This website is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Jeffrey Bush of Seffner, Florida, who became known worldwide on February 28, 2013, when he was killed by a 100-foot deep sinkhole that suddenly and without warning consumed the entire bedroom of his home, and carried him into an instant grave where his body still remains to this day. This same fate grows more likely each day for all residents and visitors of Florida due to rampant governmental corruption, which continues to destroy the beautiful Sunshine State in many ways that have largely gone unnoticed by the public, until now. Today is the day when this corruption will be exposed!

 

 

Above are photographs of Mr. Jeffrey Bush and the sinkhole that is now visible since the house was demolished to show the interior view where the sinkhole occurred within his bedroom.  A lot of people may have been skeptical in the beginning of the event that such a terrifying and traumatic  situation could suddenly happen because before the roof was razed from over the house, no one could view the sinkhole.  However, once the roof was removed, the horrifying truth of the deadly danger of the nature of sinkholes here in Florida was revealed to the entire world for everyone to see.  However, sinkholes are NOT just caused by “Mother Nature” or “an Act of God.”  As we will be proving with our court documents, it is the greed of men and women–land developers, attorneys, Water Management District employees, and Judges–that are behind this sinkhole phenomenon, as well as other dangers that threaten the public health, safety, and peoples’ finances, and property.

Welcome to our website called “Danger To Everyone In Florida.org.” On this website is the hidden and secret information that you need to know in order to protect your own life, your family’s lives, your home, and your finances from Florida state governmental corruption. Whether you are a resident of Florida or a visitor to Florida for only a short while, the information on this website is very important for you to read. For the first time ever–as proven by court documents from the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings, Case # 08-001972, that we are now bringing to light–new information concerning the corruption throughout Florida’s state government is now being exposed, which has led to financial and physical harm, including death!! Today is the day when Floridians will become empowered with this information!

It will be stated now that the evidence, which was given under sworn court testimony and is now being shared with the public, should pose serious questions within the minds of judges, attorneys, FBI agents, other law enforcement officers, legislators, environmental scientists, former environmental state agency employees who might wish to come forward with their first-hand knowledge of the corruption that they have witnessed, as well as noted journalists and the people of Florida, who have integrity and a sense of duty to the call of Justice, to take notice of a Florida government state-wide conspiracy, which will now be documented and the information distributed. There will be deep underlying questions regarding violations of the United States Constitution, multiple Federal laws, state laws, and state government agency rules for receiving an Environmental Resource Permit.

On this website, the word “Allegedly” refers to the fact that we have evidence from sworn court documents to prove 40 violations of law have occurred, but because a Judge has not yet officially prosecuted and adjudicated these allegations, then by law, the word “Allegedly” must be used for the allegations.

Some of the laws allegedly being violated in Florida–in just this one Court case alone–include but are not limited to:

* United States Constitution First Amendment Right to freely petition the government by having a fair and unbiased court hearing

*United States Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Right of receiving due process from a Judge.

* Federal Clean Air Act

* Federal Clean Water Act

* Federal Endangered Species Act

* Corporations committing fraud by knowingly accepting an illegally obtained Environmental Resource Permit to build their subdivisions and businesses, after listening to their own Environmental Scientist confess under oath that the scientific work to obtain that permit was never performed.  Then, the Corporations (Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley, their headquarters located in San Diego, California) have on multiple occasions tried to extort Dr. Blanco out of $240,000.00 .  A senior vice-president for Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, named Mr. Rick Harcrow, was present in court and listened to the confession.  However, Mr. Harcrow  has not stopped trying to collect money from Dr. Blanco after Dr. Blanco exposed these Federal violations, nor has Mr. Harcrow willingly forfeited this illegally obtained Environmental Resource Permit.  Instead, the corporations of Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley have continued to try to extort money from an honest Florida citizen who exposed their crimes! 

* Attorney misconduct, including lying to the Judge

* Scientific misconduct of falsification of data put into computer models, in order to illegally swing an outcome into the favor of a corporation’s financial interest

* Extortion:  The illegal taking of money from one party (Dr. Blanco) and given to another party (NNP-Bexley, Newland Homes Communities, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.  The Judge, all attorneys present, and a Senior Vice President representing both Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley were present to listen to a confession that absolutely no valid building permit was capable of being granted since an expert witness, hired by Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley, confessed that he had never performed the required and necessary work to fulfill both the Federal Clean Water Act and the Federal Endangered Species Act.  However, Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley, as well as their attorneys have continued multiple times to try to extort money in the number of “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from Dr. Octavio Blanco.)  The above issue of fraud in illegally receiving an Environmental Resource Permit is a separate charge to this allegation of extortion, but both crimes go hand in hand together, since the action of fraud led to the action of extortion–both two different crimes.

* State-wide conspiracy including at least 35 different court cases that are on record as having ended in this fashion

*Also, alleged violations of at least 30 laws found within Florida’s Environmental Resource Permit Applicant’s Handbook, which is distributed for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the five Florida Water Management Districts to dictate the requirements that a potential land developer must fulfill, will be discussed throughout this website and shown within court document testimony. Also, the complete list, along with their rule numbers and page numbers will be itemized at the bottom of this introduction.

The criminal damage to both Florida’s public safety and environment, as well as to the people’s financial solvency, continues to be committed, since the governmental agencies involved have not yet been brought to justice, and the corrupt system persists. The victims of the statewide conspiracy have been left financially destitute by the Courts, and the taxpayers of Florida, both residents and visitors alike, have been forced to hand over their tax dollars to finance this abomination against Florida, with no end in sight. Today is the day when the light will be shed upon exactly what is happening here in Florida. Everyone deserves to know the truth, including people from other states within the U.S.A., and from the various countries around the world, who visit Florida. This is the reason that this website, “Danger To Everyone In Florida.org,” is coming forward with these documents of the sworn court testimony that we have in our possession, which potentially incriminate Florida’s government of these multiple crimes–many of them Federal laws–and the world-wide public affected by these criminal activities have every right to be outraged by this inexcusable behavior of Florida’s government!!

