The Gadsden Times May 20, 2010 on ADEM

Our View: Riley can leave his mark with appointment 

Published: Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 7:58 p.m.

The appointments Riley will make in the next few months will go a long way toward determining whether LeFleuer is successful and what course Alabama takes regarding the environment. 

We hope he chooses wisely.

Anita Archie recently resigned as chair of the Environmental Management Commission which, oversees the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Archie’s service was controversial from the standpoint that she was hired in January to be the chief lobbyist for the Business Council of Alabama, many of whose members were regulated by the environmental agency.

Archie’s resignation means there are two vacancies on the commission and members are appointed for six years. The terms of two other members expire before Riley leaves office, so he will appoint four of the seven members of the commission in coming months. 

The post vacated by Archie on the EMC is an at-large position, open to anyone who has been a resident of the state for at least two years. The other position that is vacant must be filled by someone with a degree in ecology or biology. An engineer must be appointed to fill one of the two positions that come open in September; the other must be filled by a physician. For the record, the requirement for the other positions on the commission call for an attorney licensed to practice law in the state, a chemist or veterinarian and an individual certified by the National Water Well Association certification program.

ADEM also has gone through a transition recently, with Trey Glenn resigning in December after four years as director. Lance LeFleuer, owner of a Mobile recycling business, was named as his replacement in April.

LeFleuer will have his hands full, running an agency that chronically is underfunded and battered from both sides. Business and industry protests regulations, while environmentalists want the agency to be more active in enforcing environmental protections.

A recent article from Calera on the continued problems they are having with their sewage treatment:

Calera provides update on sewer treatment project

Shelby County Reporter

Neal Wagner staff writer

Published Wednesday, May 19, 2010

CALERA — Calera officials will have six years to phase in stricter water quality standards at one of its wastewater treatment plants, city officials announced during a May 19 City Council meeting.

The gradual phase-in will come at no additional cost to Calera for at least the first year, Doug Smedley, director of the city’s sewer and wastewater operations, told the council.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management recently announced it would require Calera’s wastewater treatment facility on Buxahatchee Creek to be capable of generating water with no more than 0.06 parts per million of phosphorous.

Editors note: Buxahatchee is a tributary to the Coosa River.

The new requirements will be down significantly from the facility’s current limit of 0.57 parts per million. Although city officials originally feared the new limit would be enforced this year, it will submit a six-year plan to ADEM May 20.

The facility is currently capable of achieving limits as low as 0.3 parts per million, but it will require additional equipment to achieve lower levels, Smedley said.

“We can make the initial reduction numbers without any modifications to the facility,” Smedley said.

A new centrifuge at the plant will allow the city to achieve phosphorous levels lower than 0.3 parts per million, and the city already has the money needed to purchase the component, Smedley said.

However, the centrifuge alone will not bring the phosphorous levels low enough to meet the standard ADEM will enact in six years, and Calera likely will be forced to find ways to fund further upgrades at the facility.

“That last part is what we are going to have to figure out funding for,” Smedley said. “We shouldn’t have any additional capital expenditures in next year’s budget.

“Hopefully, we will improve the system for three or four years, and then when we have to renew with ADEM after that, they will say we can stop where we are,” Smedley added. “I’ve seen that happen numerous times before.”

How ridiculous is this story? This facility has been discharging huge amounts of waste water into Buxahatchee Creek for a long time. Buxahatchee Creek feeds into the Lower Coosa River which is already "impaired" according to state regulatory agencies and under a fish advisory.

Six years to fix their problems???? Great work ADEM as usual.

Mr. Smedley knows ADEM will not force their hand, it never forces anyone's hand when it comes to polluting Alabama and enforcing EPA standards. That's why he can so smugly say; "...they will tell us we can stop where we are, I've seen that happen numerous times before."

And we will see it again over and over because ADEM is a chronically weak agency with no impetus to change.

We have no faith Mr. LeFleuer will be any different.

Sinkholes Plague Tarrant, Alabama Bham News 2008

View Larger Map

Maybe the city officials should go over to Vulcan Materials Co., the quarry pictured here, and hand them a bill.


We acknowledge drought and heavy rains do cause sinkholes, but with as many as are happening in the area of the quarry and no where else in Tarrant, something else is definately contributing to the problem.

Birmingham News  October 22, 2008

Sinkhole repairs sinking into Tarrant budget

DANA JAFFE News staff writer

 

The city of Tarrant has had to repair yet another sinkhole caused by the drought.

The most recent one, on Pinson Street, cost $112,000 for Parrot Construction to fix. The Tarrant Street Department had to rebuild the street, too before it could be reopened. Mayor Loxcil Tuck said this was the seventh sinkhole repaired, and the process has taken its toll on the city. ''People can't even drive through the city while the sink holes are being worked on,'' Tuck said.

At least two more remain that will have to be taken care of in the coming months. One is in the alley between Jackson and Virginia streets and the other in a drainage ditch between Pinson Street and Alabama 79.

Tuck said the city has already spent $350,000. ''Sure it is affecting our budget,'' she said. ''We are not going to be able to do many things we could've otherwise done this year.''
djaffe@bhamnews.com
(***Editors note; a story recently in the news stated Tarrant is having to cut funds to its schools.)

Birmingham News  September 3, 2008

Drought, heavy rains lead to sinkholes

ANNE RUISI News staff writer

TARRANT--- Blame it on the two-year drought, blame it on the drenching remnants of Tropical Storm Fay that soaked Alabama a few weeks ago. The outcome is irrefutable: sinkholes have been opening up.

Almost 30 have appeared in the past two years, many of them in the past three months, city officials said.

''We even had one in the parking lot behind City Hall. It could eat two cars'' and was about 15 feet across, said Elvin Horton, Tarrant's building inspection officer. The latest two are one in the 300 block of Clow Lane, which has been fixed, and one in the 1500 block of Pinson Street, which was being repaired last week, Horton said. Pinson Street, particularly in the 1500, 1700 and 1800 blocks, has had at least eight sinkholes, according to a city tally last week.

