WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) - Today, the Wakulla County Board of Commissioners are expected to discuss the Foley pipeline.
According to a Facebook post by Commissioner Howard Kessler, the Foley pipe "will dump 40 million gallons of toxic fluids into the Gulf of Mexico daily." Kessler wants the board to sign a resolution opposing the pipeline.
Kessler also says that the Buckeye/Foley Cellulose’s discharge is responsible for "black goo" on Wakulla county beaches.
Foley Cellulose Mill is based at the 36 mile long Fenholloway River near Perry, FL. The company plans to improve Fenholloway river water quality by building a pipeline. The primary reason for piping the discharge downstream is to move treated waste from the freshwater section of the river to the tidal portion of the river.
The meeting is set to start at 5 p.m. at the county commission chambers on 29 Arran Road.
Read the full resolution below:
RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF WAKULLA COUNTY OPPOSING THE PERMITTING AND MOVING OF THE PROPOSED BUCKEYE/FOLEY CELLULOSE PLANT EFFLUENT DISCHARGE PIPELINE CLOSER TO THE GULF OF MEXICO
WHEREAS, we are all stewards of our natural resources;
WHEREAS, it is vital to our well-being that we protect the water quality of our shared water bodies and the health of our seagrasses; and
WHEREAS, Buckeye/Foley Cellulose Florida has economically and environmentally viable alternatives to their plan to move their effluent pipeline closer to the Gulf waters; and
WHEREAS, Buckeye/Foley Cellulose is listed in the top five industrial polluters in the nation; and
WHEREAS, that effluent pipe will deliver pollutants to our Gulf waters; and
WHEREAS, the Gulf of Mexico is presently under siege and additional unnecessary pollution is unwise and dangerous to the overall health of the Gulf; and
WHEREAS, Wakulla County will likely suffer economic and additional environmental damage from Buckeye/Foley Cellulose’s proposed pipeline; and
WHEREAS, The Gulf fisheries are critical to the economy of Wakulla county; and
WHEREAS, The Board has listened to expert testimony that the first fish that may be adversely effected by moving effluent discharge pipe closer to the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico will be the scallops, clams and oysters; and
WHEREAS, Buckeye/Foley Cellulose’s discharge has been pointed to as a cause of a large dieoff of grass beds in the Gulf; and
WHEREAS, Evidence points to Buckeye/Foley Cellulose’s discharge as the source of the “black goo” that landed off the beaches of Wakulla County; and
WHEREAS, Wakulla County has a fledgling oyster farming industry and those oysters are dependent on non-polluted Gulf waters; and
WHEREAS, Wakulla County commercial fishermen are struggling with several adverse conditions already; and
WHEREAS, Wakulla County’s sport fishing and tourist industry is dependent on clean Gulf waters;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners, is opposed to the permitting and moving of the proposed Buckeye/Foley Cellulose Plant effluent discharge pipeline closer to the Gulf of Mexico.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this first day of August, 2016.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF WAKULLA COUNTY, FLORIDA
To read more about the pipeline from the company's website, click here.