We, on this website, “Danger To Everyone In Florida.org,” are not asking for any donations of your money. As a matter of fact, no monetary donations from the public will be accepted on this website or anywhere else by us. We are not a charity looking for a handout or a business looking for customers. Instead, we created this website and are here only because of the urgent need to inform the world and warn people of what is occurring here in Florida before it is too late!! We strongly urge anyone who lives in and loves the state of Florida and visits our great state to inform your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and your followers on your social media websites about the existence of this website so that people from all around the world can become aware of this danger.

We are filing a Federal lawsuit against the government of the state of Florida, as well as certain businesses and individuals who are responsible for what occurred in court.  If you would like to directly contact the multiple Federal and state governmental agencies’ offices with an e-mail or a phone call, we will be providing you with those links in the tabs section above.  It only takes a few moments of your time to correct these criminal activities that have resulted in horrific and sometimes deadly catastrophes here in the beautiful, yet terribly abused, state of Florida. Thank you for your help!

We acknowledge that the information on this website is quite lengthy, and sometimes portions of the information will be repeated. Due to the nature of this court case in having at least 40 laws allegedly being violated, it is quite like how a spiderweb has its threads interwoven, and it is difficult to explain all of the information without repeating witnesses’ names and the parts that they played.  Please do not become discouraged from reading the lengthy information that we are bringing forward on this website.  You can read it in small portions like a novel and bookmark where you left off so that when you have time again, you can pick up where you left off.  This information on our website is crucial because anyone living in or visiting or investing in property with their finances here in Florida is in severe jeopardy of losing EVERYTHING because of these 40 laws being violated by this state’s governmental corruption!!   This information has been hidden from the public by government officials until today.  The facts that you are about to read are all true as documented by sworn court testimony.  We have worked diligently for over three years to locate, collect, and bring this information to you.  This effort has involved tirelessly combing through a vast array of court transcripts, which we have highlighted for you by presenting the quotes, volume numbers, page numbers, and line numbers so that you do not have to read through all of these documents yourself.  We have made it as easy as possible for you to find all of this crucial information without having to spend your valuable time tediously searching through massive court transcripts.

Due to the length of this website, the “Welcome” page has been subdivided into categories for easier reference.  These categories are:

* PART 1:   This website’s information directly affects your lives, your family’s lives, your home, and your finances.

* PART 2:   Your lives, properties, and finances are in danger from deadly sinkholes that are directly being caused or worsened by governmental corruption regarding the mismanagement of water resources.  

* PART 3:   Your lives, property, and finances are being directly threatened by the risk of wildfires, and as it will be proven here on our website by Court documents, the government of the state of Florida does not see wildfires as being harmful or a risk to the residents and visitors of the state of Florida; therefore, they are disregarded by the government, Judicial system, and land developers.  Also, an attorney for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, an attorney for Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, and a Florida state Judge all agreed that the Federal Clean Air Act does not exist in the state of Florida.

* PART 4:   The state of Florida’s government does NOT take drought conditions into consideration so as to prevent catastrophes. 

* PART 5:   This is an overview regarding the laws that have been allegedly violated.  

* PART 6:   This portion gives evidence of alleged violation of the United States Constitution’s First Amendment Right.

* PART 7:   This portion explains the alleged violation of a citizen’s due process in Court.

* PART 8:   This portion gives evidence of alleged fraud and extortion.

* PART 9:   Scientific misconduct is allegedly committed when a scientist enters false data into a computer model in order to receive a desired outcome that serves a land developer’s agenda.

* PART 10:   There are inconsistencies regarding the purpose of the land developer’s excavation, proving that in reality, there is no need to actually develop that area so close to a wetland.  

* PART 11:   Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig is an attorney working for the land developer Newland Homes; however, she was formerly an attorney for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.  Therefore, she was well aware of the fact that she was listening to an expert witness’ actual confession of not having performed the work on all of the land sites named in the petition for receiving the permit.  Ms. Margaret Lytle Craig was complicit in the granting of the permit, and she was also the attorney who signed her name on a subpoena to Dr. Blanco, demanding to receive monetary property from him.

* PART 12:   Mr. David Smolker is an attorney who was present in Court and listened to Mr. Steve Godley’s confession, yet he was complicit with the granting of the permit and the sending out of the subpoena to Dr. Blanco, demanding to receive monetary property from him.  

* PART 13:   Mr. Rick Harcrow, a Senior Vice President for Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley, testified that he listened to all of the witnesses; therefore, he listened to Mr. Steve Godley’s confession, proving that his corporations had not fulfilled the necessary requirements in order to receive their land development permits.  These corporations fraudulently and illegally accepted their Environmental Resource Permit, and then allegedly committed extortion in demanding to receive monetary property  from Dr. Blanco.

* PART 14:   An attorney for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Mr. Jason Smith, was present in Court that day; therefore, he listened to the confession of Mr. Steve Godley, and yet he did not object to the granting of the permit.  It is illegal for the Water Management District to grant a permit when the permit application is invalid due to missing required work.

* PART 15:   Dr. Blanco actually received a subpoena from the land developer demanding financial punishment against him, even though they KNEW they received an invalid permit based on fraud. 

* PART 16.   Mara Shaughnessy was Dr. Blanco’s attorney and yet never informed him of the fee hearing for him to be allowed to listen to the testimony.  Also, upon hearing Mr. Steve Godley’s confession, she never objected to the Judge granting the invalid permit.

* PART 17:   This is the list of the remaining 30 rules and laws, out of the total of 40, that the land development applicant is meant to follow, that have allegedly been violated.

****************************************************************

 

*****  PART 1:   This website’s information directly affects your lives, your family’s lives, your home, and your finances.

Florida is considered to be a vacation paradise, where many happy and fond memories are made for families and friends! People from all over the world come here to visit our many resorts such as Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, and Busch Gardens.  Florida is also renowned for beautiful sandy beaches, fine seafood restaurants, cultural treasures, and abundant locations to enjoy city night life.  Natural treasures such as the Everglades, pristine springs, as well as unspoiled rivers and lakes offer nature lovers an unmatched number of places to enjoy.  Please become involved in this worldwide effort and add your name to the global support for this worthy project by visiting us on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter in order to receive updates from us about how  many newspapers and in which countries we have spread the word about the information on our website. Thank you to everyone who chooses to participate in this difficult, but vital effort, to force the government of Florida to obey its own laws, as well as Federal laws, which were meant to protect people and the environment!

