Sunday, July 29, 2012
SEWER SLUDGE UPDATE and PETITION
contact: president@dawsoncountyhomeowners for a PETITION in PDF format
This parcel (#107-013) is zoned for residential development
and is surrounded by homes, residential communities and their water
wells. It is intersected by streams and wetlands which drain down to the Etowah
River past Black’s Mill Elementary and the two Riverview Schools, the canoe
put-in and the new sports fields at Rock Creek Park. It is also located less
than a mile from Dawson County’s major revenue generator –the Premium Outlet
Mall and the GA400 business community. Mr. Benoit Causse, the EPD engineer
processing the permit, confirmed that if the sludge is stored in a tank or
tanker for more than 24hrs. before it is spread it becomes anaerobic (starved
of air) and smells like contents from a septic tank and that during wet weather
spreading of the sludge has to wait until weather conditions improve.
Mr Curren has already held a public MEETING (July 16th)
by request of the EPD who have been working on this permit submission since
early January 2012. This meeting was NOT a PUBLIC HEARING. The EPD must
advertise a public hearing in newspapers that serve the jurisdiction
where the sludge dumping is proposed, followed by a 30 day period for the
public to continue to weigh in with comments, letters and emails. Such a public
hearing has not been advertised as of today’s date.
Current legislation controlling sewer sludge disposal
resides with the State of GA through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
and permitting body the EPD, thus local control is effectively bypassed with or
without the existence of local ordinances (Dawson is without). If the permit
seeker can pass all the EPD permit requirements local objections could be
bypassed too.
WHAT WE CAN DO
·
Please request copies of the petition and share
these with each of your friends, relatives, neighbors and community asking them
to distribute to theirs. (Each one reach one networking). Then collect the
signed copies (even if they are not completely full). Let me know if you would
like these sheets picked-up or alternatively mail them to Dawson County
Homeowners Civic Association, PO BOX 1294 Dawsonville GA 30534
· Each person should sign only ONCE and should be at least 18 years old. There is no restriction on where signatories reside, except to say that Dawson County residents, businesses and taxpayers will add most weight in the minds of the petition recipients. (Email addresses are not essential and would only be used to communicate updates from DCHCA!)
Dawson County local government and staff are preparing
technical and legal arguments in opposition to this permit and support the
DCHCA petition. The Dawson County Website will post information and updates on
its front page. http://dawsoncounty.org/government/public-notices/sludge-sprayfield-harry-sosebee-road-lumpkin-campground-road/
and has posted the following contacts for you.
For your comments (letters and emails) to the EPD
Contact (Municipal Permitting Unit)
Benoit Causse (404) 675-1620 benoit.causse@dnr.state.ga.us
David McKee (706) 344-3500 ext. 42337 dmckee@dawsoncounty.org
contact: president@dawsoncountyhomeowners for a PETITION in PDF format
With the recent sewer sludge issue fresh on Dawson County’s
front porch now may be a good time to review what we know and what we can do:
WHAT WE KNOW:
Waterscapes Services LLC (through their agent Ken
Curren) have filed a request with the Environmental Protection Division (EPD)
for a permit to amend their Sludge Management Plan to allow land application of
Class B sewer sludge (partially treated human waste), from Hampton Creek Water
Reclamation facility to spread it over four areas of parcel #107 013 in Dawson
County located at the corner of Harry Sosebee Road and Lumpkin Campground
Road (aka Hwy 9 EAST). The four areas total 65 acres of this 160acre parcel.
DCHCA has published a petition. Large
public support and participation will not be lost on the permitting authorities
or the State lawmakers (even after an election!). Remember, as current GA
legislation stands a field near your home could be chosen by sludge dumpers
next!
· Each person should sign only ONCE and should be at least 18 years old. There is no restriction on where signatories reside, except to say that Dawson County residents, businesses and taxpayers will add most weight in the minds of the petition recipients. (Email addresses are not essential and would only be used to communicate updates from DCHCA!)
For your comments (letters and emails) to the EPD
Contact (Municipal Permitting Unit)
Benoit Causse (404) 675-1620 benoit.causse@dnr.state.ga.us
For questions - Dawson
County Liaison
Planning and Development DirectorDavid McKee (706) 344-3500 ext. 42337 dmckee@dawsoncounty.org
No one wants this sludge
dumping except those who spread the sludge!
Jane Graves
For DCHCA
Help Stop the Sludge Field -
This Lettter to the Editor was published in the Dawson News and Advertiser on 25th July 2012
Correction: 40,000-50,000gallons annually should read monthly
This Lettter to the Editor was published in the Dawson News and Advertiser on 25th July 2012
Correction: 40,000-50,000gallons annually should read monthly
Waterscape Utility LLC submitted a “Revised Sludge Management Plan for the Hampton Creek Waste Water Refuge Facility” and the request for a permit to dump 40,000 to 50,000 gallons of Class B sewer sludge annually over the surface of 60 acres of land near the intersection of Harry Sosebee Rd and Lumpkin Campground Rd HAS BEEN FILED with the EPD.
