Waterways Commission to vote on resolution to ban coal ash shipments

2 years ago 266

I-TEAM: Environmental radical levying fines for ember ash spill

The Jacksonville Waterways Commission volition sermon taking a basal against ember ash shipments into the River City.

The News4Jax I-team has followed the developments of this communicative since March. That’s erstwhile the Bridgeport Barge deed the jetties and became stuck disconnected the seashore of Atlantic Beach. More than 9,000 tons of ember ash spilled into the water.

Councilman Al Ferraro has paid adjacent attraction since the mishap this March and says the companies progressive person been invited to be the meeting.

“This is simply a non-binding resolution,” Ferraro said. “If this were to spell further, this could beryllium an ordinance that could travel guardant to halt commerce.”

Ferraro says the extremity Wednesday greeting is to stock accusation astir ember ash, however it affects radical and the environment, and spot what the adjacent measurement is.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has already announced $38,000 successful fines. DEP is fining AES of Puerto Rico, the institution which generated the ash; Morgan Towing, the proprietor of the barge that deed the jetties; and Dann Ocean Towing, whose barge was pulling the ember ash erstwhile it became stranded retired astatine sea.

“Under the national guidelines of the mode ember ash has been listed, it doesn’t dependable similar it’s thing unsafe oregon worrisome,” Ferraro said. “But erstwhile you talk with radical who recognize what the chemic compounds constitution are, it does. It sounds truly important.”

Ferraro says Wednesday’s gathering volition beryllium similar a fact-finding mission. He expects each sides to beryllium unfastened and honest, with information starring the discussion.

“We’re truly acrophobic about, however does this impact the radical that either work, live, oregon play successful our waterways?” Ferraro said. “We privation to person commerce; we privation to person a batch of concern and we privation it to grow.” Ferraro continued. “But we don’t privation to enactment our citizens successful information of either ingesting our food, you know, with the food and the marine life.”

Ferraro says adjacent though the solution is non-binding, helium believes the enactment for it is there.

“The main crushed we held disconnected past period is we privation to perceive everything,” Ferraro said. “You don’t privation to conscionable walk thing and miss retired connected information. I person confidence, I deliberation it volition astir apt walk conscionable from listening to what happened astatine the past month’s meeting. But you ne'er know, we privation to springiness everybody an accidental to speech and perceive what’s happening.”

Wednesday’s gathering is scheduled to statesman astatine 9:30 a.m. Atlantic Beach metropolis leaders signed disconnected connected a similar solution earlier this week.