Chuck Richardson: 41 REASONS TO NIX FRONTIER STONE'S PLANNED QUARRY IN SHELBY

Friday, May 30, 2014

41 REASONS TO NIX FRONTIER STONE'S PLANNED QUARRY IN SHELBY

An Open Letter to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Synopsis: The three most important reasons Frontier Stone should not be allowed to develop a quarry in the Alabama Swamps are: 1) The impact statement avoids a rational appeal that allays the heightened civic concerns over its plan; 2) Frontier Stone can't empathize with nature lovers; 3) Frontier Stone has shown itself to be uncaring and dishonest in all drafts of its environmental impact statement, and should not be trusted to run a quarry in such a sensitive place.

Note: I waive my copyright to this article. Please feel free to copy and paste the whole thing or just part of it. Use it as you will, hopefully to write the proper authorities. Thank-you.

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May 31, 2014

To: Scott Sheeley, Regional Permit Administrator, Department of Environmental Conservation, Region 8 Office, 6274 East Avon-Lima Road, Avon, NY 14414

Cc: frontierstone@gw.dec.state.ny.us; State Sen. George Maziarz; Assemblywoman Jane Corwin; Joe Martens, DEC; Gov. Andrew Cuomo; Rep. Chris Collins; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand; Sen. Charles Schumer

Subject: Frontier Stone's Proposed Quarry in Shelby

Dear Mr. Sheeley:

I'd like to thank the DEC for rejecting Frontier Stone's four previous draft environmental impact statements regarding the proposed Shelby Quarry.

I bet you wish the state would pass a three-strike rule so company's like Frontier Stone would stop wasting your time and taxpayer money with nonsense like this.

Reading the final [fifth draft?] I can just imagine your frustration's peaking, as I have 41 specific objections to Frontier Stone's environmental impact statement in three general areas, and I'm by no means an expert. That means I expect you should be having many more substantial problems with it, being that you're tasked with environmental conservation by the citizens of New York state.

These are the general categories my objections fall under:

1) Frontier Stone's proposed quarry's environmental impact statement avoids any rational or reasonable appeal to counter and allay the heightened civic concerns over its plan;
2) Frontier Stone's planned quarry would negatively affect the lives of more local residents than it would benefit. Most visitors rely on the Alabama Swamps as a place to reinvigorate their souls and live fuller lives more involved with the planet and their natural surroundings. Frontier Stone seems unable to empathize with a nature-loving sensibility;
3) Frontier Stone has shown itself to be uncaring and dishonest in all drafts of its environmental impact statement, and should not be trusted to run a quarry in such a sensitive location, going the extra step necessary to preserve INWR and state wildlife management areas.

Please excuse the outline format and length of this critique, but the mind-numbing redundancy and convoluted nature of Frontier Stone's statement made it difficult to absorb, much less coherently re-present.

The outline method seems to offer the most coherence.

I've taken the time to spell things out because I love the swamps so dearly, and would hate to see this project move forward.

I. NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT ADDRESSING PUBLIC CONCERNS

1. The DEC required the DEIS because of the proposed quarry's potential to "impact wildlife and wildlife habitats found in and adjacent to the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge," especially regarding the effects of blasting. The statement does not adequately address this concern as there are no long-term studies on the effects of blasting on wildlife habitat similar to the swamps.

2. Of particular interest is the effect the quarry will have on flood control, especially in light of weather resulting from global warming that would make Frontier Stone's plans for dewatering the quarry inadequate. The Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment from 2011: "Over half of the Refuge is wetland (6,500 acres) with 4,000 of these wetland acres contained in 19 managed freshwater impoundments [this does not include the two state Wildlife Management Areas]. Water levels are adjusted within and between years to mimic natural hydroperiods associated with unaltered wetlands.

3. Page 7 details a whole lot of blasting. I live 3 miles east of LaFarge in Lockport, which is allowed to blast only once a month. When it does, the windows in my house rattle. I can't imagine what it's like on Hinman Road. I also can't help but wonder about the integrity of the berms undergoing such constant shock waves. Most important, I shudder to think how the wildlife will handle this invasion of their refuge. No adequate studies have ever been done…to do so would be cruel.

4. Page 7: "During operation of the quarry, groundwater and precipitation will seasonably accumulate in the quarry sump, initially located in the southeast corner of Phase 1. This water will be discharged via pipe to the adjacent agricultural drainage ditch via a settling basin system pursuant to a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit…" We're talking about a possible average of 1.44 million gallons of water per day containing dissolved natural gas, salt brine and hydrogen sulfide entering the Oak Orchard Creek watershed [if the climate remains the same]. The DEIS ignores climate change, among other things.

5. "There may be instances such as NYSDOT mandated night paving projects that necessitate mining and (or) processing outside of normal hours." (pp. 7-8). Considering the drastic increase in truck traffic and the effect of seismic waves on roadways, one might imagine ongoing road construction and a seemingly continuous mining operation. Also, "Operations that are limited to these restrictions do not include, maintenance activity or other operations associated with industrial activity at the site (ex. HMA production or RMC production)." This could totally mess with the circadian rhythms of neighboring fauna, and much more.

6. "If an emergency situation occurs outside the Department [of Environmental Conservation's] normal working hours, the permittee shall notify the Department the next business day." [p. 8] REALLY? NEXT TO A NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE? IF SOMETHING HAPPENED 6 P.M. FRIDAY BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO CONTACT ANYONE UNTIL 9 A.M. TUESDAY? 63 HOURS OF SPILLAGE WITHOUT HAVING TO REPORT? REALLY?

7. Have any studies been done on the effects of long-term blasting on the wetlands' water table, silt, clay and bedrock? What about climate change? These concerns are ignored and Frontier's mitigation [p. 21], of "avoidance and buffer zones" and use of existing drainage ditches is dishonest and/or absurd.

8. The entire DEIS depends on the historical climate remaining the same.

9. "…it is apparent that there will be no drawdown impacts or disruption of flow from the groundwater flow systems associated with the Oak Orchard Acid Springs…The amount of impact, if any, is only theoretical at this time [as is the lack of impact only theoretical]." And once again, climate change is not considered. What happens if we have much more or much less water for extended periods of time in the not too distant future? Considering the "interconnected nature" of the present Lockport dolomite formation, might a more thorough water study be appropriate?

10. Pages 116-17, which discusses "Water Quantity," where it states "The construction of the quarry…will introduce a certain added volume of groundwater to the normal runoff volume" of the normal amount of precipitation that falls on the "project area and migrates to the Refuge," thus affecting the amount of "normal" run-off from the Refuge, considering the climate remains normal. The water quantity estimate is "based on the proposed plan to pump continuously throughout the year (including the winter months) and under the assumption that all the precipitation during December, January and February will accumulate as a snow pack that is assumed to melt during the month of March…It is also assumed that there will be no evaporation in March. The assumption of accumulated snow pack and lack of evaporation…will occur during the winter months…September is the month when water levels are at their seasonal low and the associated inflow to the quarry will be at a minimum." What did Felix Unger say about ass-u-me?

11. On page 123, the DEIS states that "Ditches and culverts below the USFWS-controlled Schoolhouse Marsh dam have been assessed and found to be or more than sufficient capacity to accommodate the quarry water discharge. Little to no change is expected in these downstream systems from the quarry discharge water." But again, what about radically different water quantities thanks to climate change? On page 125, the DEIS admits that increased water discharges from the quarry, even without considering the possible radically increased amounts of precipitation due to climate change, will result in changes in or adaptations by the fauna and flora to "adapt to the new equilibrium." Not if the weather's unusual for a few years. Even more asinine is the DEIS effort to extrapolate for "precipitation on an annual average basis. The precipitation data used in this case was obtained from the NOAA…Rochester station…for the year 2012." [127] A yearly average takes more than one year of measurements. Those measurements should also occur on site, not in the next county closer to Lake Ontario. This is really shoddy work.