Everyone who lives in or visits Florida should be aware of the massive destruction, devastation, and disasters that are being allowed to occur by Water Management Districts, Federal Permitting Agencies, environmental consulting firms, and the judicial system, who are supposed to be protecting our resources and public safety, while observing Federal and state laws. However, people are being harmed both physically and financially, and they are even being killed by these unchecked and uncontrolled criminal processes. These crimes are being committed to satisfy the greed of wealthy land developers who want to circumvent and dodge the laws that are required for them to ensure the public safety and welfare of everyone in Florida, both to residents and visitors alike, before the land developers are allowed to begin to excavate land and build their structures. These crimes are also being committed by Florida’s state governmental agencies and judicial system to illegally and falsely bolster Florida’s economy by allowing the raping of the land, while causing residents and tourists to financially and physically suffer and sometimes die as a sacrifice to the land developers’ endless greed.

There is nothing wrong with land development as long as the laws put into place to protect us are followed. However, when land developers and governmental agencies violate these important Federal and state laws, we all pay–both financially and with our public safety–and sometimes even with our lives–ending in the deaths of innocent people! This message is a warning that due to conspiratorial criminal activities on the part of the Water Management Districts, the Judicial System, and private environmental consulting firms, there have been extraordinary and horrifying incidences of massive and deadly sinkholes and wildfires here in the state of Florida, which might have been prevented if the required laws had been upheld and followed. No one is spared from the abuse because everyone’s hard-earned tax dollars are currently funding the state’s criminal activities. One thing is for certain: the state of Florida’s governmental agencies did not prevent the deadly sinkholes and wildfires, which they conveniently enjoy attributing to be caused by either “Mother Nature” or to “Acts of God.” The policies and procedures of the government of the state of Florida have clearly intensified these dangerous hazards to the people, and sworn court testimony in our court case will prove this fact.

Do not be fooled into having a false sense of security! When you lay your head down on the pillow at night in Florida, do not sleep too soundly and easily! The government is not here to try to protect you, as you have previously been led into believing, just because your tax-dollars are funding them to watch over important matters of your life. While you may believe that they are looking out for you, in actuality, they are here to ensure that wealthy land developers will receive their Environmental Resource Permits in order to build their construction projects. What you will discover by reading the information on this website is that when land developers are attempting to obtain their Environmental Resource Permits, there is actually no one who is protecting the land, wildlife, or people’s safety here in Florida! The environmental engineers who perform the scientific studies are bought and paid for by the land developers, and they even admit this under oath in our court documents that their agenda is to “acquire the necessary permits for their clients, the land developers,” and not to protect the human population or the environmental resources of Florida, including clean water and clean air! The attorneys for the governmental agency of the Southwest Florida Water Management District are not there to oversee the resources of the state of Florida as a means of protecting our state.

In this court case, it will be shown that Florida’s governmental attorneys sided with the land developer for them to receive their permits instead of doing what they are paid by the tax-payers to do: manage water resources and protect Florida and the public safety of all of its people from harm caused by sinkholes and wildfires! Multiple Federal laws have been violated in order for land developers to acquire these coveted permits. Federal laws exist in order to protect public safety, but the state of Florida in this court case has been proven to neither uphold these Federal laws nor even to acknowledge their existence! If you or your loved ones enter into the state of Florida, your lives, property, possessions, and finances are in danger! No one is spared from this risk of jeopardy and harm! Once news of how the state of Florida’s government works in causing dangerous conditions to its people–both residents and visitors–there will be no further denying this truth. We are now going to present to you the truth!

The court transcript that we are providing will show what the government of Florida is doing when people are under oath and testifying to these facts! Also, the governmental agency called the Southwest Florida Water Management District is not there to oversee the resources of the state of Florida as a means of protecting our state and all of its people. They are pretending to manage the water resources of the region, but actually, they function to assist wealthy land developers to accomplish their goals, regardless of damage to the resources that they should protect. In reality, the only computer models required for developers to receive permits necessary to begin construction just measure risks of flooding caused by their project. There is no requirement to assess impacts that the project might have on the worsening of drought conditions, which have long been the biggest threat to people and the environment in this region by causing further sinkhole and wildfire events.

Extended periods of drought are known to increase sinkhole formations and wildfires. It will be proven in the court transcript that the Water Management Districts do not take into consideration at all, the issue of drought conditions! How can this possibly be allowed?! Of course, flooding might be an issue during intense rain events such as in tropical storms and hurricanes, and flooding should be monitored as a prerequisite for obtaining an Environmental Resource Permit, but these storm events are few and far between, and they are usually only temporary. Drought conditions are long-lasting, sometimes for many months at a time, and they affect entire regions and sometimes even the entire state of Florida! The Water Management Districts must be required to consider the effects that land development projects will have on both drought conditions and flooding before developers are allowed to receive their Environmental Resource Permits to be compliant with state and Federal laws! There is absolutely no governmental agency monitoring drought conditions affecting wetlands before a land developer receives a permit to construct a project that kills the wetlands on that property that provides you with fresh drinking water for your own hydration, bathing, showering, flushing your toilet, washing dishes, washing clothes, bathing your pets, irrigating your expensive landscaped lawns, and washing your car! This is clearly putting the health, safety, and finances of people at risk due to increased sinkhole and fire hazard, as well as damaging finances from people’s lawns and landscapes being killed from extreme and austere watering restrictions and fines from homeowner associations and the courts who prosecute homeowners for dead landscaping and illegal watering!

It is true. No one is taking drought conditions into consideration before a land developer receives their Environmental Resource Permit, which may well lead to damage or destruction of wetlands on their property, as well as adjacent property. Dehydration of the earth in these areas initially impacts the land, animals, and trees, but eventually will endanger the human population. Our lives are all at risk due to increased sudden sinkhole activity and wildfires, which threaten us all with toxic smoke, as well as fire damage. The Florida Forest Service sets the Keetch-Byrum drought index, which is a measure of hydration in soils, which is very important to safely manage large tracts of land.

The Judge in this case dismissed an official from the Florida Forest Service that was present to testify, concerning the potential impacts of drought conditions, leading to public safety hazards.  Mr. Smith, an attorney employed and representing the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which is an official government agency of the state of Florida, had told the Judge that the laws and rules that his agency considers when issuing permits do not contemplate dangers associated with drought or wildfires. This assessment of the law clearly violates the Federal Clean Air Act. The attorney who made this claim is supposed to be protecting those who live in or visit the state of Florida. He chose instead to assist a private land developer, Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley, to receive a required permit, rather than to protect public safety. It is important to realize that this is “business as usual” in Florida and not just an isolated example in this lone and single court case.

