FPL gets key Miami-Dade approval for Turkey Point rock-ming project, despite opposition

Persistent lobbying efforts at the Miami-Dade County over the years paid off for FPL yesterday, as the Miami-Dade County Planning Advisory Board in a 5-3 vote approved an FPL land-use change request that would allow rock-pit mining in the south of the county -- despite strong opposition from environmentalists, farmers, Biscayne National Park and the U.S. Air Force.

The Miami Herald reported today on the approval by the board that sent to the County Commission for its approval or rejection next month a plan by FPL to rock mine near Biscayne Bay in order to provide landfill for the two new Turkey Point 6 & 7 nuclear reactors planned for the power plant.

Red the full Herald story online, here.

Miami-Dade County to hear pros, cons of Turkey Point landfill plans

Front page story this morning in the Miami Herald outlines what's at stake today in the hearing before Miami-Dade Planning Advisory Board for a permit to allow rock mining for landfill purposes related top construction of new Turkey Point nuclear reactors 6 & 7.

According to the story, FPL canals criticized as health risk, by Herald staff writer Curtis Morgan:

Environmental groups, backed by Biscayne National Park, will ask Miami-Dade's Planning Advisory Board on Monday to reject a request key to its Turkey Point plan. The land-use change would clear the way for FPL to dig rock pits in up to 880 acres of nearby farmland as a source of limestone fill for future construction.

The story goes on to say that:

... spiking chloride -- a measure of salt -- in monitoring wells west of FPL's site, and new aerial electromagnetic assessment techniques used by the U.S. Geological Survey, suggest South Miami-Dade's salt concerns are the most serious in South Florida. Salt fronts typically ebb and flow, but preliminary data suggest the salt is moving inland yearly in spots.

Read the Herald story in full online, here.

Turkey Point NRC hearing: residents, environmentalists, workers voice concerns

Two very interesting pieces over the weekend at the Miami Herald on the Turkey Point hearing in Homestead on Thursday evening with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission:

On Friday, Herald staff writer John Dorschner framed the public hearing in terms of a debate between representatives of some fairly heavy-hitting environmentalist groups, concerned over salt water contamination of the fresh water aquifer underlying Miami-Dade county and damage to Biscayen National Park, versus workers concerned with jobs, jobs, jobs ... who were (surprise!) in favor of the expansion of nuclear units at Turkey Point.

Dorschner's story is online at: Residents get their say on FPL plans for new Turkey Point reactors.

On Sunday, Neighbors section reporter Tania Valderomo reported on the same meeting in the zoned Pinecrest/Bays edition of the paper, focused more on the local residents' concerns about the impact of Turkey Point expansion:

The question on everyone's mind Thursday is how two new nuclear reactors would affect their lives -- from safety at the proposed nuclear power plants to storing nuclear waste to water sources. Residents also wanted to know the effect of the reactors on wildlife and vegetation at neighboring Biscayne National Park.

Valderomo's story can be read online at: Feds start discussion on more nuclear facilities in South Miami-Dade.

Two Turkey Point meetings with NRC on Thursday

Two Turkey Point hearings are set for tomorrow, Thursday April 23rd, with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commisssion.

The first is a meeting for local elected officials "to discuss the role that the NRC will play in the anticipated review of the Florida Power and Light company (FP&L) application for a combined license for the proposed Turkey Point Units 6 and 7."

Local Elected Officials NRC meeting
April 23, 2009 from 1 PM to 2:30 PM
Keys Gate Golf & Country Club Palm Room
2300 SE Palm Drive (SW 344 St), Homestead

The second meeting is from 7 to 8:30 pm Thursday night for the general public, at which NRC staff will provide information on the licensing process for FPL's request for the new reactors at Turkey Point and address concerns about the existing facility.

General Public NRC meeting
April 23, 2009 from 7 PM to 8:30 PM
Keys Gate Golf & Country Club Palm Room
2300 SE Palm Drive (SW 344 St), Homestead

Anyone interested at all in FPL's nuclear power expansion in Miami-Dade and in our State should turn out for this public meeting. And, don't hesitate to let your local officials know what you think about this important issue!

