. We are going to gather in a public meeting and not let any of the public hear the majority of what we are discussing.


There was one microphone and we are still wondering what it was for.


Council person Ralph Kimble raised some excellent points regarding the quarry and proposed zoning ordinance:

1. How is a big hole in the ground and dust all over helping the "high public health and safety of the Town?"
(He took the words in quotations straight form the zoning ordinance)


2. What studies have you done that this quarry will " have no adverse effects and benefit the morals and well-being of the Town?"


3. "I called the American Society of Civil Engineers and they told me that the book the quarry is using as a reference to talk about fixing the sinkholes is 14 years old, and not considered definitive. Why are they referring to a book so out of date?"


4. "I make a motion that we table this vote on the quarry until we get an independent study on the effects. Everything we have so far is from the quarry people, that is biased information, we need another source that does not have anything to do with the quarry."


When the Mayor told Mr. Kimble that; "We can't afford to do an independent study, we don't have the money to do it." Mr. Kimble answered back with; "We can't afford not to."


He then tried to make a motion on tabling the vote which was met with more resistance from Council person Larry King; "You get me a list of qualified individuals Ralph."


Ralph responded with: "Okay, so will you second my motion?" King; "No."


Mayor McAllister;  "Motion failed."


What is conveniently left off this discussion that even Mr. Kimble was not completely aware of at the moment, but the Mayor certainly was, is that Ebsco has offered more than once to pay for an independent study. They have met with the Mayor and offered this during those direct communications and in public meetings.


The Mayor has said in public and to them that; "I want all the information I can get on this."


Which is it Mayor McAllister? 


Why do you and the Council continue to thwart any attempt to have independent information at every turn?

Why do the voices of your own citizens continually fall on deaf ears?

Why do you have so much contempt for Mr. Kimble?


Because you are all arrogant and unwilling to consider any information which does not fit your presumptuous view of this situation; money rolling in to the town coffers,  which in turn means your own pockets, but pushed on the citizens as "a real benefit for the Town of Vincent."

A Sense of Purpose

Do you ever have days where you feel like you are led to places and people for reasons that had nothing to do with what your original agenda was when you set out?


It's almost like your original purpose had another purpose.


We set out today to help a friend that needed something they were not able to get for themselves. It led us to people we did not know who had something we needed.


Information to help our cause in Vincent.

We met a man today who lives in Alabaster, Alabama one mile from the  Martin Marietta Quarry. When asked what that was like he said; "It's awful. Especially in the spring. There is more activity at the quarry and dust is all over our place."

This man supplies health supplies, medical equipment and similar products to patients in their homes. He told us that as bad as it was for him and his wife, he had a patient he supplied equipment to who was much worse off. We asked him if he could tell us about it without violating the patient's personal privacy by revealing his name.


He agreed and this is what he said; "Our patient is 30 years old and we supply him with oxygen equipment, but he is also on a ventilator at night. He worked at Chemical Lime in Alabaster and about two months ago something really bad happened to him and some other workers. They were told to go out and clean something, but they didn't have their respirators and hazmat equipment. They didn't want to go and do it without the proper protective equipment they were required to wear, but the bosses told them to do it anyway." he said.


"They told the guys to wrap their t-shirts around their faces and go do their job."


The supervisors know this is against safety protocols, but obviously did not care. This seems to be a pattern with Chemical Lime. 


He went on to say what happened to the men, in particular their patient: "He (the patient) was burned from his face, down his throat and into his lungs so deeply from inhaling the lime dust that had been processed  that it has ruined him. He has been in and out of ICU at the local hospital and a nurse we know that works on that floor said he won't live to see 40."


A 30 year old man for all intents and purposes "murdered" by the company for failing to follow protocol. The other men suffered similar fates.


This case is in court and the company is trying to get the men to settle rather than go before a jury. We hope they do not settle and take their case as far as they can.

But the real question is: Why has this incident not been reported on in the press? We looked in the ADEM files and on the MSHA website and found nothing on this incident. If Columbiana knows are they covering for the company?


This happens far too often not only to workers, but to the communities that also breathe these toxins. In particular our children.


In Shelby County, schools that are near the quarries, are assaulted by Chemical Lime on a regular basis as the "number two polluter" to their schools.
(USA Today Special Report "Smokestack Effect, Toxic Schools" March 2010, link to the right)

This is another story that is absent form the local press.


We have file after file from ADEM e-file records on this company in Shelby County and they are habitual in their violations. ADEM is habitual in not inspecting them and making them comply. They fine them, which is profit for ADEM, but do not force them into effective compliance.

In Vincent, we are continually told that the quarry and it's ancillary businesses (Chemical Lime is a viable possible candidate for a WRQ ancillary business since Stephen Bradley, WRQ PR Rep lobbies for CL) will have "no adverse effects on the Town."


The elementary school is 4500 ft. from the quarry.


Chemical Lime is the "number two polluter" in the Calera and Alabaster schools near quarries.

"Wrap your t-shirts around your faces and go do your jobs." 