We must demand that the state of Florida require land developers to evaluate and use proven computer models that will assess potential drought impacts that their project may cause. It is not enough for the environmental engineers to only look at the potential for flooding. The engineers and land developers must consider both drought and flooding concerns to protect public safety, since people in Florida are being injured, traumatized, and sometimes dying due to events that are caused by drought conditions, such as deadly sinkholes and raging wildfires!

After reading this website, people around the world will have a better understanding of the scope of governmental corruption that is occurring here in the state of Florida and recognize the danger that awaits visitors and residents alike. We must demand changes in the way that land developers and governmental agencies protect Florida’s sensitive wetlands. Required computer models that assess the true and accurate health and well-being of the lands, with an emphasis on drought impacts, are vital to protect all of us.

 

 

*****PART 2:   Your lives, properties, and finances are in danger from deadly sinkholes that are directly being caused by governmental corruption regarding the mismanagement of water resources.

One famous recent incident regarding sinkholes involved a man in Seffner, Florida named Jeffrey Bush, affectionately called Jeff by his family. On the night of Thursday, February 28, 2013, Jeff Bush was lying down asleep in his own bed. He had done nothing to deserve the horrible fate that he was about to experience. While sleeping in his own bed, suddenly there was an unimaginable nightmare occurring. The entire floor underneath his bedroom caved in from a sinkhole, which ultimately grew to a staggering 80 to 100 feet deep. 100 feet equals the height of a ten-story building, and this is how far down into the ground that Mr. Jeffrey Bush fell into what would ultimately be his grave: a ten-story deep grave beneath his own bedroom floor! This sinkhole devoured Mr. Jeff Bush, his bed, and his other bedroom furniture. His brother Jeremy Bush heard the crashing sound and ran to investigate. When he opened up the bedroom door, he was shocked and horrified to discover that the floor of the room was gone!  The floor was entirely gone!!  Mr. Jeremy Bush could hear the sound of his brother’s screams, so he jumped down into the hole to try to save him by trying to dig him out with a shovel. A police officer successfully pulled Jeremy Bush out of the sinkhole, but Jeff Bush was still nowhere to be seen within the massive sinkhole. No one knew if Jeff Bush was still alive or dead, but the sinkhole was so dangerous that no one was allowed to go in to search for him. The authorities used a remote-controlled camera attached to the long arm of a piece of machinery in a futile attempt to find Mr. Bush. His body was entombed in what became his grave under his own bedroom floor and never recovered. A backhoe was used to raze down their house, and then gravel was used to fill in the sinkhole. The following videos detail Jeff Bush’s ordeal, which could happen to any one of you or your family members at any time and without any warning, here in the state of Florida.

 

Thank you to Tampa, Florida’s ABC Action News channel, WFTS-TV, for uploading these following news stories about Jeff Bush onto Youtube.

1.) This video is a heart-breaking interview from ABC Action News channel by Rob Munoz with Jeremy Bush, who is Jeff Bush’s brother, who tried to save Jeff after he suddenly crashed down through his bedroom floor into the sinkhole—-video is only 1 minute and 58 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

 

2.) This video shows the inside view of the hole in Jeff Bush’s bedroom floor as well as a sad interview by Ashley Glass and anchored by Wendy Ryan with ABC Action News channel with another family member, including a small child who questions where her Uncle Jeff is—-video is only 1 minute 35 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

 

3.) This video, from ABC Action News, is an extended version of the horrifying devastation that the camera on the end of a pole, put through Jeff Bush’s bedroom window, shows all that is left of the bedroom floor, as well as the personal items, clothing, and momentos belonging to Jeff Bush that remain attached to the walls of his bedroom after the sinkhole swallowed up everything else, including Mr. Bush. Some viewers might question what they are seeing because the bedroom floor appears to be extremely thin and made out of what looks like either plywood or cardboard. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here in Florida, because of the elevation of the land being so close to sea-level, houses are built on a solid foundation, and NOT on a basement or crawlspace foundation. Houses in Florida are built upon several inches-thick of solid concrete, which is reinforced by steel crossbars. The reason why the bedroom floor looks so flimsy is because 10-stories of land underneath the house gave way and took all of the concrete and metal reinforcement with it—-video is only 2 minutes and 21 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

 

4.) This video from ABC Action News, anchored by Jamison Uhler and interviewed by reporter Erik Waxler, shows the family home being torn down and gravel filling in the sinkhole, as well as the grieving family—-video is only 2 minutes and 52 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

 

The increased threat of deadly sinkholes still persists in Florida because of the mismanagement of our water resources by governmental state agencies, which should be considered criminal in nature, considering that scientists are aware of this danger, yet the conditions that cause this threat are not being addressed by our governmental officials. It is no secret among the scientific community that both Federal and state laws are being violated, as well as rules found within the Water Management Districts’ own handbook, which they provide to all potential land developers. This handbook outlines required procedures that land developers must follow in order to receive their Environmental Resource Permits in order to start excavating and building their structures. Faulty, inaccurate computer models have led to further mismanagement of our resources. Mr. David Still, who is the former executive director of the Suwannee River Water Management District, believes that flawed computer models are so far off base that, “they shouldn’t be used to make decisions.” This improper use of false scientific data has led to the devastation that continues throughout Florida.

The following information was published in the November 10, 2013 edition of the Tampa Bay Times newspaper and written by Craig Pittman:

“They have not questioned the computer model, but others have. Hydrologists know that for years Florida officials have based all their water permitting decisions on computer models that use a false assumption. The models assume that the aquifer flows at a steady rate through layers of sand and gravel.

“Actually, what’s beneath our feet isn’t sand. It’s called karst — a landscape made of limestone that’s full of holes both big and small, where water sometimes shoots through as if sprayed by a firehose.”