12. In its mitigation plans, Frontier claims "The location of the site access road is placed far from potential off-site receptors to minimize off-site impacts." In other words, the quarry's gate is as far away from human residences, which means it's as close as feasible to the swamps. These priorities are contrary to the stated purpose of INWR and the surrounding complex. The statement further addresses air quality on p. 54, referring to the "few farm residences along Fletcher Chapel Road, Sour Springs Road and Southwood [sic] Road, which are existing receptors for air emissions." They forget to mention all the wildlife and other humans "using" the land for "recreational" purposes. Astonishingly, this DEIS uses ambient measurements from a Rochester air quality station in Monroe County as typical background measurements of air quality in the swamps rather than actually test the air there [Rochester is also downwind of the Swamps, as the prevailing weather patterns flow from the west in general, southwest in particular]. So the background air quality for INWR is the same as downwind Rochester's industry and exhaust emissions from road traffic. It also uses state average ambient air qualities as a measuring stick, rather than the air quality that actually exists in the swamps now. So, of course, the quarry activities will not exceed Rochester's air pollution. Nice. The rest of the air quality study is based on industry standards and funded research from the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association

13. On page 111, the DEIS states: "Explosives used during the excavation process are comprised of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, a potential contaminant to groundwater quality… Nitrogen, carbon dioxide and steam are produced upon detonation…These byproducts would be diffused and dispersed into the air at levels so low that it is unlikely that a potentially significant impact would occur…Environmental factors such as the introduction of acid rain or changes in groundwater table elevation due to, for example, drought [or flood, climate change] conditions can alter groundwater chemistry affecting solubility of minerals." This is as close as the study comes to admitting that future projections based on historical data are faulty.

14. Also, the estimated decibel level of a similar quarry the DEIS compares Shelby to has an average decibel level of about 75, which lies somewhere between a vacuum cleaner in the next room and something loud, intolerable like a jackhammer in the street [Figure 15 and p. 160]. On page 166 the DEIS reveals that quarry noise at the Iroquois Job Corps will be 56.3 decibels, somewhere between an air conditioner and "loud unusual background noise." The same holds true at the Mallard and Schoolhouse Marsh overlooks.

15. Traffic and Transportation—"Potential impacts from trucks include [and therefore are not limited to] combustion emissions and dust, noise and impacts to local traffic patterns [no mention of road maintenance that could waive the quarry's normal operating hours]…The project is projected to generate a daily average of 8 to 10 trucks per hour [about 1 truck every 6.25 minutes] based on projected maximum annual production over 220 days. This is equivalent to 128-160 truck trips per 8 hour day (64-80 trucks entering and…exiting [the Sour Springs Road gate])…

16. Fishing—"There is no water body suitable for fishing within the AOI. No disturbance to fishing activity on Ringneck March [sic] is anticipated based on distance." FALSE. THE MARSH IS ABOUT A HALF-MILE AWAY. THERE ARE NUMEROUS SPOTS TO DROP A FISHING LINE WITHIN A MILE OF THE QUARRY.

17. Hiking—"Current refuge regulations would restrict hiking to designated areas from March 1 to July 14. There are no hiking trails within the AOI near the quarry and none are proposed." It should be noted the seasonal restrictions are due to nesting Canada geese, great blue heron, osprey, bald eagles, great horned owls, and numerous other creatures giving birth in what is a designated safe haven. The mining will definitely affect them in numerous ways. But also, it's important to note that two trails, Onondaga on Sour Springs Road and Swallow Hollow on Knowlesville Road, are about 2 miles south and southeast of the proposed quarry…so again, like the canoeing, the study's walking a fine line here…p. 15

18. In April 2006 the DEC said "The wildlife assessment needs to be significantly expanded and must clearly identify impacts to the nearby Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. The assessment must include habitat impacts related to blasting, hydrology, noise, dust or any other potential environmental issues." [Vol. 3, Appendix 2, p.6]. THE FINAL IMPACT STATEMENT DOESN'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO DOING THIS.

19. APRIL 2006, DEC ASKED FOR "a more thorough analysis of seasonal discharge volumes and impacts must be provided." [p.7] IMPOSSIBLE IN LIGHT OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

20. APRIL 2006 DEC: "The conclusion that ongoing mining and blasting activities will have no impact to wildlife in the INWR is unsupported [ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMPARABLE MINES LOCATED NEXT TO A WILDLIFE REFUGE WETLANDS?]. The assessment of blasting focuses primarily on structural impact to nearby buildings. A discussion regarding the impacts of noise and vibration on wildlife and wildlife recreation is needed [NONE PROVIDED IN FINAL DRAFT, NONE EXISTS, THIS QUARRY WOULD BE THE EXPERIMENT].

21. DECEMBER 2009 DEC response, p. 38: "The report indicates [p55] that no potential bald eagle habitat exists on site, however, eagles could potentially use habitat on the refuge just to the south of the proposed site. Due to this species' need for 'quiet solitude' as mentioned in this report, the quarry could make a section of the refuge unusable for bald eagles in the future, both for nesting and other activities….Please provide detailed methods from field surveys. In particular, include the methods used for bird surveys including both on and off site. Short-eared Owl surveys (time periods surveyed, survey methods, survey locations, etc.) Also provide details from the walking survey of the Refuge. Spring bird surveys should be completed in the area of the refuge adjacent to the proposed quarry…" THEY DON'T ADEQUATELY DO THIS IN THE FINAL DRAFT, AS ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH THE SWAMPS WILL TELL YOU THESE NUMBERS CAN FLUCTUATE DRAMATICALLY FROM YEAR TO YEAR…

II. FRONTIER STONE'S NOT PROPERLY ATTUNED TO THE SURROUNDING ECOSYSTEM

1. Page 7: "The bedrock will be drilled and blasted by industry standard techniques. Blasting will take place on an as-needed basis. The days of the week or frequency is determined by market conditions, weather conditions and operational restraints during quarry development. NO WILDLIFE OR HUMAN[E] RESTRAINTS CONSIDERED.

2. Truck traffic will travel on Oak Orchard Ridge Road [1 every 6.25 minutes]…There is a potential for annoyance to wildlife watchers at the Schoolhouse Marsh overlook [omitted here are Mallard and Ringneck Marsh overlooks and those accessing Oak Orchard Creek and the newly developed trail on Rt. 63, onto which these trucks must turn]. It might also be noted this "potential for annoyance" would last a lifetime, as the planned quarry would operate for 75 years.

3. On p. 21, Frontier says it plans to "mitigate" the quarry's effect on wildlife by easing into the mining over a long period of time to "allow a gradual relocation of common wildlife species, if any, to a new habitat location." It's important to note the DEIS is only talking about wildlife on the property, not the surrounding area. But the effect will likely be the same, a dwindling of INWR's wildlife over time.

