Nature Walk in Chumuckla

I walked the woods of the Panhandle today. It was quiet, peaceful and relaxing. The temperature seemed just right, and the cloud cover was almost too perfect.

As I began to walk, I realized that it was not so quiet alone in the woods, and as a matter of fact, I was not alone at all. Life was all around me and it was quite amazing. I could hear birds chirping like I have never heard before. The wind was rustling through the trees, making sounds almost as if the trees were talking to me, telling me stories of the sights they have seen. I could hear a dog howling in the distance, letting everyone know about the things he has gone through. It seemed as if my ears were in an entirely different place.

But that was not all; all of my other senses began to become more active, as well. I could smell things that others in their everyday lives cannot smell. The wind had a unique smell, a fresh smell of a new day and new season. The trees smelled so fresh and inspiring. And I began to see things that not just anyone can see. It was nature at its best, untouched and pure. The trees seemed alive, almost as if they were walking with me. The birds seemed as if they were at home, as they flew from tree to tree, not having to worry about anyone or anything interfering with their everyday lifestyle. Ants were marching in a straight line, each doing their job and not one swayed from the line.

That brings me to feeling, and it was a feeling that everyone gets, but it is rare. A feeling of pureness, freshness, cleanness and a feeling of being alive, all at once. Being with nature in its habitat, not my habitat. Letting nature do its work as I watched, not it watching as I did my job. I felt as I was part of nature, and I belonged right there in the woods. Now, I know whenever I need to get away from the stress of everyday living, all I have to do is take a walk in the quite, peaceful, wonderful woods of Chumuckla.

 

Legal Ad Story - Title V Revision for IP

As of March 16, residents of Escambia County may notice some new, different smells circulating in the air.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection Northwest District approved a Title V Air Operation Permit Revision to International Paper Company for the Pensacola Mill in Cantonment.

The mill has been converted from a hardwood and softwood facility to a completely hardwood facility, increasing the mill’s pulp and paper production to a peak level of approximately 2,500 air dried tons of unbleached pulp per day.  

This conversion to completely softwood facilities will result an increase of 109.40 tons of toxic emissions into the air.

These emissions include volatile organic compounds, mono-nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, sulfuric oxide mist and particulate matter.

Volatile organic compounds and particulate matter are suspected to be carcinogens, while all of the chemicals are suspected to be respiratory toxicants, according Scorecard.org, a pollution information website.

Softwood is used to make a harder, thicker paper, such as cardboard, that is generally dark in color and not bleached to turn white, while on the other hand, hardwood is used to make smooth, soft, white paper, which requires bleaching.

“They are in business to make money,” said Jack Fleck, an Engineering Specialist for the Florida DEP. “And I assume that this is a cost cutting move.”

IP is a global paper and packaging company that is ranked No. 93 among the Fortune 500 companies. The company operates 16 pulp, paper and packaging mills, including the Pensacola location, which has been in operation since 1941. Through 2007, IP has over 51,000 employees worldwide, with just over 31,000 of those being employed in the United States.

IP failed to comment on the Title V revision after numerous contact attempts were made.

The process to convert the Pensacola Mill to a completely softwood facility began in November 2006, with IP submitting a request for an application for construction that explained the process and how things were supposed to occur during the revision.

After the DEP approved the construction application, IP began the conversion, which began physically in September 2007 and was completed physically early in 2008.

As usual with any Title V revision, the long, drawn out part of the process begins after the construction, according to Fleck.

“After the actual construction, things get bogged down,” Fleck said. “Tests are run on the emissions, which can take up to three months depending on the difficulty of the tests and the size of the tests.

“After the tests are run, the company then gets 75 days to receive and report the results, along with their application, to the DEP. Then the DEP begins their review of the results and questioning process, which can take anywhere from 30, 45, 60 days.”

Once the DEP approves the results, the company must publish a public notice of the change. At times, the notice comes months after the DEP approves the results.

IP published their notice for a revision in The Pensacola News Journal on December 19, 2008.

Once the notice goes public, the community has 30 days for public comment. If there is no public comment, the DEP approves the revision.

No public comment was made on the revision for IP, resulting in the approval.

IP’s current Title V Air Operation Permit expires October 27, 2011 and they must apply for renewal by March 16 of the same year.