This permit would also include a 30,000 gallon storage tank to hold the sludge if the ground is too wet to receive it directly. This sludge is not dry nor is it composted, it contains active human germs (from human waste) such as Hepatitis A, Salmonella, E-coli etc. and it smells, particularly when wet and will be carried to the site in trucks using Dawson County roads. Groundwater and well contamination, respiratory diseases and death are only some of the documented occurrences following similar dumping elsewhere in GA; however, all were dismissed as lacking conclusive evidence by the EPD. There are many homes and subdivisions in close proximity to this proposed dump site, the Premium Outlet Mall (the County’s prime revenue source) is less than a mile away and the streams on this property flow down to the Etowah past Black’s Mill Elementary, as well as the two Riverview schools and into the Etowah River by the new sports fields, canoe put-in and Rock Creek Park.
Current EPD and State regulations may permit this dumping unless it can be proven to fall short of EPD standards! Members of the Dawson County Board of Commissioners are opposed to this permit. No one in our county wants this dumping, least of all in our most populated corridor!
The EPD’s environmental engineer who has been handling this documentation since January 5 is Mr. Benoit Causse. According to Causse, once the permit is "open," the EPD will advertise a public notice on its website and in local newspapers. At that point, the clock starts ticking and the public has 30 days to comment. However, comments may be emailed in advance to epdcomments@dnr.state.ga.us, but don't stop there. Keep sending comments once the notice is placed.
I believe Dawson County taxpayers should also immediately contact their State representatives. Protest this surface dumping of sewer sludge that risks our health our safety and our local economy. A massive public “stink” may encourage the EPD to deny this permit. There are no local ordinances in place to stop further permits being applied for in the future, making Dawson County vulnerable to become the Grand Poop capital of GA!
Monday, June 18, 2012
|
By now you should have received your property tax appraisal
and may be pleased to see that this is reduced and (as long as there is not an
increase in the millage rate) you may be paying less tax this year than last
year. However if you are one of the folks who live around the lake and a
field assessor has visited you in the last 6 months or so you may be less
pleased to see extra photos (beyond the customary front view of your home)
posted on a public website. These photos, until about three weeks ago, also included docks as well as views from
private patios, decks and even included dogs behind a fence!
Initially I brought this privacy and security issue to the
attention of the Dawson Tax Assessors Office
some six weeks ago and was told that it was their legal right to post
publically any photos the field assessors had taken. However the Georgia
legislation (Tax and Revenue 48-5-314) is extremely vague, and makes no
reference to the content of online public records of private property.
Common sense and reason might indicate that such additional photo postings
provide would be thieves with shopping lists and locations.
Some three weeks ago the Dawson News and Advertiser
published a DCHCA letter to the editor highlighting these issues. Following
this publication I have spoken personally with the Chief Appraiser, the Board
of Assessors Chairman, the BOC Chairman, and some of the County Commissioners. I
have sent all the Commissioners email examples of these extra photos, as well
as notifying our State Senator, those currently running for District 9 State House Representative seat
and the GA Department of Revenue
about the need to update the legislation to protect not just our private
property rights but also to safeguard the
security of our homes.
Although these actions by the DCHCA have been successful in
getting the Tax Assessors Office to remove photographs of docks, many of the
other views around the back and sides of lake homes, including the property
owner’s vehicle with legible license tags in the driveway, still remain
publicly accessible and downloadable.
With your help the DCHCA will continue to request that our
elected leaders formulate and enforce a policy that will protect both our
private property rights and the security of our homes, by removing the existing
“extra photographs” currently posted on the Dawson Tax Assessors public
website, and preventing similar extra photos, beyond the traditional front
aspect of a home, from being uploaded in the future not just for the “lake
front” homes but all homes countywide. Check your property card online and let
the Dawson Tax Assessors Office and your
elected leaders know your preference for “extra photographs” of your property
being published and available for downloading by anyone on a public website.
For Dawson County Homeowners Civic Association
www.dawsoncountyhomeowners.org
To check YOUR property card online click the
following link (taken from the Dawson County Government website) http://www.dawsontaxassessors.org/index.html
- Click on “Search Records”
tab at the top left of the page – when a new page appears click on the
statement Yes,
I accept the above statement and want to Search Records. The next
page that comes up gives you choices of how to search - typing your last name
in the box will bring up all property cards for that family name….scroll
through these to find yours, click on “Parcel Number” on left side of the page
to bring up your “property card”.
Photos can be viewed by clicking on “Building Image”.
These are generally just the standard front aspect of the home but if you have
a “lake” property you may find additional photos publically published under
“Land Information”. If “show photo” appears here click it. You may see your
deck, patio, a view over Public Lands managed by the Corps of Engineers and
perhaps a tree, your vehicle, a fishpond or
your dogs in your backyard!