4. Furthermore, the dodgy report says in a roundabout way on page 61 that a pair of Northern Harriers were seen foraging on the site and likely nest nearby. On page 60, the statement minimizes the importance of the swamps' rebounding bald eagle population, in which there are four active nests, by citing the fact the bird was delisted by USFWS as an endangered species due to its recovery. Horned Larks, however, a state species of concern, are present on the proposed quarry site. The statement minimizes this concern by saying horned larks "are a fairly common breeder locally in western and central New York." When it comes to osprey, the DEIS is false: "TES observed one osprey fly over the site on July 13, 2010 and one was recorded on the INWR during the 2012 breeding bird survey…Recently an active osprey nest was observed on a powerline pole in the National Grid easement near the substation at the south end of the site." Typically, these folks did one-day walk throughs and looked at historical records. I can tell you for a fact of many more osprey and bald eagles nests around the complex—two in Ringneck Marsh alone. The blasting, if it's anything like LaFarge's, will destroy this habitat as well as an ever-changing blue heron rookery of several hundred nests. This rookery, a wonder to stumble across, is never mentioned in the DEIS. Frontier proposes these Wildlife mitigation measures [p. 210]: "Phased mining will allow a gradual relocation of wildlife species to a different habitat location." So Frontier's suggesting wildlife will have to seek refuge from the refuge.

5. Frontier claims "Hunting has not been impacted by the numerous quarry settings elsewhere in the region." As wildlife disperse due to loss of habitat, they form rich pools for hunters to dive into. It's like herding them. Deer shell-shocked from mine blasts, covered in dust, with increasingly dense populations are easier prey than healthy deer. But are they as good to eat if they were overly-stressed and sick at the time of shooting? I also wonder if Frontier Stone is even aware of wetland trapping. Hunting is more than just using a shotgun on deer.

6. Interestingly, of the six alternatives to this project listed, only one, "No action," implied no quarry. A rather interesting way of presenting the situation…

7. The DEIS states INWR was created in 1958 from what "appears to be abandoned from active agricultural use within the last 50 to 60 years" [in other words, it's a wasteland; the statement says nothing about the duck hunters who made it happen through the Duck Stamp Act]…It goes on to say current plans for INWR usage "provides a proposed management plan for the next 15 years," after which the INWR plan and purpose can be modified [p. 32]. TO WHOSE BENEFIT?

8. Page 219 lists Frontier's best guess at the proposed quarry's "Adverse Environmental Impacts That Cannot Be Avoided:" Increased traffic on Sour Springs and Oak Orchard Ridge roads; Increased noise near the project site; Permanent removal of farmland; Potential for temporary development of a groundwater cone of depression. Obviously missing from the list are the effects on wildlife and the emotional, spiritual toll this suffering will have on nature lovers [I can hear them laughing at me right now].

9. APRIL 2006 DEC: Any increase in noise on the area will detract from the peaceful atmosphere which many visitors enjoy when visiting the INWR and state WMAs. You asked Frontier Stone to address this issue in these terms and it failed to do so.

10. Page 154, INWR's manager states that "…If the project site was not farmed, the only alternative would be residential development…This site could be used as open space and in fact INWR has asked the landowner if he would be willing to sell the land to be incorporated into the refuge. The landowner declined…" I feel a certain hostility toward nature and the rule of law here on the part of the small minority of local individuals who would benefit from this deal at their neighbors' expense.

11. INWR's 2011 response, pp. 185-86. 4.2.7.1: "…the statement that an area is not conducive to hikers is a values judgment. Different people have different perception regarding what is a quality recreation area." Frontier Stone makes no effort to show it cares the least about people, biological entities with feelings, who think and perceive things differently than "it" does. And if it can't empathize with people, what chance does it have of feeling Nature's pain? Hear them laughing?

III. FRONTIER STONE SEEMS UNETHICAL

1. Regarding its location: "South of the site is a National Grid power line and south of the power line is the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge." [Vol. 1, p. 3]. Power line runs North-South, not east-west, and between the proposed mine and INWR lies the Iroquois Job Corps. Evidently the study's authors chose to omit this fact, in this particular place in the study, for some reason. This is at least the fifth time they've submitted a DEIS since 2006, each time it's been rejected for reasons that include sloppiness and laziness.

a. SLOPPINESS AND DECEPTION. FRONTIER STONE REFUSES TO SUBMIT A CLEAR AND PRECISE IMPACT STATEMENT.

1) The statement begins by understating INWR's ecological function within the Great Lakes bioregion, referring to it as merely "a significant natural resource," as opposed to an essential regional ecosystem [p. 32]. Furthermore, it claims "The Refuge is approximately 25 miles west of Lake Erie [which would put it in Canada]" VERY SLOPPY. The study also incorrectly states the direction of Route 63, which runs north-south, by stating the road "bisects" the swamps east to west. It also describes Route 63 as "functionally classified as a minor arterial" on p. 32, downplaying how busy it is, after having up-played its traffic to say how little the 10 trucks an hour from the quarry will affect Route 63's wear and tear, omitting Sour Springs and Oak Orchard Ridge roads, which are on the Refuge.

2) DECEMBER 2009 DEC: …"IT WAS DIFFICULT TO VERIFY THAT SOME OF OUR COMMENTS PROVIDED IN OUR JUNE 13, 2008 AND JULY 8, 2008 LETTERS WERE ADRESSED IN YOUR RECENT RESUBMISSION…I HAVE EXAMPLES THAT I CAN PROVIDE OF SIMILAR RESPONSE LETTERS…" IN GENERAL, THIS DEIS STATEMENT IS A TRAVESTY BOTH IN FORM AND CONTENT. IT APPEARS INCREDIBLY INCOMPETENT, LAZY…THEY CALL THEMSELVES PROFESSIONALS, BUT IF THEY WERE STUDENTS THEY'D GET AN F FOR THIS PAPER...

3) Dec. 2011, same thing all over again, dEIS and mine land use plan deemed insufficient by DEC. Comments to Hellert begin with critique of statement's sloppiness.

4) INWR'S RESPONSE TO THE DEIS IN 2011: "Page 66. 3.1.4.2. We were unable to find a Holt and Leasure (2008) reference in the Birds of North America (BNA). However, the Short-eared Owl section of the BNA…is available online and it appears that this is the reference that the applicant used. The applicant suggests that based on BNA No. 62 'short-eared owls are also known to frequent mines and quarries.' In fact, BNA 62 states that short-eared owls 'may use' gravel pits and rock quarries. This information is cited from an earlier paper written by R.J. Clark (1975) in which he lists 'abandoned limestone quarry partially filled with stumps' and 'abandoned gravel pit' as places where he found short-eared owl winter assemblages. Both of these areas are far different than the active stone quarry being proposed and to suggest that this area will somehow be attractive to short-eared owls once quarrying operations commence is misleading."

5) INWR's 2011 response: "Page 129. 4.1.2.2.4. We find the applicant's statement that '…the quarry's impact beyond natural seasonal variations and storm events is insignificant' to be misleading. We feel that the continuous pumping of 251 gpm [1.44 million gallons per day] (or other volumes) of water into Refuge wetlands could be very significant. Natural seasonal variations in water levels will certainly be altered as will the ability of the wetlands to absorb storm events." AND AGAIN, NO MENTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

2. Page 6, under "Construction and Operation," a berm ranging from 30-50 feet will surround the quarry and "will form a visual/noise berm." In other words, a rather large earthen wall will block the view of what was once a wide open space intended to remain that way. To get an idea what one looks like, drive around the LaFarge quarry on Hinman Road in Lockport. Ask those residents if the berms help much against the blasting.

3. Pages 99-100, section 4.1.2.2… Even more questionable is the DEIS use of an "important study of the Lockport Formation… conducted in the Love Canal Area" prior to 1984, to suggest Frontier's proposed quarry will be right in line with such standards effecting groundwater. Basically, to Frontier, The Swamps=Love Canal for groundwater impact.