FPL prominent in Eye On Miami roundup on 'Environmental Issues We Are Facing'

Genius of Despair gives a nice (well, frightening, really!) roundup today at Eye on Miami of the pressing environmental issues facing all who live in Miami-Dade.

FPL related exigencies noted, include numbers 1, 2 and 6, which we've taken the liberty of reprinting here:

1. Nuclear and Coal Technologies Need to be Removed from the Renewable Portfolio:
These two technologies will take away funding for development of real renewable energy sources like solar and wind. This week there were important State Senate Committee Hearings on SB 1154 and it will be important to be vocal on this issue.

2. Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve:
At least $10 million for water managers to buy endangered Biscayne Bay wetland is gone, and more than $140,000 has been slashed from the Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas program. As Laura Reynolds (Tropical Audubon) sees it, Biscayne National Park's fragile ecosystem is suffering a slow "death by a thousand cuts." (Hit read more).

Without management, the Bay will degrade. For example boat propeller scarring in shallow sea grass areas of the bay is a problem in the preserve. Boaters disregard markers and just plough through the flats. Eventually, these scars erode and become trenches. For history buffs, who could forget the FP&L debacle of the 1960’s, when hot water was dumped into Biscayne Bay by the Company from their nuclear reactors. Large areas of sea grass and masses of marine organisms – both plants and animals – were killed.

Action: Press county and state officials to protect the bay and South Miami-Dade's fresh water supply.

6. Rock Mining Near Biscayne National Park:
Turkey Point Nuclear Power plant needs to raise the grade to expand and build two more reactors. They need enormous amounts of fill and it is feared that they will excavate near the park, causing saltwater intrusion and endangering our water supply. Also Cemex had a permit application last year to mine 26 million cubic yards on 200 acres very close to the park, at Florida City Quarry. Rock mining near Biscayne National Park will seriously affect water quality in the Park. This is one obvious problem. There is no doubt that marine life in the park will be detrimentally impacted, counter to the Park’s Management Plan.

Do check out the full post: Rundown of Environmental Issues We Are Facing. And be sure to follow Genius's counsel to "write to the Governor about all these issues. Express your concern for the future of the environment in Florida."

South Miami proposes FPL power line alternatives

The Miami Herald reported in its Gables/S. Miami neighbors section Sunday the vote by South Miami Commissioners last week to oppose FPL high-voltage transmission lines coming through their community and propose alternate routes further West.

Commissioners also voted to support bills in the Florida House and Senate that would give communities more power in dealing with utilites over selection of power-line routes.

The vote came nearly two weeks after FPL announced it had selected a preferred route for the Turkey Point 6 & 7 Transmission Lines project that would run the 230-KV high-voltage lines supplying electric power from the yet-to-be-built Turkey Point nuclear reactors 6 & 7 right down Highway US-1, through Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove.

Read the full Herald story online, here.

Follow the money: your monthly bill, FPL CEO compensation and sleeping guards at Turkey Point

Ever wonder how much of our monthly electricity bills go toward supplying us with ... well, electricity?

The Miami Herald reports today on the annual salary increases of the CEOs of FPL Group and its Florida Power & Light subsidiary, which of course comes right out of all our monthly electricity bills.

According to the Herald:

FPL Group (FPL), the parent of Florida Power & Light, announced that its chief executive, Lewis Hay III, received $11.5 million in total compensation in 2008, a 9.9 percent increase from his compensation package in 2007.

Armando Olivera, president of the FPL utility, received $3.6 million, an increase of 11 percent. Armando Pimentel Jr. received $1.7 million in his first year as chief financial officer.

Nice work, when you can get it! Especially when all the rest of us are threatened with loss of our jobs and our homes ...

Wonder how much of the ever-rising monthly cost of our electricity goes to pay for special entertainment pavilions at Golf tournaments, or slick marketing brochures that tell us that nuclear energy is "clean and safe" or the salaries of hoards of outside consultants and PR spinners and attorneys and lobbyists who we pay to help FPL sell its unchecked expansion to politicians and back to us, the customers.

