HOLNAM UPDATE

WE NEED YOU IN STE. GENEVIEVE ON JANUARY 24!  Now that your public comment letters are in, what can YOU do next? Plenty! The Corps of Engineers is sponsoring a Public Workshop on Wednesday, January 24 from 4 to 8 p.m. We want to make a strong showing by getting a lot of people to the workshop, which is like an open house, so you can arrive any time from 4:00 on. It is being held at the Elks Lodge in Ste. Genevieve. We will be carpooling from the Coalition between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. or you can arrange your own transportation. (Directions are at the end of this article.)

January 25: The day after the workshop, Holnam will be on the agenda of the Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources (Land Reclamation/mining) at 10:00 in Jefferson City. We plan to be there to speak. Again, there will be carpools. (Call Yvonne at 314-963-7750). Right before Christmas, Holnam published a notice in the Ste. Genevieve Herald asking DNR for permission to mine 35 acres of untouched land. WGNSS found out and you submitted letters in opposition - all on very short notice during the holidays. Thanks to YOUR letters, DNR took notice that Holnam's effort to start mining is a controversial issue. Holnam is trying to "piecemeal" the project and should be stopped. We will try to convince DNR not to let Holnam jump the gun.

The opposition to the proposed cement plant, 2000-acre quarry and harbor on 4000 acres of pristine wooded land in northern Ste. Genevieve County is gaining steam. The Corps of Engineers has received letters opposing the project from U.S. EPA Region 7, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Missouri Department of Conservation. Organizations that submitted public comment opposing the project in addition to WGNSS include: Coalition for the Environment, Environmental Clinic of Washington Univ. School of Law (on behalf of WGNSS and the Coalition), American Bottom Conservancy, Sierra Club, St. Louis Audubon Society, Audubon Missouri, National Audubon Society/Upper Mississippi River Campaign, NABA-St. Louis, Endangered Species Coalition/Heartwood, St. Louis Herpetological Society, Open Space Council, and French Valley Conservancy. And of course, the Corps received many, many letters submitted by YOU.

WGNSS would like to recognize the Environmental Clinic of Washington Univ. Law School, Maxine Lipeles, and her students for their invaluable assistance to WGNSS on this matter. They have committed their time, energy and expertise to this project. Thank you!

Background of this project: The 4,000 acre tract that Holnam wants to convert from pristine contiguous forest to heavy industry lies along the Mississippi River and contains wetlands, glades, Isle du Bois Creek, streams, springs, seeps, ravines, hollows, and caves. The property provides an important stop-over point for migratory birds in the spring and fall, plus breeding habitat for all songbirds found in the St. Louis regions. An estimated 40,000 individual birds could live on the site (5 pairs per acre). The property provides perfect habitat for Cerulean Warbler, a Neotropical migrant that National Audubon Society and 27 other groups just petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list as threatened. Wildlife of all kinds - birds, butterflies, frogs, snakes, salamanders, and mammals - abounds. Several endangered and threatened species might be found there: Bald Eagle, Indiana bat, Gray bat, Peregine Falcon, Least Tern, Pallid Sturgeon, Hine's Emerald (a dragonfly) and Mead's Milkweed.

Environmental and conservation groups are not the only ones concerned. Business interests may also be adversely affected by this proposed project, because the St. Louis region (including Illinois) is nonattainment for ozone under EPA guidelines and another major source of air pollutants could hinder economic development on both sides of the river.

Holnam is a privately-held U.S. subsidiary of Holderbank Financiere Glaris, a multinational corporation based in Switzerland with cement plants in 70 countries, including 12 in the U.S. (the one at Clarksville, Mo. burns hazardous waste).

Directions to the Elks Lodge, Ste. Genevieve: Go south on I-55 and get off at Exit 154 (Ste.Genevieve-Rocky Ridge Road). Turn left onto Route O and then turn right onto Hwy. 61. Travel approximately 5 miles on Hwy. 61 and turn right onto Molasses Hollow Road. Address is 19603 Molasses Hollow Road. PLEASE MAKE THE EFFORT TO BE THERE.

The Conservation Committee will not hold a separate meeting in February. Please contact Yvonne Homeyer for the date of the next joint meeting of environmental groups.

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