Stop I-3 Coalition Monthly Newsletter
May, 2006
The Board of Directors of the Stop I-3 Coalition has
made the decision to go to a monthly newsletter format for sharing information.
A notice will be sent to the entire database when the newsletter is posted on
the website. In that way, you can check www.stopi-3.org for an update of the month’s news.
SUCCESS WITH PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE STUDY
PROCESS: Thank you each and everyone for all the letters you sent to
FHWA, DOT and other officials. They indeed have made a big difference and
several forms of public participation are being included in the Statement of
Work which will define the perimeters of the study. FHWA and GA DOT are still
working out the financial arrangements necessary for the study to move forward.
The next step is to hire a consultant to conduct the study. There is no
timetable set forward for this process. You will be kept posted as information
regarding this step is secured. We do know that this study will not include all
of the items that need to be addressed to build an interstate and that years of
study will lay ahead as future steps unless Congress finds in 2009 on the basis
of this study that the entire process needs to be abandoned. Of course, that is our goal and we will
hold steadfast!
STOP I-3 OFFICIAL NON-PROFIT CORPORATION: Stop I-3 Articles of Incorporation have been filed
with the State of Georgia, since that is where we have our office, so we are
now an official non-profit corporation. A next step is to begin the application
for our own 501-©(3) tax exemption with the IRS which will take several months.
In the meantime, all donations will remain tax exempt through our partnership
with SAFC (Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition). We are currently in the
process of approving Stop I-3 Bylaws and hiring staff in preparation of all the
work which will be required to stop this ruinous road. We are quietly beginning
our fundraising campaign and have raised $32,000 in the first month! We are
hoping to raise $500,000 this year. All donations are greatly appreciated and
can be made in two ways: by check to Stop I-3/SAFC sent to Stop I-3 Coalition,
PO # 9, Sautee-Nacoochee, GA 30571 or by credit card on the “Donate Now” button
on www.stopi-3.org.
NUCLEAR NEWS:
It is critically important for all of us to keep updated on all aspects of any
activity which may be I-3 related. Many of us have stayed concerned about the
interconnectedness of I-3 and the increased nuclear activity in the Southeast
U.S. I have asked Mary Olson to write the following paragraph to be included in
this newsletter:
Western North Carolina and North Georgia
could see 10's of thousands of high-level waste shipments starting in 2007
or 2008: In November of 2005 there was an enormous "sea change"
in US high-level nuclear waste policy -- Congress directed the Department
of Energy to pick from among several nuclear fuel reprocessing technologies
and make plan to start reprocessing US-generated high-level nuclear waste
-- and now we hear, international waste as well. Reprocessing is dangerous,
dirty, threatens our health and does not "solve the waste problem"
-- in fact it makes it worse -- resulting in liquid, caustic wastes and purified
plutonium. The vast majority of high-level waste in the US is from making
electric power --and is currently sitting at the nuclear power plant sites.
It was formerly to be sent to Nevada for burial. The Department of Energy
has now decided that the site for future reprocessing will be Savannah River
Site in South Carolina. In order to get the waste to South Carolina, I-81,
I-75, I-77 and I-40 will be key. If I-26 is completed it will be even more
key since it avoids Charlotte. If I-3 is built it would be the alternate to
I-26 -- they always like a back-up. This waste is deadly in a matter
of seconds or minutes of exposure if not shielded. When shielded it is still
like an X-ray machine traveling down the road, turned on. You would get the
equivalent of 1 chest X-ray and hour at 6 feet (next lane over on the highway).
These shipments are effectively enormous "dirty bombs" -- second
only to an operating nuclear power plant. This information will not stop I-3
(moving the waste is legal), but stopping I-3 and I-26 Connector WILL stop
these shipments... in this area...
Source: Mary Olson, Director of the Southeast Office of Nuclear Information and
Resource Service
MARY ALSO SENT THE NOTICE BELOW. HOPEFULLY SOME OF
OUR I-3 CONCERNED CITIZENS WILL BE ABLE TO ATTEND THIS MEETING. IF SO, PLEASE
SEND A BRIEF REPORT OF SUCH TO stopi3@alltel.net. AND IT WILL BE INCLUDED IN OUR NEXT NEWSLETTER.
