Alternative news and discussion for Scottsboro, Jackson County Alabama and the Tennessee River Valley as I see it. Responsible comments to articles welcome. As always, "Watch for Snakes," particularly those wearing suits.
JAMES MADISON QUOTE - 1822
"A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives."
Winter Picture of Jackson County Courthouse, FaceBook photo by J.Holt - Fair Use for non-profit news reporting and commentary.
AGENDA
Reference Agenda Item 7 - The sooner an Information Technology Director is hired the better. It was revealed in this session that Jackson County has serious issues relating to information security.
Reference Agenda Item 9 - Letter of Support from the Commission to Community Corrections is conditional, depending on an independent audit within 90 days and its outcome. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this audit, or if Community Corrections refuses the audit. There are probably issues regarding Conflicts of Interest involving Board Members and the Director of both Community Corrections and Court Referral due to both organizations non-profit status and affiliations with outside organizations and profits received by the director and board members as a result of internal and external conflicts. The continuing saga of Court Referral and Community Corrections: http://arklite.blogspot.com/search/label/Jackson%20County%20Community%20Corrections%20and%20Court%20Referral
$5 Billion of our money spent, sold for $111 million, and who is ecstatic about such a deal?
Franklin Haney-hahaha. If he builds it as a nuclear plant, he will suffer the same fate as TVA who had many more dollars than Haney. But then again , Haney is TVA's landlord.
WAAY Video
"Sum'n good will come out of it," says current plant manager - Hahaha, what Franklin Haney goes bust and TVA laughs while ratepayers cry?
11-14-16 Sale of
Bellefonte – Press Stories
Estimated costs in today’s
money for the 55% complete Bellefonte Unit 1, 8-9 Billion dollars; Unit 2, 35%
complete, 10-12 billion dollars.
TVA Press Release: HOLLYWOOD,
Ala. ― The Tennessee Valley Authority announced today the sale of the 1,400
acre Bellefonte property, near Hollywood, Ala., to Nuclear Development, LLC for
the purchase price of $111 million. The sale concludes a six-month competitive
auction process designed to promote job creation and investment in northeast
Alabama. http://www.snl.com/Cache/1001216661.PDF?O=PDF&T&Y&D&FID=1001216661&iid=4063363
Daily Sentinel,
Scottsboro, Al. article: “Today marks the first step of an exciting new journey
for the people of Alabama and Tennessee,” said Franklin L. Haney, who
established Nuclear Development in 2012. “The Bellefonte Nuclear Station will
help transform communities across the region many of which have been hit hard
by the forced closure of coal power plants over the last decade. This project
will bring new life to the region by creating thousands of jobs while providing
assured access to reliable, affordable, zero-emission energy.”
Haney said he also would
like to thank the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors and Chief
Executive Officer Bill Johnson “for their diligent work in executing this fair
and open bidding process. I am grateful for the entire Alabama and Tennessee
congressional delegations – especially Senators Shelby, Sessions, Alexander and
Corker, as well as Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley – for their continued support of
nuclear development throughout this process.”
Chattanooga Times Free
Press - HOLLYWOOD, Ala. — Chattanooga developer Franklin L. Haney, who has spent
the past decade trying to acquire TVA's Bellefonte Nuclear Power plant, emerged
today as the winner at an auction of the abandoned nuclear plant.
Haney, who organized an
investment group known as Nuclear Development LLC, agreed to pay $111 million
to acquire the abandoned twin-reactor complex and the 1,600 acres it occupies
along the Tennessee River here.