At least six have been reported in the 1700 block of Jackson Boulevard and at least four in the 1100, 1200 and 1500 blocks of Elizabeth Avenue. And in the past three months the city has spent more than $250,000 repairing sinkholes, said Mayor Loxcil B. Tuck. She said she's contacted state and federal officials to try and secure additional funding.

The sinkholes vary in size but some have been massive, such as one of the Jackson Boulevard holes. That sinkhole measured a bit less than 100 feet long and stretched across the street from sidewalk to sidewalk. That repair alone cost the city $140,000, Tuck and Horton said.

Sinkholes form when water naturally moves through porous underground rock, such as the limestone Tarrant sits on, and creates cavities in the bedrock. When water fills the cavity, the walls and ceiling are supported. If the water table drops, a sinkhole can result. Engineers assisting the city said the drought has had an effect, the mayor said. ''We sit on rock. The water table dropped,'' which eventually led to the creation of sinkholes, Tuck said.

The drought was blamed for a giant sinkhole early this year that swallowed a backyard and crept toward a house in Birmingham's Bush Hills Neighborhood. Within days, it had swallowed the backyard and crept toward the house, leaving the back deck dangling.
(***Editors note; this house is less than one mile from the quarry at 1-59 /20)
Link to story:
BushHillsSinkholeContinuesToGrow2008

Heavy rains can trigger sinkholes as the weight of a large amount of water can collapse an underground cavity. The area's recent heavy rains drenched the area and ''worsened our problem with sinkholes,'' Tuck said.
(***Editors note; We get a large amount of rainfall in the Vincent area, we also sit on limestone, but don't get sinkholes like this. At least not yet........once WRQ  starts up that will probably change)

City officials said they have no idea when the sinkholes will end, and there's evidence more are trying to form.

Across the street from The Keg restaurant, for example, there are new cracks in the sidewalk and there's evidence the curb is dropping. That signals a lack of support underneath the ground, Horton said.

On the advice of a consultant, the city hired a company to inject grout into selected areas around the cracks - so far, 1,600-1,700 cubic feet. ''Hopefully it will stabilize the soil underneath there,'' he said. aruisi@bhamnews.com  

TARRANT'S SINKHOLE STATUS
Here is a list of the locations and status of the sinkholes that have occurred in Tarrant in the past two years, many of them in the past three months, according to Elvin Horton, the city's building inspection officer.

1500 Mountain Drive. On private property. Sinkhole area fenced in, but it keeps growing.
1512 Wharton Ave. On private property. Not repaired.
1500 block of Elizabeth Avenue. Fixed.
Intersection of Ford Avenue and Jackson Boulevard. Fixed.
Jackson Boulevard, adjacent to the Ford Avenue-Jackson Boulevard hole. Fixed.
1710 Jackson Blvd., gutter in front of an office. Fixed.
1700 block of Jackson Boulevard, 75 feet along the east half of the street. Fixed.
1700 block of Jackson Boulevard, a bit less than 100 feet long, stretched across the street from sidewalk to sidewalk. Fixed after $140,000 in repairs.
1213 Elizabeth Ave. alley. Not fixed.
1201 Elizabeth Ave. On private property. Not fixed.
1700 block of Jackson Boulevard, under new water pipes. One fixed; the other to be fixed.
East Lake Boulevard, under tire cage at Tire City. On private property. Filled in.
1500 block of Pinson Street, around The Keg restaurant. One behind the site not fixed; one in front and the other, just south of The Keg, fixed.
1700 block of Pinson Street, under new water lines. Not fixed
1800 Pinson Street, in front of Parr's old auto shop. On private property. Filled in.
1800 Pinson St. Parr's storage lot. On private property. Filled.
1800 block of Pinson Street, between this block and Alabama 79. Private property, but in the city's drainage easement. Filled in, but the sinkhole has eaten the fill and reopened. City plans to do the work again.
1816 Pinson St., lot adjacent to Barrington Realty. On private property. Filled in.
1840 Pinson St., parking lot facing Bethel Avenue, into the public street. Filled in, then sinkhole recurred. Now fixed.
1800 block of Pinson Valley Parkway, alley between Pinson Street and Pinson Valley Parkway. Fixed. Parking lot behind City Hall. Fixed.
300 block of Clow Lane. Fixed.
1700 block of Jackson Boulevard (2). One is fixed, the other is to be repaired.
1100 block of Elizabeth Avenue, parking lot at Tarrant Post Office. Fixed.
1500 block of Pinson Street. In process of being fixed.

Why are all of these sinkholes happening within a mile radius of the quarry and not anywhere else in Tarrant?  Who is telling them that all of their sinkhole problems are caused by the drought or a hurricane?

Shelby County Highway 23 Sinkhole January 2010 & Bham Map of I-59/20 area showing nearby quarry & sinkhole areas

View Larger Map

The Birmingham News writer Malcolm Daniel missed the real story, which is this map and what it shows as the likely culprit for the latest sinkhole and why "it is an area with past problems of sinkholes."

There was initially a picture on the web showing the actual sinkhole before it was repaired, it somehow "disappeared " when we tried to find it again. Calls to the Birmingham News were unsuccessful in locating it, but they did give it a good effort which was appreciated.

60 feet wide is a big hole.

We wonder how much that cost ALDOT and Shelby County to repair which in turn translates to the Alabama taxpayers, but not the likely culprits-- the adjacent quarries.

Dry Valley was the location of the "December Giant." The USGS has documented 4000+ sinkholes in this area and an additional; 2000+ nearby.