 

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/tampa-plan-to-pump-water-from-sinkholes-alarms-neighbors/2151759

 

ICPR was used as a computer model within this court case. ICPR stands for Interconnected Pond Routing Stormwater Modeling. The Southwest Florida Water Management District engineer in this case testified that the computer is instructed to assume that all wetlands affected by the project are covered by water throughout the year. The problem with this is that it is a blatant lie. Many of these wetlands are dry at the surface, and the water table level has even dropped several feet below the surface, sometimes over five feet below the surface in a wetland, for the majority of the year. Long term data collection proves this fact, which the Water Management Districts throughout the state, choose to ignore. This has led to the loss of approximately 50% of all of the cypress wetlands in the region, caused by the very agency entrusted with their protection. Even accurate computer models could not predict the impact of construction activities when they are forced to calculate false data. Many years of repeatedly permitting developments in such a manner have led to the dramatic increase in sinkhole events, which have become rampant throughout Central Florida, and which swallowed up and killed Mr. Jeffrey Bush.

Now imagine that the horrible tragedy that struck Mr. Bush happens to you while you are in Florida. After all, this is a real, true-life news story of an actual event occurring to another Florida resident! Imagine that you have just finished giving a bottle of milk to your tiny infant son or daughter and laid your baby down into the crib within the nursery; or, imagine you have just read a sweet bedtime story to your young toddler and gently tucked the trusting child into bed with a kiss on his or her forehead, while your child snuggles up to the dear teddy bear, and you softly tip-toe away and quietly close the bedroom door. You go to your master bedroom to spend some quality time with your spouse, and you hear an awful crash—-just like the sound that Mr. Jeremy Bush described—-that “it sounded like a car just drove through the outside wall of the house!”

Terrified, you run back into your baby’s nursery or your child’s or children’s bedroom, and as you open the door, you witness the unthinkable and the indescribable! The floor of the nursery or the bedroom is completely gone! All of the furniture has fallen way down into a seemingly endless cavern within the ground beneath your home! Your baby, your child, or children have completely vanished from your sight! You might still hear them from far below the ground, crying tears of terror and pain, while screaming out to you for help, but then suddenly there is only the echoing sound of silence. How do you feel? What are you thinking? This event happened to Jeff Bush, while his brother, Jeremy Bush, looked on in horror. If it happened to them, then it can definitely happen to you and your family! If you are questioning HOW this can occur, then please continue to read. We have sworn court testimony revealing witnesses under oath confessing their negligence in fulfilling both Federal and state laws that were meant to keep all Floridians safe, including the residents and visitors, as well as wildlife and the environment. The negligence being committed by state governmental agencies and environmental engineering firms is further leading to these horrific and tragic sinkholes.

A second example of a dangerous sinkhole developing within Florida occurred on Sunday, August 11, 2013, at a Clermont, Florida vacation villa just 10 minutes away from Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. At the Summer Bay Resort, a three story vacation villa partially collapsed into a sinkhole that was estimated to be 100-feet wide and two stories deep. Visitors to Florida got the shock of their lives when they were forced to immediately flee from their resort hotel rooms without their luggage, car keys, money, and other belongings before the ground beneath them caved in and took their vacation hotel with it. Many terrified visitors barely escaped with their lives by jumping out of windows, including some who were carrying infants and young children. One woman was in the bathtub when the event occurred and only had time to put on a pair of shorts and nothing else before fleeing from the collapsing building. See news coverage here at these links:

Thank you to Tampa, Florida’s ABC Action News channel, WFTS-TV, for uploading the following first two news story links onto Youtube, and thank you to Worldlatestnewsify and CNN for access to the last two news videos and news stories on the following third and fourth link:

 

1.) This video shows the damage to the hotel villa, the heroic maintenance worker who helped everyone out of the building, as well as the frightening testimony of multiple victims, as reported by ABC Action News’ Bill Logan and anchored by Deiah Riley and Dan Shaffer—-video is 4 minutes and 4 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

 

2.) This video shows that the sinkhole is 100 feet wide and two stories deep, as reported by ABC Action News’ Alison Morrow and anchored by Brendan McLaughlin and Wendy Ryan—-video is 2 minutes and 33 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

 

3.) This video shows the three story hotel building actually crumbling apart and falling into the two-story deep sinkhole. Thank you to World Latest Newsify on Youtube. Video is only 2 minutes and 18 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

 

4.) This is a CNN news story by AnneClaire Stapleton and video of the sinkhole just minutes away from Walt Disney World:

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/12/us/florida-resort-sinkhole/

 

If you are thinking that a family vacation to Florida will be relaxing and enjoyable, then think again. Your lives and property are in danger because Florida’s state government has chosen to put the financial interests of land developers ahead of their responsibility to protect all citizens by enforcing state and Federal laws. Now imagine that you and your spouse have worked hard all year long to save up enough money to take your children and perhaps the grandparents to central Florida to enjoy quality family time together at some of the area’s great theme parks. Many late hours had to go into your jobs so that you could save enough money for your entire family to stay at a quality resort, purchase multiple park tickets, reserve fine dining experiences at the many luxury themed restaurants (which could cost anywhere between $35 to $75 per plate, per person), purchase new clothing to wear on your vacation, purchase round-trip airline tickets, rent a vehicle, splurge on vacation souvenirs–including the coveted fancy costumes that all children, both young boys and girls, want to wear while excitedly visiting the theme parks by dressing up as their favorite characters–and anything else a person needs in order to have a smooth and relaxing family vacation.

Once your family arrives in Florida and settles down in your hotel room, the unthinkable happens! Your expensive resort hotel starts to make rumbling sounds, loud popping sounds, and windows start to break apart on their own! You can feel the floor trembling beneath you, so what do you do? You only have time to grab your children and help to escort the elderly grand-parents out of the building, sometimes having to jump out through the window, and you must leave behind all of your belongings. You leave behind your wallet and purse with your money, your driver’s licenses, your credit cards, your car keys, your tickets to the theme parks, your smart phones, your new clothes that are are either still packed within your luggage or are neatly folded in your hotel’s dresser drawers and hanging up in the closet, your precious family heirloom jewelry, and perhaps you are not even taking with you a single pair of shoes on your feet! Imagine being barefoot, broke, and cut off from even changing out of your pajamas and into decent street clothing! Then, if you make it out of your hotel alive, you stand in the parking lot next to your rental car that is locked, and you do not have the key to get into it and drive yourself and your family away to safety, so you just stand there and watch in complete and utter shock as your hotel and all of your belongings fall into a two-story hole in the ground! How do you feel? What are you thinking? Your children start to cry out of fear, and the grand-parents start to tremble from the stress. These are the types of stories that happened to those people in the Clermont, Florida villa just 10 minutes away from Walt Disney World. Why did this happen?! How did this happen?! Continue reading, and evidence will be provided to show that it was very likely due to reckless negligence on the part of Florida’s corrupt governmental agencies, and sworn court testimony will prove that both Federal and state laws to prevent these sinkholes were NOT being upheld. Even worse, evidence will be provided of a state-wide conspiracy concerning at least 35 court cases that have been manipulated to intimidate citizens that were attempting to exercise their First Amendment Rights to petition the government in an effort to enforce Federal and state laws. What became of the people involved in the 35 court cases who were only trying to enforce Federal and state laws? They have all suffered from severe financial sanctions for revealing their evidence, and could be left completely destitute and bankrupt from the harsh penalties of the courts so as to “shut them up for good!”

