BY W I L L I S E R N

WHO KILLED PERDIDO BAY?

PERDIDO BAY

• Perdido Bay is a medium sized body of water just inside the coastal borders of Alabama. It serves as the mouth of the Perdido River, but also has many tributaries.

PERDIDO BAY

THE ISSUE

• One such tributary is Elevenmile Creek, which connects the river with the International Paper Company. IP dumps its treated wastes into the river and is blamed for the destruction of the Bay’s estuary environment. Sea grasses, clams, small fish, almost all forms of marine life have died in the waters that are laced with heavy metals and strong chemicals.

POLLUTION

• Back in the 40s, before the paper plant moved in, the creek and bay were plentiful with fish, sea grass, clams, and smaller marine life.• Perdido Bay has been found by a government

study to be a “normal estuary environment”, while Elevenmile Creek, which feeds into the bay was found in the same study to be “heavely polluted and dangerous to humans”.

THE FOAM

INTERNATIONAL PAPER

• It was started as the Florida Pulp and Paper Company, first producing paper in 1941. • The power plant in Cantonment discharges

treated waste into Elevenmile Creek which flows into Perdido Bay. • The plant is solely charged with killing all life in

Elevenmile Creek with dangerous chemicals and heavy metals, with turning the bottom of the bay into a black chemical sludge, and with

THE PONDS

IP HISTORY

• In 1946 the mill merged with St. Regis Paper Company, which was bought out by Champion International in 1984, which was bought out by International Paper Company in 2000. The effect of the paper mill on Eleven Mile Creek and Perdido Bay became evident as production increased in the 1940's and 50's. The water turned a dark reddish brown, and swimmers in the upper bay would emerge from the water coated with reddish brown fibers. Aquatic vegetation disappeared, and the number of fish and minnows decreased noticeably.

THE ROUTE

• http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&q=perdido+bay&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x8890a4f4b564afcd:0x93c2985e8b40ef89,Perdido+Bay&gl=us&ei=y5KAT6KDO4f02wWt6-CKBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CHoQ8gEwAA

OVERSIGHT

• As a result of complaints by residents, an evaluation of the quality of the water of Perdido River, Eleven Mile Creek and Perdido Bay was made by the Florida State Board of Health in 1966 and 1967 (3). Curiously, the report made no recommendations, but among the "Conclusions" of the report are:• - "Perdido River is a normal and healthy stream."• - "Eleven Mile Creek is grossly polluted chemically

and biologically, by the discharge of waste from the St. Regis Paper Company operation."

THE TOWER

REGULATION

• The Clean Water Act is the regulation most often violated at the Northern part of the bay and in the tributary creek.• In the past, there have been noted violations go

unpunished. Environmentalists point to the Bay’s oily chemical sludge as obvious evidence of pollution.

THE SLUDGE

ACETYLHYDE

• Acetaldehyde (systematically ethanal) is an organic chemical compound with the formula CH3 CHO, sometimes abbreviated by chemists as MeCHO (Me = methyl). It is one of the most important aldehydes, occurring widely in nature and being produced on a large scale industrially. Acetaldehyde occurs naturally in coffee, bread, and ripe fruit, and is produced by plants as part of their normal metabolism. It is also produced by oxidation of ethanol and is popularly believed to be a cause of hangovers from alcohol consumption through drinking spirits.[3] Pathways of exposure include air, water, land or groundwater as well as drink and smoke.[4]

• - Wikipedia

DIOXIN & ARSENIC

• A survey done by FOPB on February 6, 2005 took a sample from bottom of Perdido Bay, and revealed a presence of 22.1 PPT (parts per trillion) of dioxin and 16 PPM (parts per million) of arsenic.• Both numbers well exceed regulatory levels and

safety standards.

FOOD WEB

DEATH

• Following the installation of the Cantonment plant, sea grasses and oyster beds died off in Perdido Bay.• Small fish were les

BLAME?

• IP can do little to deny the charges of pollution as they are visible evident to anyone visiting the creek or northern part of the bay.

SOURCES

• Mr. Ned McMath, P.E., Senior Vice President• Project Director, Main Street Wastewater• Treatment Plant Relocation• BaskervilleDonovan,• Inc.• 449 West Main Street• Pensacola, Florida 32502• (850) 4389661

SOURCES

• INTERNATIONAL PAPER PENSACOLA MILL • 375 MUSCOGEE RD, CANTONMENT FLORIDA

32533 • Public Contact:JANICE HOLMES • Phone Number:850-968-4203

SOURCES

• Amy Baldwin Moss• Ecosystem Restoration Manager• Department of Environmental Protection• Amy.baldwin@dep.state.fl.us• Amy would be a good source to talk to both about

regulation and possible restoration efforts.

BACKGROUND

• FRIENDS OF PERDIDO BAY• http://www.friendsofperdidobay.com/index.html