Sinkhole throttles Shelby County highway 23 

By Malcomb Daniels -- The Birmingham News

January 11, 2010, 5:25PM

 
(photo: Frank Couch/Birmingham News)

A segment of Shelby County Highway was closed by a sinkhole about 20 yards wide.

Shelby County has escaped any major road problems due to recent cold weather, but it has had to deal with a sinkhole that formed in the southern part of the county.

Crews have been working to fix a sinkhole about 20 yards wide in the middle of Shelby County highway 23.

Shelby 23 is off Alabama 25 west of Calera in an area known as Dry Valley.

It is an area with past problems of sinkholes. 

The road is open only to local traffic, said County Engineer Randy Cole. Crews have filled the sinkhole and hope to have the area paved by the middle of the week, he said.

***Edit on previous I 65 sinkhole post; WHNT TV picture gallery link added, 25 photos, video of HUGE excavation required to repair the sinkhole, with the Huntsville Times story link.

***Edit to "December Giant aka Golly Hole" post as well. 

The following article is from the Birmingham News May 13, 2000, and included in full due to archived status which requires a fee to view. Excerpt of the article appears in "December Giant" post :

Sinkholes Don't Sink Shelby

Ginny McDonald, staff writer

Bill Lawler had a rescue mission at his farm Wednesday near Calera: He used his tractor to pull a truckload of fertilizer out of a sinkhole.

Life with sinkholes is an everyday occurrence for Lawler and his wife, Ann, who live on Shelby County 25. There are more than a dozen sinkholes on his 300-acre farm.

Through geological tests, the Lawlers learned there's another possible sinkhole in the making near their home. 

''One day that will go,'' Ann Lawler said. ''It won't affect the house - they say.''

She describes her area of Shelby County as a geologist's heaven. She's right. A seven-by-three mile corridor between Shelby County 22 and Shelby County 25 between Calera and Montevallo has the largest concentration of sinkholes in the state, geologists say.

The area is more susceptible to sinkholes because the corridor is in a valley underlain by carbonate rocks, which are more susceptible to dissolution by groundwater. Surrounding areas do not have as much limestone.

But sinkholes don't stop development in the state's fastest growing county. Bankers know it. Developers know it. County officials know it. So they've made provisions to protect themselves from bad loans and lawsuits that might arise from large holes in the ground.

Calera keeps mapmakers busy. Its recent annexations have taken it halfway to Columbiana and into Chilton County. And it's in the heart of sinkhole territory.

''It's like Swiss cheese down there,'' said Shelby County planner Todd McDonald.

The county Planning Commission requires developers to release the Sinkholes, and county from liability if they are building in a sinkhole-prone area.

The policy is believed to be the only one of its kind in the state.

Mortgage lenders require buyers to get sinkhole insurance if the property they're buying is in Shelby County's sinkhole-prone areas, according to real estate attorneys.

Attorney Frank Bynum said he encourages all buyers to get sinkhole insurance.
''I tell them if your house falls down a mine shaft, you are still going to owe the money. People buy fire insurance, why not sinkhole insurance'' he said.

The insurance costs 30 to 35 a year.

Sinkhole causes
Sinkholes also can be caused by traffic or construction vibrations, drilling or water being pumped from the ground. Even building a lake can put weight on the underground ''roof'' causing it to collapse. 

''If a lot of construction is going on, the land surface is being disturbed and that could cause a sinkhole,'' said Dorothy Raymond, geologist for the Alabama Geological Survey, based in Tuscaloosa. 

And there's a lot of activity in the state's fastest-growing county.

Shelby County 16 runs through the sinkhole concentration. Sinkholes occur so often that county officials just leave the ''road closed'' signs up all the time.

''That road is a terrible stretch of geology to have to maintain,'' said county engineer Randy Cole. ''It sinks so frequently that we just cover up the signs when it's opened.''

Well-known sinkholes spread across state There are many well-known sinkholes of note besides Shelby County's Golly Hole. There have been no deaths associated with sinkholes reported in Alabama in recent history. 

***Editors note: deaths have occurred in Shelby County as alluded to in geology reports, we are still trying to find the cases which has proven to be difficult.

Interstate 20 at Riverside: 

A bridge was built over a sinkhole when the interstate was constructed in 1964. The disguised bridge appears to be a part of the roadway.

Interstate 59/20, south of Arkadelphia Road exit: 
Road grade bridges were built in 1977 after the southbound lanes began to collapse. Last month three new sinkholes were found alongside the interstate.
***Editors note; there is a quarry in the area, longtime residents report numerous sinkholes and think the quarry is to blame. From the map below it appears they are right:


View Larger Map

Roberts Field Industrial Area, Birmingham near I-59/20: 

In March 1970, a warehouse and office building collapsed. Geologists found 97 sinkholes in the area including those along I-59/20 and 30 along the Frisco Railroad. The average size of sinkholes found was 10 feet wide, 12 feet long and eight feet deep.  
(**See map above, RR runs right next to quarry below the holding "pond", Roberts Industrial Field Industrial Area is adjacent on the on the west side of the quarry. Map viewed in larger view shows all quarries and pits in Birmingham area. Note how close to major highways most of them are.) 

Interstate 459 near Greenwood: 

More than 150 sinkholes were found in the planned right of way for the interstate in 1974 ranging in size from three feet to 75 feet wide, from three feet to 144 feet long and from three to 30 feet deep. State highway officials solved the problem by either building bridges or cutting the right of way down to the bedrock surface and filling in with rock. 

Logan Martin Dam: The dam is built over a sinkhole. Workers have poured more concrete into the limestone fractures located some 500 feet beneath the dam than it took to build the dam. 

***Editors note: Alabama Power has provided a letter to WRQ stating that they "do not think the nearby Vincent quarrying operations will affect the Logan Martin Dam, which is 5 miles away. It already has a huge sinkhole problem, what if the continued repairs fail with an additional massive load on the local groundwater withdrawal? What can happen? What will happen? Someone needs to ask those questions soon.