Al.com press release: An
unfinished nuclear power plant in northeast Alabama this morning was auctioned
for $111 million. Nuclear Holdings LLC, a Washington D.C. based company,
promises in its bid to bring 2,000 permanent jobs to north Alabama and up to
4,000 temporary construction jobs. The company says it plans a $13 billion
investment to bring the plant online as an energy producer. http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2016/11/an_unfinished_alabama_nuclear.html
Just the traceable
donations from Haney's businesses to Bentley's last campaigns total about
$300,000, much of which moved into Bentley's campaign account after the last
election was over. Again, that's only what's easily traceable. That campaign
account subsequently paid the salary of Rebekah Caldwell Mason, the governor's
senior political advisor with whom he is accused of having an affair. http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/after_hefty_campaign_donations.html
Rapid increases in the
estimated cost to complete Bellefonte also may have also contributed to the
utility taking it out of future plans for new generation capacity. In 2013 the costs reportedly jumped from
about $5 billion to a range of between $7.4 and $8.9 billion. A private equity effort headed by Franklin
Haney, an investor, offered to complete the reactor and operate it for $10
billion. TVA turned him down saying the
plan didn’t have good enough numbers to proceed. http://www.theenergycollective.com/dan-yurman/2216491/tva-backs-away-bellefonte
TVA, Tennessee Valley Authority, has boasted about the first new nuke plant in many a year. Actually it isn't new and it cost about 7 billion dollars to complete over 43 years. There are other costs, a "chilled work environment," contributing factor, STRESS to get the plant on line. The question - has safety been compromised? Photo by TVA - Fair Use for non-profit news reporting and commentary.
UPDATE - NOVEMBER 10, 2016
FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS, NRC SAYS LOW SIGNIFICANCE?? WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 05000390/2016003, 05000391/2016003 AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND OI REPORT NUMBER OI-2-2015-039
This report released today after the "Chilled Effects" meeting last Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 regarding the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. Low significance?? Notice of Violation for willfully falsifying Fire Watch Records and destroying said records. There may have been retaliation by a contractor involved in this incident regarding an employee refusing to sign a falsified report.
Quote: "Severity Level IV. The NRC identified a Severity Level IV violation of 10 CFR 50.9 "Completeness and Accuracy of Information," for the failure to maintain continuous compensatory fire watch information that was complete and accurate in all material respects. The licensee’s actions of creating falsified fire watch completion records...(from page 6 under Findings) "According to the testimony received by the NRC OI, on the morning of April 28, 2015, the licensee contract fire watch foreman attempted to persuade four fire watch laborers to sign fire watch records indicating that they performed the missed fire watch from the day before. Three of the individuals each signed the fire watch turnover records. However, one fire watch laborer refused to sign the fire watch turnover records. A meeting was held with the contract fire watch foreman, the contract fire protection specialist, and the TVA fire protection foreman. When it became clear that one individual would not sign the fire watch turnover record, the contract fire watch foreman disposed of the paperwork. The missed fire watch was reported to management, prompting investigations about the root causes of the missed fire watch. The licensee initiated condition report 1019953. The falsified fire watch record was never recovered."
The NRC fined TVA $70K for falsifying Fire Watch Records at the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, op-ed from Pam Sohn back in April of this year.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, March 23, 2016
NRC to TVA
As discussed during the public meeting held on March 22, 2016 in the RII office(ML16083A403), we initiated a review in late 2015 at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant into the environment for raising and addressing safety issues. We began this review in light of information received through our inspection and allegations process associated with the Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) within the Operations Department and its influence onthe safe operation of the plant. Our review includes information received through allegations, inspections, and interviews of your staff over the past few months. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, has concluded that a Chilled Work Environment exists in the Operations Department because of a perception that operators are not free to raise safety concerns using all available avenues without fear of retaliation. We have not identified any serious safety violations or instances involving significant plant safety issues, but the information gathered has led to concerns about the impact the work environment is having on plant operations raises
questions about your commitment to emphasize safety over competing goals to ensure protection of people and the environment. We want to ensure that TVA has a clear understanding of the scope of our concerns and to communicate specific requests and expectations for your response.
The Safety Culture Policy Statement (76 FR 34773; June 14, 2011) sets forth the Commission's expectation that licensees establish and maintain a positive safety culture commensurate with the safety and security significance of their activities and the nature and complexity of their organizations and functions. The NRC defines nuclear safety culture as the core values and behaviors resulting from a collective commitment by leaders and individuals to emphasize safety over competing goals to ensure protection of people and the environment. A safety conscious work environment is defined by the NRC as an environment in which “employees feel free to raise safety concerns, both to their management and to the NRC, without fear of retaliation” and is one trait of a strong safety culture. NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 05-018, “Guidance for Establishing and Maintaining a Safety Conscious Work Environment,” dated August 25, 2005, further describes the NRC’s expectations in this area. More on this letter: http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1608/ML16083A479.pdf
4) September 2016 "TVA OIG Report on Work Environment for Nuclear Oversight" The bottom line of the OIG report regarding nuclear oversight - Employees should "feel free to raise concerns without fear of retalliation." http://oig.tva.gov/reports/16rpts/2016-15398.pdf
5) Public Meeting Scheduled in Athens, Tn. regarding the Chilled Work Environment at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant on November 3, 2016, videos listed below.