Sinkholes are a naturally occurring geological feature in the state of Florida; however, they become greatly increased in number and severity during times of drought followed by sudden rainfall. The pressure from the weight of the new rain water forces the weakened limestone rock beneath the ground to suddenly cave in. The reason that people in Florida are in danger from sudden sinkhole development is NOT just because of the natural existence of sinkhole activity. It will be testified to and admitted in Court during this hearing that the Southwest Florida Water Management District does not consider drought conditions to be included within necessary or required field research and computer studies by environmental engineers before land developmental permits can be granted to allow excavation to occur on or next to critically ill and dry wetlands.

It is drought conditions that exacerbate and lead to the formation of even more catastrophic and terrifying sinkholes! Since these scientific computer models do not take drought conditions into consideration, they do not fulfill their legal responsibility to protect public health and safety. They fail to predict any increase in sinkhole activity that the construction project may cause. All public safety hazards must be taken into consideration by the governmental permitting agencies in their public interest tests before granting Environmental Resource Permits to land developers. However, it will also be proven that the Southwest Florida Water Management District gets to pick and choose exactly what the public safety hazards are and are not in a court of law so as to further their own agenda, since sometimes those pesky things like sinkholes and wildfires tend to stand in the way of them rubber-stamping the land developers’ permits. This means that the land developers receiving their Environmental Resource Permits is more important to the government of the state of Florida than the lives, safety, welfare, and property of Florida’s residents and visitors. Otherwise, the prevention of sinkholes and wildfires would be considered in a court of law during a permit challenge. Somehow, they got a pass about the safety hazard of the required Federal Clean Air Act by saying that this does not exist within the state of Florida within Florida State Statute 403. Also, the ICPR computer model used in this court case by the land developer, as instructed by a Florida governmental agency, is intended to predict flooding concerns arising from the building project, and it does not consider drought conditions or any potential increase in sinkhole activity or wildfire activity, nor does it in any way quantify any impacts that the construction project might have on the wetlands that the agency is mandated to protect, by law.

Water Management Districts throughout Florida have instructed the developers’ engineers to use a computational score referred to as a “Curve Score,” which renders the predictive value of construction impacts, even more meaningless, when using their standard ICPR computer model. This is because the computer is forced to accept a blatant and bold-face lie, when making its calculations. The government instructs that a “Curve Score” of 100 is a scientifically accurate value for the computer to consider, and means that all wetlands are constantly covered with water, throughout the year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Therefore, these areas are supposedly impermeable to rainfall, because new water cannot flow through standing water. The problem is that this mythical “Garden of Eden” scenario has long ago ceased to exist in Florida. These wetlands are seriously dehydrated and lack any standing water, as has been reluctantly testified by multiple expert witnesses in this court case! Testimony will show that computer models statewide are instructed to accept a “Curve Score” of 98 for truly impermeable surfaces, such as hard and solid cement or asphalt, meaning that these substances allow more movement of rainfall to trickle down through them than dehydrated wetlands’ soils, that have so much dehydration that the water table level is only found between three to five feet below the surface of a swamp. This is clearly inaccurate, since many of the wetlands adjacent to construction activities, have no standing water for much of the year and can easily absorb rainfall during the short time of year in the state of Florida when we are in the rainy season. Unfortunately, the Southwest Florida Water Management District has corrupted their ICPR computer models with false, erroneous, inaccurate, and incomplete scientific data, and they encourage the environmental engineers to use this very corrupted ICPR computer model in their calculations.

We have scientifically proven data which shows the true and accurate water table levels of a swamp immediately next to and within seeing-eye distance of the swamp in question in our court case. If our wetland’s water table level is shown to have been dehydrated and below the surface of the ground at least 86 times over the course of this 17 year time period, then it would be very reasonable to say that the wetland in question–the one located on the NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes property being evaluated–would have extremely close measurements, if not the exact same measurements, of our wetland’s water table level. So, yes, the scientific data that we have shows a period of seventeen years’ worth of information gathered multiple times per month, every month, for the full seventeen years by professionals from a governmental agency called Tampa Bay Water, who repeatedly and routinely came out to the swamp to measure the water table levels. Therefore, we are able to prove that NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes’ computer models using the ICPR computer model are false and should be seen as being a violation of the Federal Clean Water Act that is enforced to protect wetlands. This scientific data will be completely available to view in the tab section at the top of this website.