Hale County: 

In 1990, an oil and gas rig had reached a depth of 755 feet while drilling when the ground started to cave in; within two hours the rig had disappeared.

Hewitt-Trussville Junior High School:  

City officials paid 227,895 in 1999 to fill a sinkhole near the school.

Montevallo Middle School: 

Parts of the building sank 10 inches in 1992. 

Two additional stories of interest from the Birmingham News 2009:

ResidentsWantBlastingStopped

(**Note the attorney for Lafarge and his attitude, This is near the I 59/20 quarry)

EPA Reports and USA Today "Smokestack Effect" Special Report indicate USS Pipe is a major polluter. This dust being "harmless" as the USS Pipe official is implying is highly suspect in its validity:

JeffCoHDInvestigatingDust
**We will contact JeffCo and see if the reports are available and what they have or have not done about the situation.

May 5, 2010 Fatality at Chemical Lime Brierfield, Alabama Quarry

METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY - On May 5, 2010, a 21 year-old old contract driller with 1 year of experience was fatally injured at a crushed stone operation.
The victim was repositioning a truck mounted drill.
He lowered the mast and raised the leveling jacks to move the drill.
The drill then rolled down a grade and struck him.

Photo of Accident Scene Described in the Paragraph Above

Such a young man and in a moment, he is gone.

Was he adequately supervised with only one year's experience?

Where were the supervisors?

MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report - Not Available Yet
(We will publish it as soon as it becomes available)

Sinkhole Closes Second Lane On I-65, March 2010

View Larger Map

We think we know what and who caused the sinkhole ALDOT: Vulcan Materials.

The News-Courier
Athens, Alabama
March 17, 2010

Sinkhole prompts closing of 2nd northbound lane of I-65
By Jean Cole

— A large sinkhole has triggered the closing of a second lane of Interstate 65.

Beginning at 9 a.m., Thursday, northbound traffic on I-65 will be rerouted by order of the state Department of Transportation.

The two northbound lanes will be closed from Exit 318 (Vinemont/Lacon) to Exit 334 (Decatur/Priceville) until further notice, said State Trooper spokesman Curtis Summerville. Only the outside lane was closed Tuesday.

The sinkhole is at the 329.9-mile marker, he said.

Northbound traffic will detour at Exit 318 to U.S. 31 and travel north to Falkville, Hartselle and Decatur to Alabama 67. Traffic will then turn right and continue south on Alabama 67 until it connects with I-65 at Exit 334, where it will reopen for northbound traffic, Summerville said.

All I-65 northbound entrance ramps between the 318 and 334-mile markers — including Exit 322 (Falkville), Exit 325 (Thompson Road) and Exit 328 (Hartselle/Alabama 36) — will be closed, he said.

State troopers are encouraging motorist to drive with caution and do not attempt to remove or travel around any barricades. Motorists with cell phones may dial *HP (*47) toll-free to report roadway emergencies to the nearest state trooper post.
(end of story)

How much do you think this cost not only the Alabama taxpayers, but all the commerce that depends on this highway to deliver goods and services?

There are examples of this everywhere quarries operate. Millions of dollars wasted to repair what they do to roads, highways, railroads and buildings.

They never pay one thin dime of it.

This is the "prosperity" quarries bring in.....
WHNT pictures of sinkhole work 

Note the picture of one sinkhole, compare that to to how wide they excavated in the WHNT picture gallery. What you see on top of the ground can be much smaller than what the actual sinkhole size is:
Huntsville Times

Video link with story.

How Not To Run City Business

Vincent, Alabama May 18, 2010 7:00 pm City Council Meeting

A vacancy has opened up on the Industrial Board that needs to be filled. Motion was made by Council member Ralph Kimble that the Council receive resumes and credentials for the position.

Silence from the table and all members including the Mayor.

"Motion failed" says the Mayor.

From Council person Mary Lee Reynolds; "We all know the candidates and do not need to see any credentials because we know them."

From Council member Larry King in response to a question from Councilman Ralph Kimble on how Mr. King determines who is best qualified in absence of a resume: "I get on the phone and start talking to people."

From Mayor Ray McAllister to Councilman Ralph Kimble on why John McCutcheon's name was excluded from the list: "You didn't have his name submitted in time." Ralph Kimble replies that he did and did not know there was a time limit.
Mayor McAllister repeats himself and admonishes Mr. Kimble telling him; "You better get your facts straight."

John McCutcheon has experience exceeding any present members and those on the list for consideration now, they know he is the best qualified person. He is against the quarry and will not rubber stamp the issues brought before the board. He will do what is in the best interest of the city and fulfill his responsibilities with integrity.

That is enough to get him disqualified from even being considered for the Industrial Board.

We called Calera and Alabaster to ask for their procedures in filling board vacancies of any type. The following is their procedure:

"For any vacancies on any of our boards, we require resumes to be submitted. The Mayor and the Council review these resumes and vote on who they feel is the most qualified candidate based on their experience."

The Vincent City Hall prefers to handle the same issue by appointing the individual "we all know."

With a huge quarry proposed for our area, the community deserves the best qualified individual on the Industrial Board. Not candidates with the backgrounds of running a bed and breakfast and former small security company operators who have no knowledge of industrial engineering and blasting.

Mr. McCutcheon does have this knowledge and experience.

Yet he is not even considered for the position, and purposefully excluded from the list based on a time limit arbitrarily imposed by the Mayor, that was not even mentioned when the announcement of this vacancy was made.

The hap hazard handling of city business, cronyism on full display at every level, lack of due diligence and continued palpable arrogance by city officials is enough of a reason to deny this quarry and initiate immediate recall proceedings.

They can expect a certified letter on this copied to the media shortly.