 

Toxic Town

They say I live in a toxic town. Well, whoever “they” are is probably right. While I do not live in Escambia County, I spend a good bit of time there at school and for work, and look at Escambia County. It is ranked the number one county for toxic chemical releases in Florida, winning this probably unwanted title by nearly 13 million pounds. It is also in the top 10 in the country, and I don’t think that can be good for me or the people around here. But I do live on the safer side of the river in Santa Rosa County, which checks in at 21^st in Florida, and who knows where in the nation. Releasing only 645,000 pounds of toxic chemicals looks a lot better than that 38 million that Escambia is releasing. So they say I live in a toxic town, but I feel I will be just fine. I will live my life, enjoy it and try not to think about these toxic chemicals being released. But maybe I should just spend some more time at home in Santa Rosa County.

Arizona Chemial Co. TRI Story

Arizona Chemical Co. continued their trend of lower releases of toxic chemicals in Escambia County in the 2007 Toxic Release Inventory report by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The TRI is a publically available database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities. The database can be accessed at www.epa.gov/triexplorer.

Arizona Chemical Co. released 11,441 pounds of toxic chemicals in 2007, down 16 percent from the 13,696 pounds released in 2006.

The results were the lowest for the company since 2000.

Arizona Chemical Co. credits their reduction is toxic chemicals released to its recognition and awareness of its releases.

“We have focused on two things aggressively,” said Khalid Hasna, an environmental engineer at Arizona Chemical Co. in Pensacola. “First, in 2000 we went to equipment with emissions control and second we are focusing more on waste minimization.”

The company continues to release ethylbenzene, phenol and xylene. All three toxic chemicals are suspected to be toxicants that have human health hazards.

Ethylbenzene is the only recognized carcinogen, while all three chemicals are suspected to be a cardiovascular or blood toxicant, a developmental toxicant and a neurotoxicant according to Scorecard.org, a pollution information site.

Cardiovascular or blood toxicants are known to cause adverse effects on the nervous or hematopoietic (blood) systems, while developmental toxicants are known to have effects that include birth defects and biological dysfunctions, among others.

Arizona Chemical Co. was founded in 1930 and currently employs more than 1,400 people worldwide with its headquarters located in Jacksonville, Fla.

According to the company’s official website, it is the world’s largest producer of naturally derived specialty resins and pine-based chemicals for the adhesives, inks and coatings, lubricants, fuel additives, mining and oleochemicals markets.

While the manufacturing location in Pensacola, located at 411 S. Pace Blvd., released 11,441 pounds of toxic chemicals on-site, it handled a total of 11,158,167 pounds of waste, which is also on the decline in the past decade.

The company feels that is can handle such a large amount of waste with little release because of its efforts, once again.

“We have streamlined our processes to optimize efficiency,” Hasna said. “It is a combo of things, from recycling more to off-site transfers.”

Arizona Chemical Co. transferred 35,718 pounds of toxic chemicals off-site for further waste management, attempting to become a more environmentally-safe company.

“Byproducts get sent to treatment storage facilities, which are landfills, fuel blenders and waste incinerators,” Hasna said. “Fuel blenders recover liquid waste and energy and resell it as a fuel while waste incinerators are used to recycle waste to produce electricity and steam.”

 

 

 

Fossil Creek Restoration

Fossil Creek had its flow diverted to power plants for around 100 years, until 2005 when the Arizona Public Service Company (APS) decommissioned the power plants and returned the flow to its normal state.

One of the main contributors to the restoration of Fossil Creek was Northern Arizona University. NAU had a team that collected baseline data and tracked changes over time. They wanted to reintroduce native fish and reestablish travertine pools created by the calcium-rich water of Fossil Creek. They also worked with the U.S. Forest Service on adaptive management strategies.

The Game and Fish Department closed Fossil Creek to fishing until 2007 to give the native fish time to recover and adapt.

The restoration was a success, as it has become a model for succeeding restoration work on old dams throughout the nation. It has also seen the native fish population grow beyond expectations.

There was also a documentary made about the restoration by NAU, which can be seen more in-depth at http://www.mpcer.nau.edu/riverreborn/.

Others involved included the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as the Yavapai-Apache Nation, American Rivers, Arizona Riparian Council, Center for Biological Diversity, The Nature Conservancy, and Northern Arizona Audubon Society.