Oh, and add one more cost that gets passed back to us on our monthly bills because it's tallied as an "operating expense" in FPL's annual budget ...

The Palm Beach Post reports today that in January, FPL paid the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission a $130,000 fine because six security guards at Turkey Point nuclear plant either "slept or served as lookouts for other guards who were sleeping "on multiple occasions" between 2004 and 2006."

Go figure! Wackenhut security guards don't do their job, endangering FPL customers living near the nuclear plant, and those same FPL customers ultimately get stuck with the $130,000 bill!

Environmentalists concerned over FPL's planned expansion of Turkey Point

The Miami Herald reported Sunday that environmental groups concerned over saltwater intrusion into the Biscayne Bay estuary point to FPL's planned expansion of its Turkey Point power plant as one of the projects of most concern.


According to the Herald report:

Florida Power and Light's planned expansion of the Turkey Point nuclear facility also threatens the fresh water supply of many [commercially important fish species], warned Dawn Shirreffs, a Clean Water Action organizer.

The saltwater ''intrusion line,'' which marks how far west that water has crept, is moving between 300 and 400 feet inland every year, she said.

FPL spokesman Michael Waldron said in an e-mail that saltwater intrusion existed several miles inland from the site decades before the plant was built in the early 1970s and that the utility is ``working closely with a number of state, county and regional agencies to monitor the current conditions of the cooling canal system.''

However, Shirreffs said that FPL's plan to dig for fill materials in agriculturally zoned land close to Biscayne National Park could make the situation worse.

Digging the holes at all could pull the intrusion even further inland, [Tropical Audubon Society's Laura] Reynolds said.

''When you dig holes that close to the coast you change the hydrology,'' she added. ``Digging pits pulls water in from other locations because limestone is very porous.''

Environmentalists also believe that the canals which circulate water to cool the existing plant at Turkey Point are making the problem worse. ''FPL says it's a closed system, but it isn't, it leaks,'' said Biscayne National Park resource manager Elsa Alvear.

That water is very salty and dense, blocking the eastward flow of freshwater from inland, Alvear said. She added that water collection wells planned for the plant's expansion would suck up any freshwater used to rehydrate south Miami-Dade's coast, canceling out its intended benefits.

Read the full Miami Herald story online, here.

More on FPL no-show at Turkey Point meeting: Miami Herald

The Miami Herald ran a story Sunday in it's Pinecrest-Bays neighbors section on FPL's "no show" at last Thursday's public meeting in Cutler Bay, convened by Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorensen.

The Herald confirmed Stop FPL's assessment that it was a "standing room only" crowd -- WPLG-Local 10 TV's undercount of 50 a real disservice to the amount of concern and level of mobilization by residents and civic leaders in neighboring communities clearly evident at the meeting.

Curious that the Herald continues to choose to place all news related to citizen concern over Turkey Point and the related transmission lines that would run through multiple south Miami-Dade communities in the limited circulation, zoned "Neighbors" sections of the paper.

Community news does generate greater interest mong readers these days, but many people still read the paper in the print edition and therefore anybody not in the Pinecrest/Bays circulation area would have missed this story. You would think that because this story touches so many communities, the Herald editors would go ahead and place it in the "Metro" section of the paper.

But, lots of strains on the Herald newsroom these days, so who knows what's driving their coverage decisions. At least they covered it ...

Read the story in full online, here.

FPL backs out of Turkey Point nuclear safety meeting

Florida Power & Light representatives failed to show last night at the South Dade Government Center to discuss nuclear safety at the Turkey Point power plant.

That, to the surprise of none of those present, as word had already circulated among the citizens and residents of Miami-Dade County who turned up in order to share their concerns at the public meeting called by Commissioner Katy Sorensen (District 8).

WFOR-CBS4's Natalia Zea was on hand to cover the meeting and the station aired a report in its 11 pm nightly newscast, complete with comments by Sorensen about the "arrogance" of FPL in not showing up and a written response from FPL on its reasoning for not sending a representative:

View the full video online at CBS4, here.