December Giant aka Golly Hole Montevallo, Alabama 1972

TIME magazine April 23, 1973

The December Giant

WITH a thunderous roar, hundreds of tons of dirt and rock dropped from sight, tossing trees around like matchsticks and leaving the yawning, lunar-like crater shown above. Now, after investigating the massive cave-in, which occurred last December in central Alabama's Shelby County, the U.S. Geological Survey has identified the crater as a "sinkhole."

It may be the largest yet (as much as 425 ft. across and 150 ft. deep) in a growing number of such cave-ins that have pockmarked central and northern Alabama in recent years.

Sinkholes often occur when the roofs of underground limestone caverns suddenly collapse. Government scientists are not yet sure what is causing the rash of sinkholes in Alabama (at least 1,000 in Shelby County alone in the past 15 years). **Max's note: 6000 plus occurred by 2008

But Hydrologist John G. Newton thinks that they may be the result of a natural—or man-induced—lowering of the water table. That would not only remove buoyant support from the subsurface clay above the caverns, but would also cause additional structural damage to the cavern roof by increasing the downward velocity of fresh water seeping into the earth.

The eventual result, says Newton, can sometimes be a gargantuan collapse like the one Shelby County's residents call the "December giant."

**By 1976 they knew: "Massive dewatering from mining and drilling causes increased sinkhole activity...." John G. Newton

Excerpt from Birmingham News article:
Shelby County Sinkholes, Geology, Sinkhole List
SINKHOLES MAKE SHELBY COUNTY A GEOLOGIST'S HEAVEN. BUT THAT DOESN'T SLOW ACTIVITY IN STATE'S FASTEST-GROWING COUNTY, Sinkholes Don't Sink Shelby 

May 13, 2000

GINNY MacDONALD News staff writer

The Golly Hole
Besides their day-to-day existence with sinkholes, the Lawlers own what geologists say may be the state's largest sinkhole, the Golly Hole, nestled deep in the woods near Shelby County 84.

Mrs. Lawler said it was around dusk in December 1972 when she felt a rumble that gave birth to the crater: ''I didn't know what it was,'' she said.

A couple of days later, friends of the Lawlers walked the woods looking for the source of the rumble.
''They came back and said, 'You got a big hole on your property','' Lawler said.
''They walked up to the hole and said, 'Golly','' Mrs. Lawler said.
Hence the Golly Hole was dubbed.

''It was really something to see that everything had disappeared down the hole,'' Mrs. Lawler said.

The ''hole'' was 350 feet long, 270 feet wide and about 200 feet deep. 
Lawler said trees looked like toothpicks at the bottom of the crater. 

State geologists say it all happened in a matter of seconds.

Two becoming one

A one-acre lake is now at the bottom of the crater. Trees and bushes have grown up and down the sides of the hole. There's a second crater with a large pond in it 150 yards from the Golly Hole. The two holes are showing signs of uniting.

''We're told the pond will get bigger and bigger until the two are joined,'' Mrs. Lawler said.
Geologists say any change to the water table can trigger a sinkhole because groundwater in the rocks supports the underground limestone ''roof.'' When the water level drops, the ''roof'' can collapse.

"Many sinkholes occur near quarries or mining operations."

From "Eye On Miami" Best Blog 2008, Mining and Moral Turpitude 2009

Excellent blog that covers what the mainstream media will not:

Eye On Miami

Sunday, August 02, 2009
Moral Turpitude: The Cement Manufacturer and Rock Miner Hall of Shame ... 

by gimleteye

We have enough to keep us busy as citizen journalists and bloggers, but every now and then a news report washes in from around the state that remind us we are not alone.

Let's take rock mining for cement and cement products as an example.

All over Miami-Dade County the conversion of Everglades wetlands and farmland to suburban sprawl has sped along on the rails of zoning changes and federal permits to mine limestone. That fossilized coral reef under our feet in South Florida makes very good base material for cement.

Blasting and mining and refining it is a multi-billion dollar industry: the wealthiest and most secretive in Florida.

Without cement, there are no roads, buildings, and ambitions to put more growth and development than can possibly float on the Florida peninsula.

Rock miners started out as small family businesses in Miami-Dade and elsewhere: they are now mostly large multi-national corporations owned by foreign shareholders. Still, they pay beaucoups dineros to downtown Miami lawyers and lobbyists who wield their power like cudgels in the Neanderthal world of local politics.

In West Dade, rock mining activities have violated federal law protecting endangered species and the Everglades.

These violations of law triggered some of the most important litigation in the US, revealing the miserable performance of federal agencies like the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Rock miners have not only failed to live up to their commitments for mitigating impacts on wetlands, they have stifled dissent at county commissions and with the public.

In Miami-Dade, rock mining has imposed huge liabilities on drinking water supplies and costs on taxpayers.

In South Dade, rock mining has sped salt water intrusion.

In Palm Beach County, rock mines were the backdrop for a land use deal during the first term of Gov. Jeb Bush that helped push the cost of land acquisition for environmental purposes into the stratosphere, giving heart and hope to land speculators everywhere-- but especially speculators who were Repubican.

Rock mines are popping up in the ambitions of Big Sugar to extract further profit from the Everglades. They also, it so happens, provide the backdrop for criminal prosecution and imprisonment of Palm Beach County Commissioners.

The cumulative influence of rock miners has suppressed science related to the security of aquifers and encouraged the vast oversupply of roads and suburbs during the late, great building boom that is now in cinders.

Pervasive corruption, environmental assault of epic proportions, commissioners in prison, public safety blatantly disregarded, undue influence and all so Mr. Vecellio can live in a 40,000,000.00 house in Palm Beach, throw parties on the 140 ft. mega yacht "Lady Kathryn" (named for his wife) and live in the uber high society crowd. 

This all paints a picture of excess and greed at the expense of humanity and the environment that borders on obscenity.