4. Surface water is not considered in the statement's proposed mitigation measures. However, on p. 39, the DEIS states that the quarry's drainage ditches, which will be used in their current state, are considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be regulated as wetlands until 2016. "Neither of those wetland areas would be affected during the first five years of mining," says the statement. So obviously, those south-flowing ditches have a pretty shaky future in the coming decade. "When mining advances to Phase 2 the jurisdictional status of the wetlands will be confirmed and any applicable Corps…permit requirements… will be obtained prior to disturbance." So, by 2016 the ditches will get re-designated and fall under a different set of jurisdictional regulations more advantageous for Frontier. On page 112, the DEIS states: "There is potential that some runoff may be associated with the overburden berms." THEY DON'T CONSIDER WHAT THIS MIGHT DO TO THE SWAMPS.

5. The blasting conducted…will avoid detrimental impact to structures in the vicinity…blasting will be monitored to document compliance with any requirements that are set forth in the mining permit." Not a word said in this initial summary about the blasting's "potential" effect on wildlife. Evidently, the ecosystem's not as of much concern as the neighbor farmer's shed or well…On p. 22, Frontier plans to mitigate the negative effects of noise and blasting by building those big berms that work so well for LaFarge's neighbors on Hinman Road, and claim that "properly functioning mufflers" will be on all equipment. Furthermore, heavy machinery that's not in use will not be "allowed to idle unnecessarily" and will have sufficient "distance to receptors," which I assume to be human ears that might hear a tree fall in the woods. It will also be quiet during the winter [unless weather and market conditions deem otherwise], hibernating like just about everything else in these parts. And interestingly, Frontier claims "Mining activity is largely confined within the excavation depression." Think about what that means. And that just has to do with the machinery noise. Now for how Frontier says it will minimize the effects of blasting: federal guidelines will be followed, "use of blasting patterns to optimize the energy to break the rock," "limit the number of blasts by increasing the yield of each blast," "blasting during the middle of the day when ambient noise is the greatest and people are most likely to be at work," "shots will be monitored by seismographs to aid in corrective blast design if needed." In other words, we'll follow industry-lobbied guidelines and use our expertise to make bigger, more productive explosions only a couple times during the day when the swamps are so noisy anyway and the human population has left for work [and elsewhere].

6. No ancillary processing facilities such as [and therefore not limited to] ready-mix or hot mix asphalt are planned at this time which would generate additional traffic." I think of the Peace Bridge on a hot August day, except I'm sitting at Mallard Overlook at Ringneck Marsh a mile south of the quarry on Sour Springs Road…eyes running, throat burning, wheezing…and all the poor animals choking under an orange sky. Another "ancillary project" could include natural gas extraction, which isn't part of this plan, but would likely include pipelines.

7. Wildlife—"…There are no endangered or threatened wildlife species nesting on the site. Northern harriers were noted foraging over the site. Adverse impact to northern harriers is not anticipated as there is extensive open field and agricultural areas nearby for foraging. Short-eared owls are known to occupy a winter roost over one mile from the site. While there is potential for short eared owls use the site for roosting during the winter months or for breeding. Short eared owls are known to use quarries for foraging. No adverse impact to short-eared owls are anticipated." This statement walks a fine line between truth and prevarication. And remember that bogus claim earlier about short-eared owls using quarries? It's repeated here…and it's not true…they use abandoned quarries.

8. Pages 58-60: Frontier also falsely states that "Proposed mining areas have been located so as to avoid or minimize disturbance to any potentially sensitive or significant habitat, such as wetlands." As the study's use of "as well as" suggests, siting has been determined to avoid human residences, not wildlife. So in this respect, among others, the DEIS is dishonest

9. "With the exception of an increase in truck traffic [1 truck every 6 minutes and 15 seconds for 12 hours a day, 66 hours a week] on Oak Orchard Ridge Road [omits the hill on Sour Springs Road], the potential for disturbance to bird watchers is minimal." This is absurd…p. 15-16.

IV. WOULD YOU LET A MONKEY WITH FINGERPAINT LOOSE IN AN ART GALLERY?

So the three general reasons Frontier Stone [the monkey] should not be allowed to develop a quarry [fingerpaint] in the Alabama Swamps [the art gallery] are: 1) The impact statement avoids a rational appeal that allays the heightened civic concerns over its plan; 2) Frontier Stone can't empathize with nature lovers; 3) Frontier Stone has shown itself to be uncaring and dishonest in all drafts of its environmental impact statement, and should not be trusted to run a quarry in such a sensitive place or to take the extra steps necessary to preserve INWR and state wildlife management areas.

In other words, this environmental impact statement is a sham. This type of deviousness and/or incompetence could be avoided in the future with three basic reforms to the state mining application process:

1. Instill a three-strikes rule, in which applicants only have three shots at attaining a permit for a site; after which the bid would be dropped. Loopholes regarding company name changes need to be applied.

2. Instill higher environmental standards and hurdles for quarry applicants who wish to mine near protected ecosystems, understanding the web-like nature of such systems.

3. Develop a standard format for environmental impact statements that must be followed to prevent companies like Frontier Stone from submitting shoddy applications as a form of doing business, hoping they'll outlast the people to whom they're applying. Environmental impact statements must be written in such a way the general reading public can follow without hassle. Basically, a truly professional statement must get an A in Comp 101 for a permit to be awarded near protected land or water. Why is that so hard for "professionals" to do?

I hope everyone who reads this open letter will seriously consider these reforms.

I'm also quite sure there's really no way you'll ever legitimately allow Frontier Stone to blast away in the swamps. You have the power to stop this thoughtless insanity now before it gets uglier, and I'm confident the DEC will do its job...though not certain.

Sincerely,
Chuck Richardson
Lockport, NY

FURTHER READING

http://continentalplacer.com/pdf%20mar%202014/Volume%203web.pdf 321-page report on Frontier Stone's proposal.

http://chuckrichardson.blogspot.com/2014/05/will-iroquois-national-wildlife-refuge.html

http://chuckrichardson.blogspot.com/2014/05/battle-to-save-inwr-from-resource.html

http://www.godoshigen.co.jp/english/gas/index.html

http://www.frontierstonewny.com/about-us

http://www.freewebs.com/stopthequarry/

http://www.harrisbeach.com/about

http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_6929ee66-d021-11e3-8a36-0019bb2963f4.html

Fontier Stone's environmental impact study:
http://www.continentalplacer.com/

http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_e2ac14f0-c6a6-11e3-88d4-001a4bcf887a.html

http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_c4b3a9d0-d660-11e3-a75b-0019bb2963f4.html

Cc:

frontierstone@gw.dec.state.ny.us

State Sen. George Maziarz, 175 Walnut St., Suite 6, Lockport, NY 14094. Phone: (716) 434-0680/Fax: (716) 434-3297. maziarz@nysenate.gov

Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, 8180 Main Street, Clarence, NY 14221. 716-839-4691. http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Jane-L-Corwin/contact/

Joe Martens, DEC Commissioner, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-1011.
518-402-8545

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of New York State, NYS State Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12224. (518) 474-8390. http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php

Rep. Chris Collins, 1117 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515. Phone: 202-225-5265/Fax: 202-225-5910. http://chriscollins.house.gov/contact

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/, 202-224-4451

Sen. Chuck Schumer, Buffalo Office, 130 South Elmwood Avenue
#660, Buffalo, NY 14202 . Phone: 716-846-4111/Fax: 716-846-4113 https://www.schumer.senate.gov/Contact/contact_chuck.cfm

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What some have said:

Praise for So It Seams

“Chuck Richardson is a master craftsman whose magnificent, long, looping sentences, in their whipping and flitting about, present a world populated by obsessive characters whose absurd deeds never seem to end. You will meet a dog named Certitude and an environmental activist named Irena-Delores Farfrankenheirmerzen-Dauphinheifer; Jesus Segundo, a member of a street gang, and Aunt Elizabeth Bullfinch who owns too much stuff for your own good; and many, many more. What's more, it all happens within a narrative of extraordinary energy. Dear reader, you're in for a treat.”

