REMEMBER WHEN THIS WAS THEIR ANSWER TO THE LOW LAKE?????? LAKE OKEECHOBEE BACKPUMPING FACT SHEET Lake Okeechobee has a surface area of 730 square miles and is the second largest freshwater lake wholly within the United States.  The Lake has been classified by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as a Class I Drinking Water source, which requires strict standards allowing only small amounts of pollution.  The Lake is the sole source of drinking water for several small towns on the south rim of the Lake and one of the sources of drinking water for West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, and the entire Lower East Coast metropolitan area.  The region south of the Lake, known as the Everglades Agricultural Area ("EAA"), contains over a half million acres of former Everglades that have been diked and drained to make them suitable for urban and agricultural development. Most of the land is in sugar cane cultivation.  Three companies own 87% of the land within the EAA. One of those companies is the United States Sugar Corporation which owns 104,000 acres in the EAA, much of it in the area directly south of Lake Okeechobee.  Polluted water is pumped off the sugar cane fields and collected in large District-owned canals.  At the north ends of these canals, the District owns and operates three pumping stations, S-2, S-3, and S-4, which are built into the Herbert Hoover Dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee.  Each of these pumping stations has either three or four very large pumps each powered by a diesel engine about four times the size of a semi trailer engine. When all the pumps in a pump station are operating, the discharge is equivalent to the flow of a medium size Florida river.  The flow from the pumps creates a highly visible "plume" of dark (sometimes even black) colored water that can reach nine miles out into Lake Okeechobee.  The plume contains high levels of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) and high levels of dissolved organic materials that come from agricultural and urban wastes.  One of the largest pump stations is within 2 and ½ miles of the drinking water intake of South Bay, one of the small towns on the south rim of the Lake that uses the Lake for drinking water.  Earthjustice brought this lawsuit against the South Florida Water Management District in 2002 on behalf of the Florida Wildlife Federation.  The case is a Clean Water Act "citizen suit" which sought a declaration from the court that the District had to obtain federal Clean Water Act "point source" permits for its pump station discharges.  As "point sources," the discharges from the pumping station must meet pollution limits applicable to Lake Okeechobee.  The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians entered the lawsuit in support of the environmental groups.  The United States Sugar Corporation entered the case in support of the District.  The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered the case on the side of the polluters - the District and U.S. Sugar - in early 2005. This was the first occasion in the 33 year history of the EPA that it entered a water pollution case on the side of a polluter.  No EPA witness testified at the trial and no EPA witnesses were provided for depositions.  Florida Wildlife Federation argued that when the District collects and then moves water in a way that harms the receiving water body (here Lake Okeechobee) it is responsible for cleaning up the pollution in the same way a city is responsible for cleaning up sewage it collects in its sewage system before it discharges its wastewater.  On average, the S-2, S-3, and S-4 pumping stations discharge 32 billion gallons of water into Lake Okeechobee each year.  Today, on average, the pumps contribute the equivalent of 60,000 one hundred pound bags of phosphorus to the Lake each year.  Because of this excessive fertilization, the Lake now chronically suffers from toxic blue-green algae blooms, including one in 2005 that generated toxin levels in Lake Okeechobee 65 times greater than the World Health OrganizationÂs safe drinking water guidelines.  Blue-green algae toxins can affect the liver, nervous system and skin and have been linked to increases in liver cancer, chronic fatigue illness, skin rashes, abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, as well as deaths of dogs and cattle. The toxins are not removed by chlorination or boiling and algaecides (which kill the algae) result in the release of the toxins into the environment.  Phosphorus pollution levels in the Lake have risen continuously from about 40 parts per billion in 1960 to 240 parts per billion last year  an all time high. Phosphorus is a main ingredient in fertilizer and is an important component of animal waste and sewage.  The state and EPA have recently determined that the maximum allowable level of phosphorus pollution is 40 parts per billion.  In 1976, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection contended that backpumping into Lake Okeechobee from the pumping stations should be stopped. At trial, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection reversed position and sided with the District in contending that no Clean Water Act permit was necessary.  After the trial was completed but before a decision was issued, EPA proposed an administrative rule that would exempt all water transfers from permitting under the Clean Water Act. The South Florida Water Management District  the defendant in the backpumping case  explained that the rule is "expressly designed" for the backpumping lawsuit.  Thirteen states and the Canadian province of Manitoba filed comments in opposition to the proposed EPA rule as did over 50 national conservation organizations.  Earthjustice will take the EPA to court to challenge the legality of the new water transfers exemption rule when it is adopted by EPA. The theory of the case will be that EPA may not legally exempt any polluters from the Clean Water ActÂs permitting requirements.