"The 145-foot, $24.85 million Lady Kathryn III returns to the Palm Beach International Boat Show after having served as "Queen of the Flagler Waterfront" during last year's event. She is among the brokerage yachts that comprise the majority of the show's mega yacht category.

Built in 2003 by Australian-built NQEA Shipyard, the yacht is named after Palm Beacher Kathryn Vecellio, who purchased the vessel with her husband, Leo, and oversaw the transformation of its interiors with her longtime decorator, Jack Fhillips.

The Vecellios have frequently hosted charity events, business retreats and dinner parties on the yacht, which offers ample entertaining space inside and out, thanks to her 27-foot-beam design. Sailing with a crew of eight, she has five staterooms – including a VIP stateroom – that accommodate up to 10 passengers."

  (Photos from Google images)

Lady Kathryn III

Three mansions In Palm Beach and suing over the last one: 

Years ago, I spent four weeks as a juror on a construction case that by time of deliberation was an endless blur of expert testimony except for the fact that the plaintiff, Palm Beach County, had flown one of its experts from West Palm Beach to Belle Glade, a 30-minute overland drive on a slow day. This must have made sense to someone.  

Whatever, that case was not quite the scale facing one Palm Beach couple. In October 2009, two months before Leo and Kathryn Vecellio filed suit against 14 defendants at Palm Beach County courthouse, the prominent couple bought their third Palm Beach house.

But, rather than ocean or lake views, this one, a one-story 3,000-sq.-ft. Bermuda-designed house purchased for $2.1 million, is across the street from their oceanfront mansion, where they now have a spectacular view of the house’s ongoing reconstruction and remediation work. 

About a year after Mr. Vecellio, president, chairman and CEO of the Vecellio Group, one of the nation’s leading contractors, and his wife, Kathryn, closed on their reportedly more than $40 million new oceanfront house, they moved out and have filed a civil case against Dean DeSantis, Laura DeSantis, Addison Construction, Danny E. Swanson, Phoenix Architecture, and at last count, nine other building-related companies. 

Mr. Swanson is regarded among Palm Beach’s stellar builders. While a uniformed security guard stands poised at all times to protect their oceanfront villa, in court, the Vecellios are being represented by attorney G. Joseph Curley, with Gunster, Attorneys at Law. Stay tuned. (From Palm Beach Panorama)

How much is enough Mr. Vecellio? 

Mr. Hurley WRQ president how about you? Your house is worth 3.7 million, (he is "slumming it" compared to the Vecellios.)
How much more money and power do you three need before you are satisfied?

How many mansions, yachts, jewels and luxurious gowns can you acquire Mrs.Vecellio?
How many more communities and people do you and your husband intend to destroy to get them?

What a fitting color for "Lady Kathryn's" gown...blood red.

Take a good look at what Vincent, Alabama will be helping to pay for: Palm Beach high society.

Poisoned Well What was contaminating our drinking water? Who knows - Dade officials stopped looking (click title for story)

Sierra Club activist Barbara Lange standing at the White Rock Quarry.  
Lange found out about the benzene contamination by accident, while sifting through records turned over by the Water and Sewer Department. 
Until then, the contamination had never been made public. 

Mining pits at the White Rock Quarry, just a few hundred feet from the entrance to the Northwest Wellfield, where most of Miami-Dade county gets its water. 

The water table is so close to the ground surface that mining pits immediately fill with water. 

(photo credits with the Miami News Times story)






"Even if mining resumes, DERM's Mayorga says, there is nothing to worry about. He points out that miners have voluntarily switched to a benzene-free "mineral oil" — a point the newspapers have dutifully repeated. But that might not solve the problem.

The underwater blasting process itself will inevitably generate benzene, according to court testimony by Remmy Hennet, an independent geochemist brought in by the plaintiffs. Combustion always produces benzene, he tells New Times, "even if it is olive oil.... That is well-established science."

First, the cover up by DERM, WASD and the local Commission that there WAS BENZENE IN THE MONITORING WELLS AFTER BLASTS. EXCEEDING EPA LIMITS BY FIVE TO TWELVE TIMES THE ESTABLISHED LEVELS.

Second, WRQ NEVER TOLD ANYONE WHAT THEY KNEW; BENZENE WAS A COMPONENT OF THEIR BLASTING MATERIAL

Third, they try to get out of what they have done with slick lawyers like Kerri Barsh (who also lobbies the Florida Legislature for her clients, WRQ among them) and pay offs to officials to "kill the investigation" and further media reporting on it.
(**Many commissioners are in jail on corruption charges, see bottom of post)

Fourth, and the most damning, STATE AGENCIES KNEW AND DID NOT TELL THE PUBLIC.

Fifth, equally damning we suggest; "Combustion always produces benzene, even if it is olive oil.... That is well-established science."

Corruption in south Florida is even worse than Alabama and that is a distinction that is nothing to brag about.

WRQ, Fowler, Bradley, Hurley; you are caught for what you are; LIARS.
We will make certain the EPA and Office of Environmental Justice receives this information, along with supporting documentation, as well as numerous other agencies from the top of the state to our local officials in Vincent.

A second article on this:

Rock miners plan major expansion in South Florida
Written by Michael OBrien
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Rock miners plan major expansion in South Florida
South Florida Business Journal - by Paul Brinkmann

South Florida's rock mining industry is lining up approvals for the largest expansion in its history.

Ten quarry companies have applied for federal permits or local zoning approval to excavate up to 17,000 acres in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. A federal lawsuit launched by environmentalists has disrupted some quarry operations in Miami-Dade County, so the expansions could turn into a legal minefield.

The overall outcome could be a major factor for future business in South Florida since limestone is a key ingredient of the concrete used in building materials and highways. The Miami-Dade rock is especially prized for its quality.

"Companies are trying to have multiple options available in the region, and they want the supply available in South Florida because transporting rock is so expensive," said Ananth Prasad, who has overseen purchasing of rock as a chief engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation. "The state is not pushing for growth necessarily, and I do believe rock mining has to be balanced with all the local issues, water issues, everything."