--Jefferson Hansen, author of Beefheart Saved Craig

“Chuck Richardson is a necessary American writer: Kafka’s disturbed humor; postmodern esemplastic axes and paradoxes; Taoist humility of Hindu-Buddhist warfare mentality; Black Elk’s quest for his siblings; Castaneda’s sexual appeal; the grotesque Thomism of Flannery O’Connor; Marquez; Grace Paley; A.P.E.S. and quantum physics and a healthy dose of gastronomic preference; a nuclear-sonar-tech-turned-journalist-bracketing Buffalo and Greenpeace, the range of Chuck Richardson astounds me. In So It Seams, his second novel, an unidentifiable ‘interstellar medium,’ or ‘Ism,’ looms over the fate of the Onunghorreatawatawama, a local river we could never pronounce. The motion of the text is centrifugal, its voyeurs anticipating the arrival of things within the sprawling hallucinations and machinations of individual or collective memories, ripened in the bathrooms of unfolding constellations and recorded for TV. Reader, we’re under the microscope, and there's so much more to this book. Cheers, to It.”

--Jared Schickling, author of O

Praise for Smoke:

"...These hallucinatory acts performed by metafictive narrators in the name of solving a state-manufactured mystery may not enlighten Smoke's psychically crippled characters, but they do give the reader a good deal of narrative pleasure. We profit from Smoke's uncontained, comic dystopia--part X-Files, part Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, part Franz Kafka, part Philip K. Dick, part Three Stooges."

--Robert Glick, American Book Review, March-April 2010

"Smoke is actually a pleasure to read. OK, so every question is not answered; so truisms and false-isms are liberally mixed producing a powerful concoction of literary speculation on our modern politics, authorial deceit, and epistemological yearning, but I’d be more than happy to order another round. Smoke is more than “speculative” fiction in the traditional senses as applied to highbrow literature and science fiction respectively. It’s a fine read that compels even as it disturbs, compels because it disturbs, which, in a sense, is how life is, if not ought be, ultimately lived."

--Bennett Lovett-Graff, "Smoke & Mirrors," New Haven Review

"Chuck Richardson's Smoke probes human existence by pursuing truth and meaning in an unknowable, inexpressible universe, much like the author-ities. What makes Smoke fascinating is the imaginary catastrophe lurking behind it, which leaves us to invent and imagine the world anew."

—Raymond Federman, author of Take It or Leave It, and Double or Nothing

Excerpt from So It Seams

17.

The best idea any of my teams’ve been able to come up with, thus far, Gerald, and I do believe other ideas, equally adequate, are forthcoming, no matter how tangentially, or vicarious their connections may seem to be from this, I mean our, perspective…

Spit it out, Carlos. Jesus Christ. Goddamnit. Speak man.

Macondo and Good, sitting in their office, gaze over a gloomy quad.

It appears to be a renegade bubble mysteriously percolated from the Interstellar Medium.

What?

A bubble of interstellar medium, most likely ninety percent hydrogen and ten percent helium, mostly Hindenberg with a pinch of...

What?

The conflagrating zeppelin…

Good can’t believe his ears.

Go on.

It appears to be coming to an end, and we Earthlings will perhaps have a role to play in its final event, if Team D’s calculations are correct.

What is it?

An ISM-UFO. An unidentified bubble of interstellar medium. For brevity’s sake I shall refer to it as an Ism, which I view as a membrane with recursive symmetries across type. Only one percent of it appears solid, and that seems mostly dust with trace amounts of certain metals. Before it became a gaseous bubble infiltrating the solar system it may have existed as an undifferentiated aspect of the Interstellar Media, which is to say it functioned as an intermediate scale between the stellar and galactic scales. It might have been the very stuff connecting star systems within their given galaxies. Comprende? It could have served as the heaven’s fascia, which was somehow torn making this seem some bubble of its blood—90 percent hydrogen, 10 percent helium; 99 percent gas and one percent dust with traces of heavy metal, which explains, perhaps, its apparent solidity from our perspective. Stars physically interact with the Ism. Stellar winds form young clusters of stars and shock waves created by supernovae inject enormous amounts of energy into their surroundings, which leads to hypersonic turbulence—bubbles and super-bubbles of hot gas. The sun is passing through the local interstellar cloud, a denser region in the low-density local bubble. The interstellar medium begins, Gerald, where the interplanetary medium of the solar system ends. The solar wind slows to subsonic velocities at the termination shock, 90—100 astronomical units from the sun. In the region beyond the termination shock, called the heliosheath, interstellar matter interacts with the solar wind. Ism is vital due to its transitional function between stellar and galactic scales.

Great. So what’re we gonna do about it? Tell me something I don’t know. I’m not a school child.

Do about it? That you don’t know? You’re not a child?

How are we going to save the Earth from it?

Well, the Ism seams a feedback loop between the sun and Milky Way. You might look at it as our solar system’s skin. We exist on a scale geared toward the sun being the center of everything that’s moving. This bubble of Ism, or chunk of cosmic skin, is like a virus or germ infecting us from elsewhere, partially existent on at least one other scale. These intrusions are common, especially as subatomic particles, and of course they’re usually benign. However, uncommon forms of injection can cause damage disproportionate to the actual mass and energy—that is shock and awe—of the inoculation. These must be neutralized.

But Carlos, how do we know it was intentional…I mean, injected implies…I mean doesn’t it…is that appropriate…attributing God, I presume, bringing you this bubble intended by…

By whom, Gerald? Who could have intended this Ism?

Just because we can assume or do something doesn’t mean we should assume or do anything, right Carlos?

But if this were actually a case in which we really couldn’t do anything, Gerald, wouldn’t it really be one we actually wished we could, hmmm?

Indeed. They might have miscalculated the interstellar fault line. Error may indeed be a multi-dimensional recurrence, cosmic and local. If it is an error we must treat it like all other unintended phenomena, am I right Carlos?

Senor?

Yes, of course, Carlos! Of course, now might be its time. Everything must end. The bubble must burst the dam must break my heart must give no doubt now is the time. We’ve entered our common event horizon as Earthlings, as animals and primates, as human beings, as God’s children, strangely attracted into this event horizon, our time, only to be pulled apart by the ever-increasing gravity of our ever-increasing proximity to the void, that black hole sucking us all elsewhere. There’s no such thing as a last day for anything. Life like love abides!

Senor? Ah, these fucking gringos…Kierkegaard at the apocalypse…Senor! Team C is informing me that the Ism’s energy seems to be a liberated fireball, if you will, of the interstellar electromagnetic radiation field, or Irf. Isms and Irfs working together make the UFO something analogous, perhaps, to a hurricane, dynamically speaking, of course. Senor? Electromagnetic Ism?