Gary, Again just my understanding from what I've read, but it seems to me that a healthy lake that isn't being overly manipulated _ drained until it's dry then allowed to fill until it has to be drained again _ would help most of the people who make their livings on or near the lake. The people who run bass fishing tours have been devastated in the past few years. And the boating and fishing in the St. Lucie River has been a mess too. A lot of the draining that was done in 2006 was done to protect people from having their homes and farms flooded, but it didn't do that because we can't simply predict how many storms we'll have. Wouldn't it be better to restore the lake and the surrounding area to a more balanced system that can take care of itself, and not flood people's homes or dump fresh water that we need into the ocean? I've covered a lot of floods, including deadly ones like Katrina in New Orleans and the 2004 floods in Haiti, which killed more than Katrina did. Believe me, I've seen what can happen to people. But both of those were aggravated, if not outright caused, by mistakes people made over the years trying to manipulate giant systems nature had devised over thousands of years. So send the check if you like, but understand, I think most folks here are on your side, if not Rush's side. Susannah

Oh my, I just heard back from German. I just bought a 4 tip Mr Ambassador $45, Bill Moragne for $35. I asked him if he had any 2 tip Raspberry Sundae. Yes, Lynn I was looking for you. He said he only had one it had 3 tip, but 3 ft tall. I asked if it could be mailed out, he said it was too tall. If I would take it, I could have it for $65, I was not planning on buying another RS, but God works in mysterious ways. I am writing the check out now. I really wanted to get another Wildfire, everyone is looking for one, so I think I just might keep this RS and look for Wildfire next year. Barbra

Hello Bigtrain333: We are also looking to build a retirement home, but in Northern Georgia, and we too are considering a Timber Frame construction using (SIP) Structural Insulated Panels for the framing. One person I have been in contact with is Jeff Johnson in Franklin, North Carolina (see his contact info below). Ironically, Jeff has resently built a Timber Frame Home only a mile away from our present home here in Naples, Florida! Amazing coincidence! Infact it is on his web site "Home Page Images" (green colored home w/dark brown timber frame exterior accents). My wife and I have driven by that home and it looks beautiful! Jeff has also asked the Owners if it would be OK for us see to the inside of their home, which they happily agreed, so we will certainly be calling them to setup an appropriate time to visit. After emailing and talking to Jeff he too agrees that SIP's are the most cost effective way of enclosing a Timber Frame home, plus they are Energy Star Compliant and provide the highest insulation factor for the money. One thing to consider when Designing a Timber Frame home is to keep it simple! The more complex your design the more it will cost...Log homes have the same issue. This is why our Prow Front Chalet design has the Living & Dinning Area (Great Rm), Kitchen, Mast.Bed/Bath plus Laundry Rm/Half Bath...all on the Main Floor. The total square footage is approx. 1,500 sq. ft. or 30ft. wide x 50 ft. long. The 2nd Floor has a Bed/Bath and small Loft sitting area over the Mast. Bath and Laun/half Bath area below. Which allows all the Main Floor ceilings to be open all the way up to the Timber Frame Roof Rafters. and with a Gable Dormer over the 2nd Floor, that also will have vaulted celings. I've found Jeff to be a wealth of information and a very easy person to communicate with. He has reviewed our Preliminary Home Design and already has ideas how to lower construction costs. You may want to talk to Jeff about your home design before you reject the idea of building a Timer Frame Home completely. Yes a Timber Frame home is more expensive then a normal home, but I for one would rather have well built smaller home then a larger poorer built home that will require more maintenance in the long run! If anyone out there has prior experience, positive or especially negative with Timber Frame construction? Please provide your feedback so we can avoid those issues before we proceed ahead with our project? Good luck BigTrain and thanks to anyone who can provide us feedback! Jeff Johnson Timber Frames, Inc. http://jeffjohnsontimberframes.com/new/ 562 Terrell Road Franklin, North Carolina 28734 PHONE: Local.......828-524-7585 Toll Free...866-524-7585 Fax.........828-524-5611 Cell........828-342-5393