South Florida is dotted with lakes that are the result of quarries, most prominently along the turnpike extension. Their bottoms can scrape close to the Biscayne Aquifer, the main source of the region's water supply, but studies of quarries' impact on wells has been limited.

The industry is at a crossroads now because Palm Beach County just approved zoning changes to allow mining on 11,000 new acres of the Everglades Agricultural Area, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to release a new environmental study of Miami-Dade's Lake Belt mining zone in July.

The corps is considering approval of expansion permits for 6,800 acres in Miami-Dade. To make matters more complicated, a federal appeals court is set to rule any day on a court order that last summer shut down some mines in the Lake Belt area along the Florida Turnpike Extension.

The expansion plans began during the recent construction boom, Prasad said. "In the growth boom, demand was exceeding supply. There were projects affected because the supplies were getting more expensive. Now we've had a slowdown, and the balance has evened out. The supply is there right now."

Miami-Dade's wellfield area mines have supplied most of the rock for the region's growth, and almost half of the DOT's crushed limestone and concrete for roads. But development pressure and environmental challenges have squeezed the mining interests.

The result is a surge of interest in Palm Beach County, where the rock is not as high quality, but is available because of more open space.
Wellfield amid the quarries

One of the biggest challenges for the mining industry is that Miami-Dade's biggest wellfield for drinking water is located in the middle of the Lake Belt quarries.

The Sierra Club and other groups in 2003 filed a federal lawsuit against the Army Corps to nullify mining permits around the wellfield, alleging the mines threaten water supply and the Everglades.

Evidence of benzene in the groundwater around the mines was found in 2005, but was never conclusively tied to rock mining. U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler mentioned benzene concerns in a ruling last year that shut down some operations around the wellfield while the Army Corps studies mining permits. Hoeveler said concerns about contaminating the underground water supply outweighed concerns about negative impact to the economy for that specific case.

Greenberg Traurig attorney Kerri Barsh, who represents mining companies in the Miami-Dade Limestone Products Association, said her clients stopped using benzene-containing explosive emulsion in the wellfield area in 2006 and switched to mineral-oil base "in an abundance of caution." Since 2004, the County Commission hasn't even required a public hearing for new rock mining permits, and the current planning is routine, she said.

Florida consumes about 143 million tons of aggregate limestone materials a year, the association said. About 120 million tons are produced from mines in the state, including 55 million tons from the Lake Belt. In 2006, Florida East Coast Railway transported 145,100 cars of rock to Jacksonville.

Two companies with a big presence in Miami-Dade are now planning massive quarries in the Everglades Agricultural Area of western Palm Beach County - once the exclusive territory of sugar cane and vegetable farmers.

*Florida Rock is proposing the Lake Harbor Quarry, while Rinker Materials of Florida proposes the South Bay Quarry.
(*Vulcan & FR merged in 2007. FR CEO & Pres. John Baker has this to say about the benzene in the water: "Our evidence shows that the benzene is not a present threat to the well field and is not necessarily attributable to mining operation.")

The Palm Beach County Commission approved zoning for those quarries last month, leaving the Army Corps, the Florida Department of Environment Protection and other agencies to determine the environmental impact. The quarries also will be examined for impact on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the water supply for the South Florida Water Management District.

"The various agencies will be deciding if they meet all the conditions for a permit," said Ken Todd, Palm Beach County's water resources manager. "My understanding is there are no major problems associated with these."

But an attorney for environmental groups involved in Everglades restoration said the Palm Beach County quarries may face opposition from those groups.

"Litigation is currently under consideration," said attorney Richard Grosso, executive director of the Everglades Law Center. "We represented several organizations at commission hearings and are discussing legal options to challenge what we thought were illegal decisions."
End of story

It was never conclusively proven, yet when the quarries were shut down, after four months with no blasting, monitoring well results showed no more benzene.
Nothing else in the area but quarries. Ms. Barsh is admitting the explosives contained benzene; "not conclusively proven..." the cover up is painfully obvious on its face.
If there had not been any guilt by WRQ, then why is Ms. Barsh saying what she is above: "her clients stopped using benzene-containing explosive emulsion in the wellfield area in 2006 and switched to mineral-oil base "in an abundance of caution."
Ms. Barsch, if what you say is an attempt to promote the "good neighbor policy" we keep hearing here in Vincent, then why didn't the quarry NOT USE BENZENE BASED ANFO in the first place?
Why do they have to get caught POISONING THE WATER WITH A KNOWN CARCINOGEN before we hear about how they want to operate with an "abundance of caution"?

Testimony included with Miami Times article as an "explanation" for the presence of the benzene in the wells:

Fragment of testimony recorded on July 18, 2006 before U.S.
District Judge William Hoeveler. The witness is Bill Brant,
former director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. He
is being questioned by Paul Schwiep, an attorney for three
environmental groups who sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
for permitting mining in the Lakebelt. The 2005 discovery of
benzene in the wellfield figured prominently in the judge’s
decision to vacate the permit and halt mining in the region.

Q In your view, was DERM adequately investigating the
blasting as a potential source?

MR. HALSEY: Objection, leading.

THE COURT: No, overruled.

THE WITNESS: Would you repeat it, please?

BY MR. SCHWIEP:

Q Yeah. In your view, was DERM adequately investigating
blasting as a potential source of benzene in the Northwest
Wellfield?

A I would say we were anxious about the presence of the
benzene, and we were anxious that we were not getting answers
as to what the source could be.

Q Did anyone ever suggest that terrorists might have
dumped benzene into the wellfield?

MR. HALSEY: Objection, calls for hearsay.

MR. SCHWIEP: I'm asking whether it was suggested.

THE COURT: Overruled.
You may answer.