So, what you’re saying, says Good, as Macondo looks off, is if it’s analogous to a hurricane it’s analogous to the weather, what it’s doing outside, the interspace media, another Ism dealing with the fluctuating flowing humidities and air pressures among the micro- and macro-climates, eh? Its energy, rather than being electromagnetic radiation, is the air pressure defining any given space, which we call weather, which is actually a front, a membrane between two kinds of weather? Or it could also be analogous to how Nature goes? What we might call the intersystem media, or another Ism, being the pervasive water and atmosphere about the planetary body: the mind matter energy coursing through its organs among its organisms? The Ism informs our intersystemic water and atmosphere forming a membrane that joins and distinguishes itself from the existing external and internal Ism comprising it. Calories, in the form of Death, are equivalent to desire in the form of Life…

Senor! Dr. Good! Gerald, Jesus Cristos! Team G has alerted me to another useful analogy. Of course, every analogy is useful in that it helps us imagine a response, what to do, right Geraldo? Gerald?

Yes, Carlos. I’m with you. Team G. What’d they say?

Well, as long as we’re in the vain of this thing being a chaotic system, then, perhaps, in what some call laissez-faire capitalism: the inter-saleable media are the currencies and exchange rates pervading the global marketplace: the financial manipulations, supply and demand existent among traders. The Ism creates currencies and exchange rates, forming hard and soft ideologies that enrich the rich and control the poor the Ism targets. The wealth, in the form of Credit, is equivalent to greed in the form of Profit. And, also, in politics: the inter-societal media are the propaganda and education apparatuses pervading the status quo or power structure of society: the entertaining spectacles, violence and selfishness at work among people. The Ism propagates disinformation, creating hatreds and delusions that enrich the greedy and well-placed while pacifying the rest who are poorly positioned to adequately control their own lives. Power, in the form of an apparently democratically elected leadership, is equivalent to totalitarianism in the form of happy pursuits.

Good, catching on and contributing: and so, the human psyche—the inter-stitial media are the sentience and natural laws pervading one’s awareness of the world: one’s loves, hatreds, disinterest, fascination, obsession, abhorrence—the desire informing the way one constructs external reality in their mind. The Ism creates greed, delusion and hatred and the simultaneous awareness that these desires are wrong and violate a seemingly ineffable morality. Desire, in the form of one’s perceived external reality and internal feelings, is equivalent to the detachment necessary to survive their frustration and loss.

Macondo, cutting him off, science—the inter-skill methodology—seems the objective process informing useful and productive thought for the sake of useful and productive thinking: medicine, physics, chemistry—the means of improving human life in measurable terms. The Ism necessitates objective observation, the formation of hypotheses, rational means of testing the factuality of hypotheses, objectively analyzing the results, constructing theories that predict future behaviors, which are then objectively observed, rational hypotheses formed, etc. Knowledge, in the quantifiable form of peer-reviewed inter-related facts, is equivalent to the irrational peer-reviewed fact that nothing can ever be actually rationalized or rationally peer-reviewed and all attempts at such quantifications that quantify the qualities of precise peer-reviews are qualifiably absurd peers reviewed irrationally, perhaps implying certain inverse…

Carlos! Good shakes his arm. I got another analogy: War. The inter-sector mayhem seams the hatred and violence pervading one’s attempted domination of and dominion over one’s own world: invasion, conquest, empire, freedom, justice, victory, glory—the need to be number one. The Ism begets itself, as one invades and gets invaded, conquers and is conquered, enslaves and gets imprisoned, gets revenge and pays a blood price, wins and loses, is proud then shamed. Violence, Death’s kinetic energy, is equivalent to love’s potential—Life’s latent rebound.

Gerald, if that’s true we must also consider, perhaps, superstition: the inter-sacred media are the ritual behaviors supported by holy books pervading one’s distress over all the above: the facts that the universe is vast and frightening, storm clouds seem always lurking on the horizon, the Earth is alive and dominant over you, both the lack and abundance of money are corrupting, the pursuit of happiness does not lead to happiness, caring is painful, one can never actually know what one knows is true or not, violence lurks behind every bush in its potential randomness. Fear, demonic kinesis, requires a comforting ISM, allowing for an escape equivalent to the terror one must face. One need’s faith in something holy as much as one has faith in the existence of something evil…

None of these Isms seem moderate, yet they seam middle ways, uncannily or not, suggests Dr. Good, seeming to snap out of his reverie.

The Ism is turbulent, agrees Macondo, focusing once again upon the task at hand, the task of saving the Earth. The Ism is turbulent and therefore full of structure on all spatial scales.

Indeed, says Good. The Ism, as we’re imagining it, is usually far out of thermodynamic equilibrium, and therefore necessarily brutal and frictive, making the sparks fly, you might say…

I think…I think, replies Macondo, how it—I mean that Ism debris—had achieved orbit—revolution and bull markets—and maintained it for billions of years undisturbed—spectacular feedback loops producing satiation if not satisfaction…Ism debris achieves critical mass via revolution and bull markets, evolving cognitive feedback loops whose emergent spectacles necessarily seam absurdity…

Good thinks of “von Braun:” He seems so cool.

So, the Earth just happens to be in the Ism’s way, says Good.

And will therefore change, adds Macondo.

But you must never tell anyone, interrupts “William Shatner,” or someone who looks remarkably like him, who has entered their office unnoticed. He seems accompanied by an older black man with a marked limp, who reminds the good doctors of “OJ Simpson.” He’s carrying a weapon of some sort, which seems, perhaps, aimed at them.

You must never tell anyone how things are about to change. They have no need to know, and even if they did, what could they possibly do about it?

“Shatner” seems cocky with “OJ” over his shoulder. The doctors look unimpressed. They wonder if they’ve once again become unwitting parties to another psychotropic experiment by the boys over at the pharmacy school. What’d they put in the coffee this time? Do they really think intimidation will help them think outside the box?

Who are you working for? Macondo asks.

It’s a state of germ emergency you fool, says “OJ.”

Smoke: Chapter 1

1.

Linda knew the interrogation would clear things up. Earlier, in the van, she had protested as she was strip-searched, but the agents were so polite and apologetic that they overcame the fact that some potholes were making for a series of blunders with the speculum.

All they needed, they said, was proof she was a good citizen. Understanding the necessity of this degradation made it bearable.

Since the incident, the Agency expected every citizen to put up with certain inconveniences—some more than others—until the crisis passed.

She noticed the rain had stopped. Had it been three weeks? Raymond played his piano, coughing all over the keys, haunting the road’s centerline. What if he were seriously ill? What kind of mother was she?

The trip was nothing, as usual, a quick jaunt south of town into the foothills where she pulled down the usual, unmarked road up the side of a weathered mountain, slithering between birch and beech stands, then two-needle pine. The road seemed to end at a honeysuckle-splattered hedgerow, but as she approached, it gave way, revealing a tunnel.

She touched the brakes entering the tube, which descended about a quarter mile at a thirty-degree angle with her vehicle’s headlights being the only illumination. Others might have found this journey claustrophobic, but she was used to it. It was during the uphill drive, on her way home to Raymond and light, that she felt uneasy. The bottom of the tube appeared, as usual, with the appearance of a dim pink light outlining a portal that vanished, a parking lot materializing in its place. Slowing, she parked in the usual spot.

The elevator doors on the far side of the garage opened as her toe touched pavement, and as she approached them, a voice on the intercom said:

Good morning, 8P5, you have two persons of interest today. Their dossiers are in your in-box. You have one message, from 6R9:

Hey P, just letting you know I’ve got a hot one this morning. We’ll compare notes at lunch. Level 1 or 2? Text me.