WPLG-Local 10 also covered the meeting, though their nightly news report estimate of 50 attendees falls short of the nearly 100 in Stop FPL's head-count of the packed meeting room:

View the full WPLG-10 video online, here.

Those who did show up ranged from environmentalists and neighbors living in the shadow of Turkey Point concerned about recent reports of safety breaches at the plant, to leaders and residents of nearby communities concerned about high-voltage transmission lines from the Turkey Point 6 & 7 reactors running along US 1. But, the empty chairs at the front of the meeting hall clearly showed that FPL feels it has no need to address such concerns face to face with its customers.

Sorenensen had cautioned in a letter to the Miami Herald on Thursday that FPL might well be a no-show, but still urged the utility to send representatives to the meeting to explain recent reports of safety breaches at the plant.

Miami New Times' Tim Elfrink posted at the Riptide 2.0 blog late in the afternoon on FPL's expected no-show and like CBS4 shared the lame excuse from FPL for not engaging with its customers on their Turkey Point safety concerns in the form of a carefully prepared text.

Likewise, blogger Jorge Lune also contacted FPL and was treated with a similar written response from the company.

While FPL may think it can get away with not responding to a meeting request from a County Commissioner and its customers, it may not have it so easy in April when it will have to appear before a public meeting convened by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on April 23rd.

Turkey Points ... new artist's graphic from the creators of "When the Turkey Points at You!"

This just in from the creators of When the Turkey Points at You!

Hmmmm ... what's that Turkey blowin' out it's tailfeathers? And, is that FPL in the Caterpillar trying to 'doze public opposition?

We'll add this one to our list of Stop FPL Favorite Cartoons ...

p.s. something strange happened to the original colors in the upload ... will try to figure it out and repost if we do!

Sorensen tells FPL: Address Turkey Point concerns

In a letter to the Miami Herald this morning, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorensen (District 8) said that FPL officials "prefer not to attend" tonight's scheduled meeting to discuss safety concerns involving the nuclear reactor at the Turkey Point power generating station.

Follows is the text of Commissioner Sorensen's letter, as published in the Herald:

After reading the disturbing story on the front page of The Miami Herald (Papers reveal nuclear discord, March 12) regarding the safety and performance of the Turkey Point nuclear reactor and receiving several calls from residents, I decided to organize a meeting so that elected officials and residents could openly discuss these concerns and FPL officials could address them. While the power company officials are willing to respond through letters to the editor to the concerns raised, they have made it clear to me that they would prefer not to attend the meeting I have scheduled.

As FPL seeks to expand its nuclear facilities and raise customer rates to support this work, I believe it is incumbent on the company, a utility that serves almost all Miami-Dade County residents, to be responsive to questions and concerns.

I hope that FPL officials do the right thing and attend the meeting at the South Dade Government Center tonight, March 26, at 6:30 p.m.

KATY SORENSON, county commissioner, District 8, Miami

We, too, hope FPL will do the right thing and attend this meeting to explain to citizens and residents what it is doing to improve the safety and security at Turkey Point, especially in the face of plans to add two more reactors 6 & 7 at great expense to its customers in the coming years.

ONLINE PETITION: STOP FPL's TURKEY POINT 6 & 7 NUCLEAR REACTORS NOW

Here's your chance to tell your elected and appointed local, state and federal officials that you do NOT want FPL's Turkey Point reactors 6 & 7 to be licensed and built ...

Click here to sign the online petition now ...

WE THE UNDERSIGNED CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS OF FLORIDA AND MIAMI-DADE COUNTY EXPRESS OUR COMPLETE OPPOSITION TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF TWO NEW NUCLEAR REACTOR UNITS 6 & 7 AT THE TURKEY POINT POWER PLANT AND ON THE BASIS OF ... SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC RATIONALE DO CALL ON ALL LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS AND AGENCIES TO DENY THE TURKEY POINT LICENSE HOLDER -- FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT -- THE ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT AND OPERATE THESE ADDITIONAL NUCLEAR UNITS AT TURKEY POINT.

Click to sign the petition online now at ipetitions.com ...