Note: Currently the quality of aerial
photography published on the Tax Assessor’s website is not uniform for the
entire county. The Lake area and Dawson Forest are featured in high resolution
aerial photography (but not sufficient to read license tags!) Further north and
west of the Lake there is an intermediate resolution (less detail is
identifiable) and in the far western areas of the county the aerial photography
is much more fuzzy. The website allows the viewer to pan 360 degrees aerially
around a property, zooming in and out to ascertain more detail. None of these
angles feature anything like the detail or resolution of the photos taken by a
field assessor on foot.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The taxman cometh, or rather his henchman, the field
assessor, to check, document and photograph the minute details outside
your home (and inside if you give him permission) all in the name of
re-evaluating the tax digest of real property (your home and garden). In last
week’s letter I mentioned the 4th Amendment that has its origins in England in
the indelibly understood phrase…“an Englishman’s home is his castle” (at least
until the queen returns).
Well not so much in America anymore. Take a moment to check
the property listing for your home on the Dawson County Tax Assessor’s website
- http://www.qpublic.net/ga/dawson/
(Search Records) - and you may be surprised to see that you have been one of
those selected to have extra photographs of your decks, docks, outbuildings,
barns and garages (including equipment and cars with identifying license tags)
along with views of how to access your property from adjoining Public Lands,
all posted (and downloadable) on this most public website. Invasion of
privacy and security risks immediately spring to mind, followed by how much
time and effort (=cost) went into uploading all these extra data? What next,
pictures of the inside of our homes taken through our windows by peeping field
assessors?
When did the policy of publishing just the front view of a
property, as seen from the road, change to publicly inventorying backyard
possessions and vistas from private patios and decks? In my opinion this is an
open invitation for homeowner abuse, offering tempting options to thieves to
take property so readily displayed in public, not to mention what the tax
assessors may choose to use their ever growing dossier on you for. Watch for
men with guns in bullet proof vests carrying yellow tape?
Thursday, May 17, 2012
When did we click
“Agree” to this Lack of Privacy and Security Policy?
If you are an Etowah Water and Sewer Association (EWSA)
customer you may have seen, or will soon see, a notice stuck to your mail box
informing you that this Water Utility is switching your water meter to a “smart
meter” under the guise of a directive of GA Senate Bill 370. (This legislation
did NOT mandate “smart meters” but that water utilities be able to account for
their water usage and losses). While these meters may seem like an efficient
way to detect leaks and conserve water they will also allow EWSA, their agents,
and any knowledgeable hacker to access detailed, minute by minute, data of an individual homeowner’s pattern of
water usage.
The data from each smart meter is transmitted (like a cell
phone conversation) via receiving antennae (3 in Dawson County) and forwarded
for collection by EWSA. Unlike conventional meters, which record amalgamated
water use for monthly or weekly readings, EWSA’s fix (estimated to cost around
$2M for approximately 5300 customers) will pinpoint not only low flow leaks but
also when you flush, when you take a bath vs. a shower, or
leave the faucet running when you brush your teeth, without any guarantee of the
privacy of this data. Although they may not be able to tell yet if it was a #1
or a #2 you did in the bathroom anyone seeing the minute by minute data will certainly
be able to deduce that no water use in a home for an extended period means that
the occupants may be away at work or on vacation. This information, in the
wrong hands, is not just a privacy issue but also a safety and security concern.
With over half the installation project already completed
EWSA have neither published on their website nor included in our water bills a privacy
or security policy statement regarding how these data, from inside our homes,
will be used. Who sees this information? How is it handled? Is it shared with
third parties or sold, or used to construct future tariff pricing? Will it be
used to enforce watering restrictions? Has the ability of hackers gaining
access to the transmissions been stymied? Does law enforcement need a warrant
to peek? While in GA we have a tradition of standing up for our First and
Second Amendment rights, when I last checked there was a Fourth Amendment that
deserves some attention too! (For those not familiar with this, it deals with searches
inside our homes).
Monday, April 30, 2012
Welcome
Welcome to a new option for the Dawson County Homeowners....it's a Blog called "Dawson Daylight", which we hope will 'shine a little light' into the darker corners of the doings in Dawson.
We hope to encourage wide participation along with good natured debate and questioning of what we might have always "taken for granted"...
The Dawson County Homeowners are a 501c3 and as such we do not endorse any political candidate..ever... BUT we may debate and / or support various policies.
Will you help us by sharing your opinions and join us?....We hope so!
Watch for more updates on our Website soon.
We hope to encourage wide participation along with good natured debate and questioning of what we might have always "taken for granted"...
The Dawson County Homeowners are a 501c3 and as such we do not endorse any political candidate..ever... BUT we may debate and / or support various policies.
Will you help us by sharing your opinions and join us?....We hope so!
Watch for more updates on our Website soon.
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