No other messages. Would you like me to repeat that?

No.

OK then.

Is anything on my schedule besides the interrogations? Have I made any special notes to myself?

No.

OK. Nothing else then.

Very well. God bless our Tribal Agency…God bless our Tribal Agency.

Yes, yes. God bless The Agency.

She entered the elevator, eyeing the security camera as she began her ascent into the mountain. She could see her unflattering reflection in the lens. Feeling groggy, she wouldn’t be fully awake until she’d drank two more cups of coffee and smoked the day’s only cigarette. She can never wake up without help. She hoped she wasn’t sick like Raymond, and felt guilty for setting him loose on the world.

The doors parted, exposing a large, well-lit yet empty office. 8P5 sauntered between two rows of desks to the last one at the far end of the room where she began pawing files and papers from her in-box, and read the name Jonah Carson on the top dossier. Carson was committed for an unspecified psychotic breakdown that had resulted in a baby’s disappearance. He also had regular contact with another person of interest, especially during his breakdown. It was likely he would reveal something if charmed, or so his profile said. Carson, transferred from the county hospital late last night, was coming out of sedation. The Agency told him he was in the discharge unit in the hospital basement. He would be going home today, they told him. She would question him in the lounge, posing as another patient.

The side door slid open when the van stopped, and Linda once again found herself in an underground parking ramp. She had tried to figure out where they were going after her arrest, but when the bouncy cavity search began, she lost track of their direction. She assumed they were underground because the van went downward quite a distance before stopping. She noticed there was only one other vehicle—a dark, late model sedan, a Chevy Impala perhaps—parked in the lot. As the elevator doors parted, Linda shuddered and was escorted in. When the doors re-opened some distance below, the squad veered right, marching down a narrow corridor to a door that opened, like the elevator, as they neared the end of the hall.

Leading Linda inside, they plunked her into a chair and, removing her handcuffs, gave her a can of Coke. Then they left, turning out the light before locking the door behind them. She was alone in the dark, somewhere deep underground in an undisclosed location, deposited there by seemingly friendly, hooded agents who gave her an ice-cold can of Coca-Cola.

Though her lower orifices were somewhat sore from the search, the darkness proved kind. She closed her eyes, feeling her invaded space to be just that…space. She wasn’t in there, but elsewhere, a loyalist, a good wife, loving mother, hard worker. Linda paid taxes. Prayed for the warrior society. Supported the struggle. They were being nice to her. They were doing what was necessary to protect The Tribe. Her body was born into that nation, of the people, and The Agency claimed sovereignty over it. All the claims The Agency made regarding her person proved its right to eminent domain over her flesh. If her incarceration weren’t enough evidence, the death penalty proved it, or so she thought.

Time passed, but nothing moved. In the stillness, Linda began imagining the outlines of things in the room. Were they real?

The lights came on. The door swung open, and two hooded women dressed in dark business suits entered the room.

Disrobe. Take off all your clothes, said the short one.

Please, said the taller one, who sounded older.

Linda took off her clothes and the short agent threw them in a paper shopping bag while the tall one listed them into a logbook. Linda looked around to see what clothes they were going to make her wear, but didn’t see any. Then, as abruptly as they arrived they left, turning out the light, leaving Linda standing, alone and naked. Then the whir and caress of air conditioning to her right, and the snap crackle of a heat vent blowing to her left made her feel anxious. She finished the Coke, in an effort to calm herself, but the last sip was warm and flat. She began sweating, her imagination shutting down, leaving her to feel a dreadful tingle of something that was far, far away.

Avoiding the clash of hot and cold air, Linda folded herself onto the heated floor tiles, praying…

Jonah sat in an overstuffed green armchair next to a plastic dieffenbachia plant. His feet were propped on a dark, wooden coffee table, crossed at the ankles. She, like Jonah, was wearing a terry cloth robe over her hospital gown as she shuffled into the room.

Good morning, said Jonah, smiling.

Without thinking, she responded: I don’t think I’m happy anymore.

Smiling back, she couldn’t help but feel this act was routine.

What’s wrong? said Jonah, looking concerned.

They’re letting me out today, but I have no place to go, she said.

She sat on the sofa across from Jonah, crossing her legs at the knees, twirling her ankle in the air.

You got a smoke? she yawned.

I don’t smoke.

Good for you. What they get you for?

I went kaput. Thought I was somebody and something I wasn’t. Got all worked up and shit and I guess somebody got hurt. I’m better now. They’re letting me go today, too. What happened to you?

It’s a long story. Did they ask you all sorts of fucked up questions?

Only about my daughter, the person who got hurt. They were necessary questions.

How’s your daughter?

Nobody knows. They can’t find her.

How old is she?

Nine months.

That’s terrible. I lost a baby once. I was involved with the wrong people. How about you?

Jonah straightened in his chair, hair rising on his neck.

What do you mean the wrong people?

I was hanging out with a bunch of crack dealers. One day I woke up and my baby was gone. That’s when all this shit started. Were you hanging out with crackheads?

No. Actors and temps.

Even worse.

Jonah laughed. She pulled two cigarettes from her robe pocket, offered one to Jonah, who took it. She lit her cigarette then his and pulled up her gown to expose her thigh. Jonah felt her eyes, as he took a long drag looking at her fine, meaty gam…

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name…

The words that always followed did not flow into her mind. Linda had to repeat the lines twice before she was able to silence herself and remember:

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On Earth as it is in heaven.

It took more effort now to squeeze the noise from her mind, to quiet it, put it back in prayer mode…to keep it there unquestioning:

Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us

Linda found concentrating under these circumstances a daunting task. Was the floor growing warmer? The air conditioning and heat duct had grown silent. She rose from the floor and groped for the chair. Finding it, she sat down and marveled at how warm the seat was relative to the backrest, which seemed cold in comparison. Panic illuminated the room…Linda remembered.

And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power,
And the glory,
Forever and ever.
That’s a long time.
Amen.

Indeed. She fell asleep until the sound of the door opening awakened her. Light pressed her eyes. The two guards who stripped her were present, along with a small yet stocky man who, rather than wearing a hood, wore a Richard Nixon mask. A fourth person, wearing Rosemary Woods, entered the room pushing a cart, upon which appeared to be very thin, transparent wires and several strange mechanisms. Between the wires and mechanisms lay seven hypodermic needles, or so it seemed.

The short woman got down on her knees and applied ankle straps, fastening Linda to the chair. Rosemary Woods flipped a switch on the wall and the chair began straightening itself, Linda rising with it. The woman who clasped her ankles did the same to her wrists as the tall woman heightened the backrest up to her head. She then put a strap around Linda’s torso at the shoulders. Meanwhile, Nixon and his secretary prepared the enigmatic apparatus for operation, threading the razor thin wires through diverse orifices in their apparently plastic bodies.

Relax. You’re not going to feel a thing, said the tall one, whispering in her ear from behind.

Well, you might, but it won’t hurt too much, said the shorter one, a dark eye twinkling under her hood.

President Nixon gestured for Linda’s handlers to leave the room. The friendly banter was over. He approached her, and when he looked up into her eyes, she felt a surge of recognition, or déjà vu. Rosemary Woods, meanwhile, pushed the cart with the needles and wired mechanisms to his side.

I’m not a crook, said Nixon, reaching for one of the needles.

The people have a right to know, he said, threading one of the wires protruding from the nearest mechanism through the needle, that their President is not a crook. But the Jews are damn near running the whole shebang.