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/TurkeyPoint/

And what do we do with Turkey Point when sea level rises?

You gotta love that gimleteye, for pointing out the obvious in today's post over at Eye on Miami:

Completely lost in the discussion of Florida Power and Light's bum-rush to build two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point, costing rate payers more than $18 billion, is what happens in the course of events if sea level rise occurs rapidly and requires the decommissioning of the power plant.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hold Turkey Point 6 & 7 hearing in Homestead in April

Miami-Dade County residents will have a chance to speak their mind at the public meeting convened by County Commissioner Katy Sorensen this Thursday, March 26th at 6:30 PM at the South Miami-Dade Government Center, 10710 SW 211 Street, Room 203, Cutler Bay.

But, that won't be the end of it ... EyeOnMiami has informed that there will be an additional opportunity for the public to participate in a discussion of the role of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission "in eventual review of FP&L's application for Turkey Point Unit 6 & 7 combined license including details of safety and environmental reviews."

That meeting will take place from 6-9pm on Thursday April 23rd in the "Palm Room" of the Keys Gate Golf Club, located at 2300 Palm Drive, Homestead, FL.

This is a potentially VERY important meeting, given the fact that a three-judge panel of the NRC recently put on hold plans to build two new nuclear reactors at a Georgia plant, ruling that the application to build the reactors was incomplete because it had not taken into adequate consideration management of radioactive nuclear waste when the new reactors begin operation.

According to a notice in the NRC's public meeting schedule, participating on behalf of the NRC will be representatives of their Office of New Reactors, from the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, Region II. The general public is also invited to participate.

Florida growth least in 60 years ... so why all the electricity, why two new nukes, why now?

Alan Farago raises a very cogent point in his contribution last week to Counter Punch, titled "The Recession, the Developers and Baseball ..."

In the halls of government in cities like Miami, where the jackhammers and cranes and cement trucks have all gone quiet, there is a palpable sense of nostalgia, broken only by hope for a new $500 million stadium or, as Florida Power and Light would have it, two new nuclear reactors costing $18 billion at least ...

Whoa! Stop right there ...

And follow with today's report from the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research showing that annual population growth in our State has now slowed to a trickle of what it was from 2000-2006:

With South Florida counties particularly hard hit, the state is expected to add an average of only 37,000 residents each year between 2008 and 2010, a drop of more than 90 percent from the annual average increase during the housing boom years of 2002 to 2006, said Stan Smith, director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research who led the research. The new report shows county population projections from 2008 to 2035.

Broward and Palm Beach Counties are even expected to lose population during the next two years. Stan Smith, director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said that as a result of the recession in Florida ...

As economic growth slowed and the housing market cooled, annual population growth declined from an average of 395,000 between 2000 and 2006 to 331,000 between 2006 and 2007 and 127,000 in 2007 and 2008 ...

Not since the 1940s will Florida's population growth have been this slow -- that's right, the slowest population growth in 60 years!

So, why ... tell us why does FPL need to build and charge its customers at a cost of no less than $18 billion the two new nuclear reactors 6 &7 at the Turkey Point power station?!?

Coconut Grove activists to question FPL plans for high-voltage lines down US1

Coconut Grove activists have joined to question FPL's proposed US1 route for the Turkey Point 6 & 7 Transmission Lines project, carrying high-voltage electricity on 100-foot concrete towers along South Dixie Highway from Cutler Bay into downtown Miami.

According to a blog post over the weekend at Coconut Grove Grapevine, local Grove activist Harlene Kennedy has joined with Village Council member Alyn Pruett to form a local committee "to talk about FPL issues like burying powerlines and the new FPL high voltage lines."

The Grove committee will be attending the March 26 town hall meeting hosted by County Commissioner Katy Sorensen to discuss Turkey Point safety lapses and related issues at the South Dade Government Center 10710 SW 211 St, Cutler Bay (6:30 pm).

Coconut Grove Grapevine generously volunteers to put interested parties in touch with the Grove activists, here.

And, in a separate post at the Grapevine, you just gotta love this contributed cartoon by Harry Emilio Gottlieb ...