THE WITNESS: Yes. BY MR. SCHWIEP:
Q And by whom?

A John Renfrow.

Terrorists did it. Yeah right.....this from the same man who suggested "guys out there in the middle of the night" and "space invaders" as possibilities.

More testimony:

Fragment of testimony recorded on July 18, 2006 before U.S.
District Judge William Hoeveler. The witness is Bill Brant,
former director of Water and Sewer. He is being questioned by
Paul Schwiep, attorney for the plaintiff.

[Schwiep: ]
Q After this May 16th, 2005, memo, did you prepare any
further memorandum regarding rock mining as the potential
source of benzene?

A No.

Q And why not?

A I was instructed not to write any more memos.

Q And when did that happen?

A There was a meeting a couple of weeks after -- after
this memo and Renfrow's response. There was a meeting
sometime late May.

Q And what was said to you?

A I was told not to write any more memos.

MR. HALSEY: Your Honor, I believe this is hearsay.
It's about what someone else has to say, not a party to this
proceeding. And I'm not sure if there's any kind of applicable exception that would justify these kinds of questions or answers. Otherwise, we're going to have to
bring in other witnesses to rebut these statements.

MR. SCHWIEP: Well, the exception is clearly a
state of mind exception, because he didn't -- he said I
didn't write any other memos. And then the question is why.
He says he was told not to.
Whether -- I'm not admitting that statement for the
truth of the matter asserted. It's not an out of court --

THE COURT: I'd like to know the answer to that.

BY MR. SCHWIEP:

Q You have the question in mind?

A I was told not to write any more memos by Joe Ruiz, the
assistant county manager.

Q And did he say why?

A At the meeting that we had I tried to get -- I tried to
understand why.

MR. HALSEY: Your Honor, I continue to object on
hearsay grounds.

THE COURT: All right, sir. Overruled.

THE WITNESS: All I remember was references to the
Miami Herald. I didn't get much of an explanation.

In other words; "shut up about it"

**In Palm Beach County, a 1999 deal to put one rock mine in public ownership—for the purposes of “water storage”—eventually landed three of five Palm Beach county commissioners in federal prison but not before a well-connected Republican campaign contributor grossed $200,000 per acre from the state.
In prison:
Former Palm Beach County Commissioners
1. Tony Masilotti
Masilotti is serving a five year prison sentence on public corruption charges.
2. Warren Newell
Newell's five year sentence was recently reduced to three years because he cooperated in the McCarty investigation.
Prosecutors say he cut shady, back-room deals for substantial personal gain.
3. Mary Mccarty
A judge has sentenced disgraced former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty to 42 months in prison for honest services fraud and fined her $100,000. He immediately remanded her to prison. Prosecutors recommended 87 to 108 months for "repeated, long term abuse of public trust." The judge said the other two sentenced committed more egregious acts of corruption and gave them lengthier sentences.

Someone ought to inform Vincent and Shelby County officials of what can happen when "backroom deals" with certain Florida mining companies are made; they get their way and you get put away.


If you don't think something as bad as this could happen here again three words to remember: Alabama Plating Company.

Quarry History Lessons from Dr. Jack Bridges 2009

An excellent column by Dr. Bridges that deserves to be seen again, lest we forget....

By Jack Bridges / Guest Columnist
Published Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Vincent residents curious about limestone quarries as neighbors could take a tour of Central Alabama’s limestone quarries trail. Most of it is right here in Shelby County. A quick look around would answer many questions about living alongside a quarry.

Begin the tour just east of Montevallo on Alabama Highway 25. Drive west past the limestone operations.

You can’t miss the piles of spoil and the puffs of smoke from the chimneys. Head back on 25 toward Calera. Pause or drive slowly (but watch out for the rock- hauling trucks; a sight-seer could get overrun.

Check out the chimneys and the landscape, as well as the finish on the cars parked along the way.

Go on to Calera, then take U.S. 31 north toward Birmingham. You are right in the midst of the best part of the trail. All along the way you pass quarries and crusher plants and cement plants. Watch out for the tankers carrying cement and 22- wheel dump truck trailer rigs carrying various sizes of crushed stone.

One of the trail highlights comes at Saginaw. Take a quick side trip on Shelby County 26 toward Columbiana. That will take you past the new and expanded quarry of the old Longview Lime operations.

Go slow and you can see. The company has put up fencing and a big berm along the road with shrubs and trees to hide the works. Then you cross a bridge over the quarry’s sunken road for the rock haulers, and that gives a quick view to the left of the vast old hole in the ground, evidently with pumps still running, and a very informative look at the current digging operations.

Back on U.S. 31, turn toward Birmingham. In another mile or so, you’ll come to the manufacturing end of the limestone operation at the edge of the quarry. There is a good view of the kilns and furnaces for making cement, and the loading areas and the puffing smoke stacks and the lime dust on the trees and cars.

Stay on U.S. 31 for a while. Traffic gets a bit congested, but in a growing part of Alabaster, there is another quarry plant puffing out grey lime dust.

You can end your old- fashioned Sunday drive experience by retracing the route there and heading on home. But if you make the trip, you will know better what quarries are like. And you might stop along the way and ask some folks what sort of neighbors quarries make.

Dr. Jack Bridges, who lives near Shelby, spent years living near a quarry in his youth.

We spent some time going through the newspaper archives and found that in almost every instance, these quarry and lime plants bribe their way in.

One place they didn't get their way was Montevallo, but that did not stop ADEM from permitting the proposed quarry while a lawsuit was pending. They even went so far as to say' "Even if the quarry isn't operating, we won't withdraw their permits."

If the schools in this county are in such dire need, why the hell isn't Columbiana doing more to help them? Why do they insist on sentencing these kids to living with these behemoths that pollute everything nearby, especially our children?

Google maps will show you how close the schools are to these polluters.

EPA records will show what they do.

What irony.