He disappeared behind Linda, who felt Nixon’s fingers spreading her ass cheeks, exposed by a gap in the chair. Her body stiffened.

Relax. You won’t feel a thing if you relax. The more you fight it, the more you’ll feel it. What I’m doing to you is no different from what I do to Liddy every day just for the hell of it. He loves it.

Linda felt the tip of the needle against her anus, and through sheer force of will forced her body to relax. Resistance was pointless. No sooner had she accomplished this than Nixon was once again standing in front of her and looking into her eyes.

We’re going to bomb the bastards into submission. The goddamned fucking traitors here at home will just have to live with it. I know who they are.

Who are you? Linda asked.

Pipe down, be-utch! shouted Nixon, who then squatted, performing the same procedure to Linda’s pussy he’d performed on her anus. Now, her body tensed, and she felt the needle slithering a wire up her cervix, stopping whereabouts she imagined her womb might be.

We need to get all the bastards. The Jews, the niggers, the communists, the rat bastard hippies and other terrorists. We’re gonna do what’s necessary to win. I’ve got a list of enemies and dirt on all of them. This is how I got it.

Nixon, injecting a wire into Linda’s navel, leaned his plastic forehead against her cold, sweaty breast. She noticed the instrument the wire was attached to glowing pale yellow, and the mechanism attached to her pussy was a pallid, pulsating orange. The one linked to her anus was a steady yet pasty red, or pink. Rosemary Woods tapped the orange device, as if erasing something with her middle finger, steadying the contraption’s gleam.

We’re going to save this country, but the cure’s going to hurt. Change is always painful. The good guys are going to win, said Nixon, needling a wire in an upward trajectory from below Linda’s sternum.

The gadget it was attached to lit green.

We need to find out who’s for us and who’s against us. Certain tests must be made. We’ll find out what you love, what you’re devoted to, what you feel for, and what it is you would heal in the world, then sculpt you from there.

He was no longer Nixon, but once again whoever he was beneath his mask. Linda found herself relaxing even more as the short, stocky man inserted a wire into her throat near her voice box. The implement attached to that wire lit icy blue.

We must find out if you’re worthy of free speech, or not. Most aren’t. C’est la vie, he said, injecting a wire up Linda’s nose, where she felt it take root in the roof of her nasal cavity. Its contraption lit royal blue.

But those who are worthy always seem to have an intuitive sense. We can act with a certain foresight, and exercise free speech out of necessity.

Finally, he grasped the last needle, climbed atop a stool that Linda hadn’t noticed before, and inserted a wire under her scalp.

And when we’re aware enough to act with a certain degree of perspective and intuition that proves accurate and constructive to our experience of life, we find ourselves connected to the divine. Only those who are truly connected to the divine have a right to free speech and power.

This last mechanism lit violet. Linda watched as the man stepped down from the stool and, with the help of his assistant, attached the seven doohickeys, whose lights extinguished one-by-one as they integrated into a single apparatus. Once finished, Nixon and Woods left the room, turning out the lights and locking the door behind them, leaving Linda alone again and in the dark, still naked, except now unable to move and feeling her anxiety was no longer hers alone.

Seeking detachment, her mind journeyed elsewhere…

As the elevator doors parted, 8P5 tiptoed into the constricted hallway. This level made her uneasy, and the door at the end of the corridor to her right was, as always, ominous. Her anxiety grew until she opened the door and turned on the lights.

Bon jour, she said, stirring Linda from an awkward, fitful sleep as she turned on the apparatus Nixon had prepared.

Or, should I say Buenos dias? said the agent, now extinguishing the lights, making the room smolder with the equipment’s illuminated string.

Violet light filled the room as Linda opened her eyes and saw the agent, a petite Semitic-looking woman in a loose-fitting navy blue business suit. She was attractive, not overwhelming like the others. Perhaps being unhooded contributed to that feeling.

Now the room’s light evolved from violet to yellow, passing first through royal and ice blue then green, each color bleeding into the next, fuzzing the passage of time.

Linda became nervous when the agent did not seem surprised by this dynamic rainbow. The fact the room was now a strengthening vortex of spectral luminosity heightened her concern, while the agent’s amusement grew.

Who are you? What’s this about? Linda said.

8P5. And I can’t tell you what this is about, she said, smiling and choking down laughter. That’s what I’m hoping you’ll tell me. You could help Jonah.

You know Jonah? said Linda, the room’s dominant glow turning pink.

We’ve met. He’s a nice man. You’re lucky. Tell you what, I’m going to explain what’s going on so you can relax. The sooner you relax the sooner we can finish. If things go well, we’ll give you back your clothes and take you home. How’s that sound? 8P5 said.

OK.

Good. Our tech support agents have hooked you up to a machine that combines internal acupuncture, string theory and quantum mechanics, as well as your body’s natural energies to emit light relating to whatever power center, or chakra, is dominant in your body at any given moment. That makes the room’s light something of a mood ring. Remember those? And it’s also something like a lie detector test, but better. This apparatus allows us to gauge your being’s overall responses to our questions, giving us a more nuanced view of your answers. We actually feel what you feel by using it. We call it an electroempathy spectrometer. We’re looking for the overall vibrational patterns of your soul. Do you understand?

Linda’s head spun with shifting colors. She closed her eyes and took three four-second breaths through her nose, exhaling for seven seconds through her mouth each time, and slowly opened her eyes.

Light yellow was now the predominant color.

Yes, I understand. But I don’t know why I’ve been selected. I don’t know anything, she said.

I’ll be the judge of that. You might be surprised. Are you ready?

Yes.

Linda continued her breathing exercise, feeling best in yellow light.

Do you know a man named Ziggy? 8P5 said.

No. I don’t know anybody by that name. It’s a funny name, said Linda, the light shifting from yellow toward violet.

How many times have you had contact with him?

I told you, I’ve never heard of anyone by that name.

The room’s light danced from lime green to pasty pink.

Do you go by any aliases? Irene or Patty?

Why would I?

The room is now pink, similar to what one sees under one’s eyelids in a well-lit stadium at dusk.

Do you know a Carlos Castaneda?

My father went by that name, but I haven’t seen him in years. There’s a man by that name in our apartment building, but he’s not my father. Maybe that’s what this is all about. Is he the man you’re looking for? Did he take Jenna?

Now, imagine rubbing those eyelids, and seeing an electric green circle with floating blue neon squares.

What’s your relationship with Jonah like? Does he manipulate you? Is he demanding?

Electric green now morphing into yellow.

No, he’s a good husband. A bit stressed out. But he tries hard. Too hard. He gets delusions of grandeur. But he’s older than me, somewhat ideal for a woman of my temperament. And he’s an actor and I write plays. We’ve been saving money to get to Chicago.

And the light changed course from an intensifying yellow to a darkening orange.

Is it possible, asked 8P5, that Castaneda could really be your father? It’s been a long time.

And the light, shifting again, now becoming more violet, red replacing yellow.

I don’t know, said Linda, pausing. I doubt it, but anything’s possible.

The questioning ended in violet and 8P5 turned off the machine. In the instant of darkness before she turned on the light, Linda began to suspect her husband of something. When the light came on, Linda was convinced Jonah had fooled her. He was an actor after all. He played her. For an instant, she imagined the room pulsating yellow-orange-red, a flaming blob of vengeance.

Chuck Richardson

Friday, May 30, 2014

41 REASONS TO NIX FRONTIER STONE'S PLANNED QUARRY IN SHELBY

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