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It is reported that Dr. Tom Nelson has claimed that the water pump that Dr. James Parker installed in the wetlands at Hurricane Creek is 'illegal.'
Dr. Parker:
"I talked with [Lumpkin County Inspector] Dennis Roland today and learned that the person who did the inspection of the water pump at Hurricane Creek was Mason Bryant who has not been with the County since about 2003. He again stated that the pump does not violate any state laws and a permit is not needed since it was installed 7 years ago and the volume of water removed from the creek is less than 100,000 gallons in any one day. He said that regulations are almost entirely based on the volume of water removed from the creek rather than whether or not it is returned to the ground water. At this point he knows of no violation that would be involved in using the pump for anything as long as the volume for any one day remains below the 100,000 gallons. The pump would have to run for more than 18 hours continuously to pump that much water. I have never pumped more than one fuel tank worth of pumping in any one day. A full tank (about a gallon of fuel) will last about an hour and a half. The specifications on the pump, with its two-inch pipeline, at maximum output, pumps about 90 gallons per minute. That would be 5,400 gallons in an hour (at best output).
--Dr. James Parker, 12.17.10" "As for the "No Trespassing" signs, if the college put them up and intends to keep visitors out, their intentions must be so that no one will see what they are doing. Also, when I applied for two grants by the Department of Natural Resources, the funding was granted as "Watchable Wildlife" grants, meaning they were directed toward making the area accessible to the public for viewing wildlife.* The President (at the time) signed off and gave approval for the use of the land for this purpose. Therefore, keeping the public out I believe would be a violation of that agreement between one state organization and another."--Dr. James Parker
*See Hurricane Creek Origen Documents on sidebar.
Letter from Sherman Day, College President, Feb. 22, 1999: "The development despcribed in the proposal will result in a facility of benefit to students of North Georgia College & State University, to public school students, and to residents of the surrounding communities." |