Please put “nuclear meeting” in the subject line. Thanks.
Please forward - - these reactors
would be right on the new Interstate "3" if it is built, and Southern
Co. is certainly a "player" in wanting this new road. We need Georgians
who are concerned about nuclear expansion to attend this meeting. -- Thanks,
Mary Olson, Director, Nuclear Information and Resource Service Southeast Office
(828)675-1792, nirs@main.nc.us
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No. 06-058 |
April 25, 2006 |
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NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS MAY 10-11 IN GEORGIA |
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with the public in Waynesboro, Ga., on Wednesday, May 10, and Thursday, May 11, to discuss how the agency would review an expected application for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Vogtle site, about 23 miles southeast of Augusta, Ga. The site, owned by Southern Nuclear Operating Co., currently contains two commercial nuclear power plants. On May 10, the staff will hold an open house from noon until 2 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Burke County Library, 130 Highway 24 South in Waynesboro. There will be no formal presentations, but the staff will have information available about the ESP process and will informally discuss the process with interested members of the public. On May 11, the meeting will be held in the Auditorium of the Augusta Technical College’s Waynesboro campus, 216 Highway 24 South, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Before the meeting NRC staff will be available for informal discussions during an open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The NRC will then make a formal presentation at the meeting which will include information on the NRC’s overall licensing process for nuclear power plants, as well as an overview of how the ESP process works and how the public can participate. Members of the public are invited to ask questions regarding the agency’s ESP review. The ESP process allows an applicant to address site-related issues, such as environmental impacts, for possible future construction and operation of a nuclear power plant at the site. The NRC’s review process requires both a technical review of safety issues and an environmental review for each application. If approved, an ESP gives the applicant up to 20 years to decide whether to build one or more nuclear plants on the site and to file an application with the NRC for approval to begin construction. If Southern submits an ESP application as expected, the NRC staff will review it to determine whether Southern has provided enough information for the agency to begin a formal review. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally docket, or file, the application and will announce an opportunity to request a hearing. |
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FIVE
STOP I-3 PROJECTS COMING UP
Now
it is time to have some fun!!!
Project
# 1: Burma Shave / Stop I-3 Contest & BLITZ
How many of us are old enough to remember the red
and white Burma Shave ads…5 of them about 100 feet apart along the roads that
used to be 2 lanes?
They were ads for the shaving cream, Burma Shave,
with a four line poem on the first four signs, made to make you laugh as well
as advertise Burma Shave. Here are some examples:
SHE
KISSED THE HAIRBRUSH
BY
MISTAKE
SHE
THOUGHT IT WAS
HER
HUSBAND JAKE
Burma
Shave
Around
the curve, lickety-split, beautiful car, wasn’t it?
No
matter the price, no matter how new, the best safety device, in the car is you
Passing
school zone, take it slow, let our little, shavers grow
Don’t
stick your elbow, out too far, it may go home, in another car
Well you
get the gist. Here is the plan. We want to have everyone put their creative
thinking caps on and submit 4 line couplets like above... but about why we
want to Stop I-3 and they should end in “Stop I-3” on the fifth
line. We will select 10 of them, have signs made and place approximately 10
signsets in each county in the I-3 corridor. That will be 340 signsets
or 1700 signs. Should be enough to get anyone's attention!We want to
get them up by late June and July for the summer and fall tourist season…as
well as for all local folks to get thinking about I-3. THE CONTEST WILL
END ON JUNE 1ST, SO PLEASE GET BUSY AND SEND IN YOUR ENTRIES to stopi3@alltel.net
and put “burma shave” in the subject line.
We will also need a coordinator in each county to
decide on placement and see that signs are kept where placed. If you will do
this in your county please let us know at above email.
Project
# 2: Grassroots Workshops
Starting in June the Stop I-3 Coalition will be
holding Monthly Grassroots Workshops in order to help, assist, enable and
support all 34 counties in the I-3 Corridor to pass resolutions officially
opposing I-3. We already have 9
counties and one city so we are almost a third to our goal! The workshops will
be on Saturdays from 10-3. The format will be a presentation by citizens who
have helped this process in their county as well as county commissioners who
have decided to sign resolutions. These folks will tailor the day’s work to the
counties represented ending the day with an action plan for each county and a
mentor, either an I-3 board member or staff person, who will work with the
county until passage is completed.