FPL seeks $800-million-plus base rate increase, for 4.5% avg monthly bill hike

In a press release out of its Juno, FL headquarters today, FPL requested that anticipated monthly base rate increase previously set at a total of between $850-$900 million dollars that will go in part toward paying for another two new nuclear reactors at the Turkey Point power station in Miami-Dade County.

Released on the same day as FPL revealed that 11,000 customers had lost power in South Florida as a result of a rainstorm, the news announcement says that if approved by the Florida Public Service Commission:

Under the company’s proposal, the typical 1,000 kilowatt-hour residential customer bill would decrease by an estimated $4.92 monthly, or 4.5 percent, from $109.55 to $104.63 on Jan. 1, 2010.

The release also said that the base rate will principally go toward increasing capital investment (that is, expansion of power generation, transmission and distribution facilities), including "strengthening the transmission and distribution system" as well as "existing fossil fuel power generation facilities" and "existing nuclear power generation facilities."

In a previously released 10-K SEC filing by Florida Power & Light Co, the company said that:

In November 2008, FPL notified the FPSC that it intends to initiate a base rate proceeding in March 2009. In the notification, FPL stated that it expects to request an $800 million to $950 million annual increase in base rates beginning on January 1, 2010 and an additional annual base rate increase beginning on January 1, 2011. These amounts exclude the effects of depreciation, which depend in part on the results of a detailed depreciation study that FPL is currently finalizing. Further, FPL expects to request that the FPSC continue to allow FPL to use the mechanism for recovery of the revenue requirements of any new power plant approved pursuant to the Siting Act that was established in FPL's 2005 rate agreement. Hearings on the base rate proceeding are expected during the third quarter of 2009 and a final decision is expected by the end of 2009. The final decision may approve rates that are different from those that FPL will request. (yellow-highlighted emphasis is ours)

In other words, any power plant approved by the Florida Public Services Commission under the terms of the 2005 base rate agreement -- including Turkey Point 6 & 7 nuclear reactors that are yet to be built -- are going to be funded by slapping another $4.92 monthly onto the average consumer's electricity bill!

Read the full FPL news release online, here.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorensen calls community meeting on Turkey Point safety concerns

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorensen has announced that she will host a community meeting in South Miami-Dade to discuss the growing list of safety concerns and allegations that have surfaced over the last couple years regarding the FPL Turkey Point nuclear power facility.

Hat tip to the Homestead is Home blog for timely posting of the news of this meeting, which will be held on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 6:30 PM at the South Miami-Dade Government Center, 10710 SW 211 Street, Room 203, Cutler Bay.

In a statement published by Homestead is Home, Commissioner Sorensen said:

“I have concerns that have been echoed by a number of my constituents living near the Turkey Point facility about the utility’s recent track record on safety,” explained Commissioner Sorenson. “This meeting will give our residents living near the nuclear power plant an opportunity to ask questions and get answers to their concerns."

“The regularity of these revelations is of great concern,” said Sorenson. “The community most directly at risk from a serious accident at the plant needs to know that the Utility is operating the Turkey Point nuclear power plant with the safety of our community first.”

Miami Herald exposé of safety, security lapses at Turkey Point nuclear station

The Internet is abuzz today with the Associated Press pickup of this morning's Miami Herald stories about Turkey Point safety and security lapses.

Take a look at the number of related stories now listed in a Google News search of "Turkey Point" ...

Kudos to business writer John Dorschner for this exposé of the ongoing problems at Turkey Point as FPL tries to move forward with construction of two more reactors, soaking consumers in the process for a massive base rate hike of nearly a billion dollars -- yet to be approved by the Florida Public Service Commission.

The four related Herald stories are now available online at:

Court papers reveal nuclear feud at Turkey Point

At heart of Turkey Plant workers' unrest: overtime

Silence clause aims to keep Turkey Point workers quiet

Amid nuclear worker shortage, FPL says it's following rules

Read it and weep? Save your tears ... maybe there's time yet to stop nuclear reactors 6 & 7 from endangering the public through the same sort of safety and security lapses that continue to plague Turkey Point.