As will be shown, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which uses the ICPR model, which does not take drought conditions into consideration, is criminally flawed because they are stating that the wetlands are continuously covered with water and that the hydric soils are never exposed to the air. The exposure to air destroys the hydric soils of wetlands and exacerbates the threat of muck wildfires, which are almost impossible to extinguish by even a battalion of firefighters, who are risking their very lives to extinguish these fires before they reach the nearby homeowners, who bought a house directly connected to conservation land, and at a premium financial cost. Our data proves that the wetlands have been completely uncovered by water at least 86 times over the course of the seventeen year period. They have remained uncovered for months at a time on multiple occasions, sometimes being so uncovered by water that the wetland (swamp) had its water table level so far below the ground that it was more than five feet below the surface of the ground! Remember that this is a Florida swamp, and wetlands are never supposed to be that dehydrated! If a wetland becomes that dehydrated, just imagine how dehydrated uplands are and where the water table level will be found far beneath the ground in these uplands! No one builds their houses or businesses within a wetland because of how wetlands flood during rain events. People only build their homes and businesses upon uplands. However, when the uplands have their water table levels even lower than a dehydrated wetland, then it is no wonder how Mr. Jeff Bush fell into a one hundred-foot deep sinkhole and died! His home was Ground Zero as an upland that could not sustain itself from the dehydration level that occurred within local wetlands that were dehydrated themselves, and most likely caused by irresponsible land development and irresponsible governmental review of the Water Management Districts regarding permitting petitioned areas with their Environmental Resource Permits. The land simply caved in upon itself, killing Mr. Jeffrey Bush, as he fell the distance equivalent to reaching the basement of a ten story sky scraper below the surface of his bedroom, as he was unsuspectingly and innocently going to sleep in his bed.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District encourages environmental engineers to lie on their Environmental Resource Permits applications by stating that water is standing within wetlands at all times. This violates the Federal Clean Water Act and should be investigated by officials for fraud against both the state of Florida, as well as to the United States of America! A copy of this water table level information will be included as a link on the top of this website for people to evaluate, and it will be in the form of scientific documents provided by the governmental agency known as Tampa Bay Water.

Here is another video of seven families forced into the streets because they are displaced by sinkholes that formed in their backyards and took down their houses. Also, there is included a compilation of the sinkholes that devastated families and homes in Florida in 2013.

 

Thank you to ABC Action News and Brendan McLaughlin, Linda Hurtado, Jamison Uhler, Ashley Glass, and Erik Waxler, for uploading this video onto Youtube. Video is only 8 minutes and 13 seconds, so please watch:

 

 

It is because of drought conditions, which draw down the water table within wetlands and further dries up the upland areas, that sinkholes form once the heavy deluge of rain sets in. Because the rain water is so heavy, the weight of the rain presses down onto the weakened limestone rock and caves in the land beneath it, forming the sinkhole. Since the Southwest Florida Water Management District uses their flawed ICPR computer model, which does not take drought conditions into consideration and because all wetlands are automatically given a score in the computer model which states that there is water flooding the surface of the wetland 100% of the time, 365 days of the year, it is no wonder why so many dangerous and deadly sinkholes are opening up in Florida to cause extensive property damage, injury, and death! When will the Southwest Florida Water Management District begin to evaluate this important condition of drought within their ICPR computer models before they grant their Environmental Resource Permits to land developers? How many more people must lose their homes, investments, property, and even their very lives before Florida’s governmental agencies take the responsibility that has been bestowed upon them to protect the public safety?! Accordingly, how can the state of Florida’s Water Management Districts be sufficiently fulfilling the regulations and requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act to protect wetlands when environmental engineers within the state of Florida are not putting accurate scientific data, such as true measurements of the water table of wetlands, within their computer models in order to actually protect those very wetlands from harm due to careless, negligent, and illegal excavation and construction?!  And also, how can the state of Florida be protecting Federally protected wetlands when NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes Communities hired an expert scientific engineer, (named Mr. Steve Godley), who confessed under oath that he “had never been out to all of the sites named in the petition,” for NNP-Bexley to receive their Environmental Resource Permit?!!   Mr. Steve Godley clearly did not perform his required and crucial work, as mandated by Federal law!!

 

 

*****PART 3:   Your lives, property, and finances are being directly threatened by the risk of wildfires, and as it will be proven here on our website by Court documents, the government of the state of Florida does not see wildfires as being harmful or a risk to the residents and visitors of the state of Florida.  Also, an attorney for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, an attorney for Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley, and a Florida state Judge all agreed that the Federal Clean Air Act does not exist in the state of Florida.

Another example of danger to everyone in Florida is wildfires, which have become more prolific, due to the same illegal governmental actions that caused the increase in sinkholes, by not taking drought conditions into consideration for the process of granting or denying building permits around critically dry wetlands. However, with the wildfires, a deeply troubling situation occurred in the courtroom on that day when both an attorney for the Southwest Florida Water Management District and an attorney for Newland Homes, the land developer, made statements to the Judge that appear to exempt the state of Florida from having to enforce the mandatory Federal Clean Air Act, which the Environmental Protection Agency clearly demands to be upheld because one of the critical pollutants out of the six regulated pollutants–fine particulate matter–was denied to exist within Florida’s state law. It was as though the Federal Clean Air Act simply did not exist within the Florida state’s courtroom that day! More on this will be discussed and further elaborated later on upon this website.

Both wildfires and controlled burns are dangers to Florida’s people and wildlife populations, as well as to trees, plants, vegetation, and aquatic species. Under both Federal and state laws, public safety is declared to be of primary importance regarding wildfires, yet the Judge and attorneys deny that any such laws exist, even though Federal law absolutely requires every state to regulate smoke from wildfires, and no exception from this law can ever be granted to an individual state! Also, within the Water Management Districts’ own handbook of rules for land developers to follow, they do require land developers to manage fire! In this court case, all attorneys and the Judge deny that any of this exists!

Here are some examples of when controlled burns or wildfires got out of control within the state of Florida and killed at least thirteen or more innocent motorists and injured dozens more while causing extensive property damage:

Thank you to Greg Henschel for this uploaded video onto Youtube involving a 100 car deadly pileup due to smoke from a controlled burn, also called a prescribed fire—-video is only 2 minutes and 48 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

 

Thank you to CBS News Online for this video of another deadly pileup in Florida due to wildfire smoke obstructing the vision of drivers—-video is only 2 minutes and 2 seconds in length, so please watch:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OZh4rHH5Rvo

 

Smoke from prescribed fires and wildfires is definitely a threat to the people of Florida, even though during Dr. Blanco’s court hearing, multiple attorneys from the other side and the Florida Judge denied the existence of what the Federal Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency labeled as one of the six regulated pollutants to our air–fine particulate matter, including smoke from wildfires.

Now imagine that you and your family are on one of Florida’s busiest highways or interstates, and because one of the state governmental agencies who has authority over prescribed fire–either one of the Water Management Districts or the Florida Forest Service–a controlled burn has gotten out of control and the smoke is wafting in huge, billowing plumes close to the ground while mixing with fog, and you are no longer able to see anything in front of you through your windshield. Before you can see the giant big rig 18-wheeler in front of you and try to stop, the front of your car rams into the back of the truck and causes massive damage to your car. Everyone in your car is shaken up and dazed from the intensity of the collision, but you know that you must quickly get out of your car and run to safety because you know that at any moment now, another vehicle–quite possibly another giant semi-trailer–will be coming up upon the rear of your car and crushing your car into further fiberglass and metal pulp, while squishing you and the other occupants of your car like a sandwich.