Hearing this today reaffirms our sense of purpose with this blog; Shelby County must be exposed and held accountable for what it allows industry to do to its residents. 
(**Editors note: We will check the courthouse filing on this case and attempt to reach the individual in this story. More will be posted as we find it on this.)

Fisherman's Wife Breaks Silence June 3, 2010

StoryLinkCNNHealTheGulf

Environmental Group Places Coosa River Among Nation's Endangered, June 2010

#10 Coosa River Alabama

 Threat: Hydropower dams

 The Coosa River is a cultural icon of the South and home to an astounding variety of rare and unique fish, snails, and mussels. The construction of seven large hydropower dams in the mid 1900’s turned the river into a series of reservoirs and caused the largest mass extinction of aquatic species in U.S. history.

But there is still an opportunity to save some of the Coosa’s remaining natural heritage for future generations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must insist on strong protections for the river’s endangered wildlife in the license that will allow Alabama Power to operate these dams for the next 50 years. The Coosa will serve as a test as to whether federal agencies are committed to environmentally sustainable hydropower operations.

PDF file link:

AmericanRivers2010MostEndangeredRivers

Contact Information:

American Rivers: Matt Rice,

(803) 771-7206,

mrice@americanrivers.org

Alabama Rivers Alliance:

Mitch Reid, (205) 322-6395

mreid@alabamarivers.org

World Wildlife Fund: Judy Takats

(615) 279-1814,

judy.takats@wwfus.org

**Thanks to the June 2, 2010 edition of the Birmingham News for publishing this. 

“The threats facing this year’s rivers are more pressing than ever, from gas drilling that could pollute the drinking water of millions of people, to the construction of costly and unnecessary new dams, to outdated flood management that threatens public safety,” said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers.

Rivers are chosen based on several factors, including a pending major decision on proposed action, the significance of the threat to communities and the degree the proposed action would exacerbate or alleviate stresses, said the release:

 Coosa named on endangered river list - Birmingham Business Journal

We would like to add quarries, pipelines, waste water treatment plants and heavy industry in Shelby County to the list of threats to the Coosa.

Shelby County is in NON COMPLIANCE STATUS on their SWM (Storm Water Management, link to the right) by EPA federal audit 2009. This has NOT BEEN RESOLVED YET according to Senior Enforcement Officer, EPA Region 4, Chris Plymale.

That should trigger an automatic moratorium on all new permits until it is remedied.

The county performs their "model of cost effective Storm Water Management" as quoted by Stephen Bradley (WRQ PR Rep) on an "annual budget of 45,000 and two part-time employees." The population of the county is over 175,000 and their are 167 heavy industries in Shelby County.

(This from BARD, who gutted the Jefferson County SWMA now also under federal scrutiny)

There are five quarries in the county, numerous cement, asphalt, lime production, building materials, etc. industries in this county. All of them have numerous violations according to the ADEM files, and some of these violations occur under storm flooding conditions. From those sites they make it into the Coosa River, it's tributaries (Buxahatchee Creek has been hit extremely hard) and into our ground water.

Our drinking water.

But let's go ahead and force a massive quarry on the residents of Vincent, less than a mile from this river. Let's give them a SWM permit (even though we cannot handle what we have) and allow more pollutants into the Coosa. While we are at it, allow the quarry to establish parameters and access to their monitoring wells.

This is not at all a "fine idea for Alabamians." 

This river cannot endure another massive assault, Governor Riley.

Neither can Vincent, lest we forget the Alabama Plating Company Superfund cleanup.

CNN News - Oil reaches Alabama beach - BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.

Accompanying stories:

BaldwinCountyNow.com 

MississippiPressAL.Com 

From NewsBank archives, Birmingham News:
 July 31, 2006
Gulf Drilling Vote Imminent

Excerpts from article
With potentially several hundred million dollars at stake over several years, Alabama's congressional delegation, at the urging of Governor Bob Riley, has unanimously endorsed more drilling.

But there are many facets in the debate.. Some opponents question the environmental impact.

For now, Riley's office has not announced a preference, but his spokesman said the House bill would have more long term benefits to the Alabama Trust Fund, where oil and gas revenues are stashed.

"Either bill is more beneficial than the status quo." said Riley's spokesman Jeff Emerson. With fewer restrictions on where to drill, the House bill could open up waters closer to Baldwin County, but Emerson said the Governor has pledged to maintain a 15-mile buffer so the rigs are not visible from the beaches of Baldwin County. The Senate bill provides a 100-mile buffer.

Emerson said depending on the final law, Riley would consider using the new revenue on environmental restoration on the coast or hurricane evacuation routes.
end story

Another "fine idea for Alabamians" from our Governor.

Sounds to us like he would need all the money available for the environmental restoration on such a risky project, lest we forget the rig that washed into Mobile Bay a few years ago and dropped major toxins. Hurricane Katrina ripped the rig of it's moorings. Had it not been so close in.....

June 2, 2010
"The oil is going to come ashore," Riley said. "There's nothing between the oil and Dauphin Island."
But still, he has not approved the project......
RileyCGReviewHoldingUpSkimmingInMoblieBay