Withlacoochee Area Residents, Inc. W.A.R. Dedicated to the Preservation of a Way of Life   Newsletter for December 8, 2006 ______________________________________________________________________   First, a word of thanks… To those of you in both Citrus and Levy Counties who heard our plea for help and funding and responded so generously, THANK YOU!! Our failure to acknowledge your financial support in a timely manner in no way indicates a lack of appreciation. Simply put, our organization, with few “workers” has its hands full. The fight to prevent the expansion of the Inglis rock mining operation to an area significantly larger and nearer to our homes has been all consuming. Update… You will recall that earlier this year Mr. Hollins submitted an application for the creation of a special zoning district which would have exempted his property, currently leased to Cemex Corporation, from most of the land use regulations in Citrus County. Of specific concern to us were the facts that: this would have allowed him to expand his mining district by approximately 30%; it involved moving the mining operation northward to his property boundary; and, it would have involved mining on lands not currently zoned for mining. The personal consequences to those of us who live in Northwest Citrus County, Inglis and Yankeetown, coupled with the devastating environmental impacts of such a move, are unthinkable.   Citrus County staff did an excellent job of analyzing the issue and presented to the Citrus Planning and Development Review Board (PDRB) a well supported recommendation that the request be denied.   After hearing this, and W.A.R.’s considerable input, the PDRB Members accepted staff’s recommendation and forwarded it to the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners. Facing almost certain defeat before the County Commission, the application was withdrawn. End round one!!!!   What’s next?… Cemex and Hollins are currently pursuing other avenues in their attempt to turn our community and the surrounding environment into an industrial wasteland. One is in Tallahassee, the other in Citrus County.   In Tallahassee, Cemex has submitted to Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) a request for an expansion of the Inglis Mine’s current Environmental Resource Permit (ERP). While this is only one of several permits required for mine expansion it is of concern to us since, if granted, it might be used as a means of pressuring Citrus County into granting others, perhaps by the threats of a lawsuit.   Upon completion of the initial application review and receipt of W.A.R.’s first responses, FDEP tasked the applicant to respond to a number of concerns, chief among them the possibility that the requested expansion would harm the public interest. When the miners failed to reply within the legislatively mandated time frame, W.A.R. demanded that the application be rejected; however, an extension was granted. When the miners’ replies were finally submitted, W.A.R. had a second opportunity to comment.  In the ongoing process, FDEP demanded yet more information from the miners, and that is where the matter now stands.  In short, the miners must show that what they propose, if permitted and executed, will not harm the public interest. To date, they have not done so, but they have three more months to try.   Meanwhile, in Citrus County, Hollins must get around a setback requirement, which precludes mining in a significant portion of the land involved in the proposed expansion. This setback requirement will come under review by the PDRB December 21st in Lecanto. Their decision is another of the critical go-no-go points. If we can prevent a decrease in the setback requirement, we will have won round two as without it there is less likelihood that Hollins can get the zoning changes necessary to expand the mining operation.   Remember, there is more than our life style at issue here. For most of us, our homes are our biggest investment.  We have been advised that should that mine be permitted to expand, the impact on local property values will be severe.    How you can help… The December 21st PDRB meeting will be the first of the next round of hearings relating to this very important setback issue. The final decision is scheduled to be made by the Board of County Commissioners in late January or early February. Attendance at all of these meetings is critical.  Our numbers in attendance will affect the outcome. If we are to prevail, our presentations must be persuasive, our arguments irrefutable, and our speakers backed by the presence of a substantial number of our members.    There is no substitute for People Power. Make your plans to be at those hearings!!!!!   You can do more! Talk to your neighbors. Our goal is to add 50 new members to our ranks each month until we can fill the hearing room to “Standing Room Only” when we have an issue.   Those of you with political connections, State or local, please step forward. Our opponents will not hesitate to bring political pressure to bear.  We need access to fight back.   Funding.  Our lawyer is a good one, but legal representation is expensive.  There can be no question that his presence was significant in our victory in the last round. While we are still “in the black”, we are not funded for the entire fight. We need funds and fund raisers. The time and effort some of us are spending on this could well be devoted to more productive ends. Will you help?   The future… For the next sixty days we will be involved in the battle to preserve the requirement for the mining setback. A victory here would be a decisive one. At the same time we will need to continue to provide the FDEP with a continuous stream of opposition to the ERP extension that CEMEX has requested.   This is a major issue in this community.  There is more work here than our small group can handle effectively.  To volunteer call or email:  Randy Peterson, ph 447-5384, Email  quixotic83@atlantic.net is the contact point.

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