June 24th is the date of the first
workshop which will be held in White County. Citizens and Commissioners will be in attendance as resource
staff. If your county has not passed a resolution opposing I-3 and you would
like to find out how to make it happen, this workshop is for you! Bring a brown
bag lunch. THERE WILL BE NO FEE FOR THE WORKSHOP. To register, send your name
and county to stopi3@alltel.net
and put “grassroots workshop” in the
subject line. Details and directions will be sent back. Also, invite a
commissioner to come along with you!
If you cannot make the June workshop, the next two
are planned: July 22 and August 26th. Check your calendars and send
in reservations. As soon as we get all 34 counties on board we will start with
the cities, and then the RPO’s (Rural Planning Organizations) and the MPO’s (Metropolitan Planning
Organizations). Next the governors!
If you have been involved in one of the nine
counties or the one city which has passed its resolution and would like to help
others in this process, please let us know at the above email. This is what
grassroots is all about. Coming together for a common cause and then helping
each other through the process at hand.
This project will be a very real key to our overall success in stopping
I-3 before it gets started! Soon there will be a listing and map of all 34
counties in our 4 states on our website so we can watch as each county comes on
board. Where is yours and what can you do to help?
Project
# 3: Pro/Con Candidate Track on Stop I-3 Website
It is time to stand up and be counted. Especially
for those running for office. We are setting up a Candidate Track on our
website for all 2006 local, state and national candidates. Here’s the deal. We
will list each candidate For or Against I-3 as we have the following
information:
1.
Name
2.
Candidate for
what office
3.
City, county and
state
4.
If they are for
or against I-3
5.
Documented time,
place or publication of their announcement for or against
6.
One sentence
statement (optional)
What you can do is see that the question is raised
in your own county. Ask candidates
if they are for or against I-3. Get your local newspapers to do the same. Lots
of papers are now running interviews with candidates. I-3 WILL BECOME AN
ELECTION ISSUE. We will make it so by asking the question and documenting the
results on our website.
For those who might have a question regarding the
Stop I-3 Coalition becoming involved in supporting a candidate, we are not. All
we are doing is listing their stand on an issue in order to provide an
informational and educational piece to the public. We are not telling anyone
who to vote for. THIS PROJECT WILL ONLY BE AS EFFECTIVE AS THE INFORMATION WE
GET FROM YOU! This is truly a grassroots endeavor so we look forward to
receiving those for and against in your area. Be sure to include Governors,
Senators and US Representatives. Please send information to stopi3@alltel.net and put “candidate track” in the subject line.
Project
#4: September Motorcycle Rally
The plan here is to have a 1000 motorcyclists
caravan from the head of the Tail of the Dragon to Charlie Norwood’s office in
Atlanta. The drivers will have bright front and back vests saying “Stop
I-3”. We will have a big rally in
Atlanta to welcome them and hopefully have great press coverage. If you are a motorcyclist and would
like to join this event or if you would like to help plan and conduct this
event please contact stopi3@alltel.net and put “motorcycle rally” in the subject line.
Project
# 5: Fall Conference
Plans are underway for a big Stop I-3 Fall
Conference. The date will be the first or second week in November on a Friday
and Saturday. We plan to invite all interested groups and citizens to share
information about I-3 and generate ideas for 2007 plans and strategy. If you
would like to join the team who is putting together the preliminaries for this
event, send your name, county and state of residence to stopi3@alltel.net and put in the subject line “fall conference”. We
would like to have as wide a geographical representation as possible in this
planning group. Hopefully we can meet sometime this month so that more details
can be announced in the June newsletter.
There are many more activities in the works, but
perhaps this is enough for now. We still are continuing to grow in number of
individuals, affiliate and supporting groups as well as effectiveness. For
those who say “That road will never be built” let’s all know that is an invitation for us to back up our
activity which will insure speedy I-3 construction! In the recent SAFC
fundraiser event, Mark Shelley so eloquently spoke of remembering why we are
trying to protect what is dear to us is not as much for us as for all the
children to come. He closed with this great quote from John Muir:
Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized
people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home;
that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are
useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers but as fountains
of life.
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