The Problem With The Regulator, NRC, and the Nuclear Industry
Failures of nuclear safety culture are not enforceable actions. Comprehensive report on Safety Culture:
"Nuclear professionals, members of the public, Congress, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and concerned non-industry stakeholders agree on one issue: nuclear plant safety is paramount and must be the number one priority. However, the actions, and inactions, of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and nuclear plant owners, have led to financial considerations taking priority over nuclear safety. The current focus on nuclear safety via what the industry and its regulator call “safety culture,” unless redefined and clarified, is a dead end. To truly achieve nuclear safety, “regulatory compliance and enforcement ” must be the frame used to gauge Nuclear Safety Culture." Paul Blanch (PE) Energy Consultant, author of the linked report.
Part 1 Selected Citizen Comments - The NRC would not disclose any retaliation events or occurrences. An employee states she has witnessed retaliation in the work place and discriminatory activity. Ann Harris, Retired TVA Employees who worked at Watts Barr for many years, describes her experiences in this video.
Jackson County Courthouse, north entrance, photo by G. Morgan.
This was the last business meeting of the current county commission for FY 2016. The commission post-election organizational meeting will be November 16, 2016. The next regular meeting is scheduled for November 28, 2016
All Rights Reserved for writings, video, photographs and art by Garry L. Morgan.
U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Rule: "Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, nonprofit educational purposes and research. Link: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
Total "In the Boro" Pageviews
Scottsboro Police Department Web Site
""The police are the public, the public are the police. The police are the only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties that are incumbent on every citizen in the interest to community welfare and existence." - Sir Robert Peel, 1829 https://www.scottsboropd.org/
The Sunlight Foundation uses cutting-edge technology and ideas to make government transparent and accountable. Click on image to learn more.
THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY
"I can say with confidence that the federal government needs a major overhaul. Don’t get me wrong, most public servants in government are highly educated and dedicated professionals who are committed to “the greater good.” At the same time, the government has become a bloated bureaucracy that is based on past conditions and in too many cases, federal programs and policies can’t demonstrate that they are generating real results that benefit the American people."
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David Walker President and CEO The Peter G. Peterson Foundation http://www.pgpf.org/ ; former, recently served for 10 years, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
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NPR's story on David Walker: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124460237
"public intelligence"
"What is Public Intelligence? Public Intelligence is an international, collaborative research project aimed at aggregating the collective work of independent researchers around the globe who wish to defend the public’s right to access information." http://publicintelligence.net/
A Nuclear Engineer's Report on the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant
Danger Zone: Aging Nuclear Reactors
Incident at Browns Ferry (PBS 1977)
History of nuclear power safety issues which the 1975 Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant fire brought forward. This video has been censored by the nuclear industry. The trillion dollar multinational nuclear death industry prefers to keep you the citizen in the dark and feed you crap.
Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio and others. Click on image for a tour. Left click & hold mouse to move image.
Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team/Mothers Against Tennessee River Radiation http://www.matrr.org/
"TVA at the Crossroads" a SACE Film.
"America is at an energy crossroads and the Tennessee Valley Authority has a choice to make: Will it cling to old coal power because of its historic significance or will it retire its oldest, dirtiest and least efficient plants and lead America into a clean energy future?" TVA At The Crossroads from SACE.
****************************I'm GARRY MORGAN, a Christian, U.S. Army (AMEDD) retired, Race Relations/Equal Opportunity Specialist (U.S.Army, Retired DOD-DRRI-DEOMI) a citizen of Scottsboro Alabama, a Baylor University grad-Go Bears, a political activist and a political Independent as I believe political parties divide the citizenry whom they are suppose to represent. We must learn the lessons of our history or we will surely repeat our mistakes. I think the greatest problem facing our nation is the massive national and personal debt.