You scream at your spouse to get out of the car, and you scramble to the back door in order to open it and quickly remove your baby from his or her car seat. Your hands are trembling, and it is difficult to unlatch the safety harness, but precious seconds are ticking by because you know that the rear-end of your car will receive a blunt and devastating blow from another car, or even another tractor trailer. Fortunately, you are able to release your baby from the car seat, and even though you cannot see, you hold your baby in one arm and guide your spouse with your other hand towards what you hope is the side of the interstate. You stumble and almost trip over tree roots, so you know you are as far up on the embankment and away from the interstate as possible, so you try to relax. What comes next will haunt you in your nightmares for years to come!

The sounds of crashing metal against metal and broken glass are heard over and over again as car after car collides, and occasionally, after one of the crashing sounds, a fireball erupts up into the sky. Even through the choking haze of the dense smoke and fog, the light from the fires temporarily illuminates the landscape in front of you. After the fires, you can hear the panicked and agonized screams of people trapped in their cars as the flames spread to them. You can actually hear the screams and the desperate crying as multiple families helplessly burn to death within their cars. There is no rescuing them because there are more and more cars colliding into the jumbled mix of wrecked automobiles, and more fireballs erupt, further illuminating this nightmarish scene of fire and smoke in front of your eyes. It is like a scene from Hell with all of the people trapped within the massive fires, screaming for help!  How can you help them?!  You want to help them, but you can only stand by the side of the road, watching, and helpless to do anything more.

Upon reading the information contained within the court documents that will be revealed on this website, it will become apparent that governmental officials in Florida are putting your lives at risk by allegedly violating state and Federal laws. An attorney employed by the Water Management District, and therefore paid by the tax-paying citizens of Florida and supposedly working for the tax-paying citizens of Florida, allegedly lied to the Judge in this case. Dr. Blanco asked the following question of the engineer for the developer of this project, Mr. Brian Surak, found on page 72, line 12 of the court transcript: “Have you ever designed projects like this one in areas that have had significant fire activity?” Mr. Jason Smith, an attorney employed by the government and working for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, had this to say about fire and smoke from wildfire when he states on page 73, line 17: “And it’s irrelevant, Judge.”

Mr. Jason Smith, working for the government of the state of Florida as an attorney, later went on to say that fire (which includes hazardous and toxic smoke) was never even contemplated within the minds of the legislature of Florida, who are writing state law to fulfill mandatory and required Federal law of the Federal Clean Air Act!  The Federal Clean Air Act is a mandatory law that all 50 states must enforce!!

*******As a matter of fact, Florida Statute 403 is the Florida law that upholds the Federal Clean Air Act! Here is the proof!!!:

Within a document titled: The Legal and Administrative Basis For Local Air Quality Management, submitted by the University of Florida Levin College of Law Conservation Clinic, which discusses the Federal Clean Air Act, it directly states on page 7:

“A. Florida’s State Implementation Plan

“Florida has an approved state implementation plan, pursuant to Section 110 of the Clean Air Act. The state implementation plan is a conglomeration of regulations that the state submitted for approval under Section 110 of the Clean Air Act. Florida continuously revises the State Implementation Plan in order to meet the revised standards that the Environmental Protection Agency issues. The Department of Environmental Protection (‘DEP’) must give notice to any affected air quality control region of any proposed State Implementation Plan revision.

“THE HEART OF FLORIDA’S STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN STATUTORY AUTHORITY IS FOUND IN CHAPTER 403, FLORIDA STATUTES, ‘ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL.”

 

Located on page 7 of this document:

 

http://www.law.ufl.edu/_pdf/academics/centers-clinics/clinics/conservation/resources/airquality.PDF

According to the Federal Clean Air Act and The Department of Environmental Protection, smoke from wildfires is one of the six air pollutants regulated by the Federal government, and all 50 states must uphold this Federal law.

 

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/

 

http://www2.epa.gov/regulatory-information-topic/air

 

According to the Environmental Resource Permit Applicant’s Handbook, Volume I.,

 

On page 80, under Rule 10.2.1.1:
“A proposed modification that is not technically capable of being completed, is not economically viable, or that adversely affects public safety through the endangerment of lives or property is not considered ‘practicable.'”

Also, on page 107, under Rule 10.3.3.2, section (k):

10.3.3.2: “Applicants shall submit detailed plans describing proposed construction, establishment, and management of mitigation areas. These plans shall include the following information, as appropriate for the type of mitigation proposed:”

(k.) “A management plan comprising all aspects of operation and maintenance including water management practices, vegetation establishment, exotic and nuisance species control,  fire management(!!), and control of access.”

 

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/files/database/site_file_sets/2479/Applicant_Handbook_I_-_Combined.pdf

 

Fire is included in what land developers must consider before they begin to excavate and build their structures, according to the handbook distributed to them from the Department of Environmental Protection Agency and the five Water Management Districts of Florida!

 

Right here is where the court case turned UGLY! This is where the Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston, allegedly disregarded the Federal Clean Air Act, as well as the declared rules within the Florida state handbook of rules and procedures for land developers to obtain their Environmental Resource Permits. He ruled that fire (and wildfire smoke) was not a safety hazard that affects pubic safety, and then he dismissed Dr. Blanco’s expert witness from the Florida Forest Service, who could have testified about public safety regarding the mandatory Federal Clean Air Act, as well as setting the drought index for the state of Florida (because this was his job) and discuss how deadly sinkholes and wildfires occur from drought. Once Mr. David Fogler, the witness from the Florida Forest Service was dismissed by the Judge without being able to give even one word of testimony, Dr. Blanco was financially sanctioned by the exact same Judge for no longer having an expert witness present in Court, and the financial sum eventually amounted to almost half a million dollars!!

 

The dismissal of Dr. Octavio Blanco’s expert witness who could have discussed the Federal Clean Air Act occurred on page 80 of this court transcript.

Here is the conversation within the courtroom:

An attorney with Newland Homes, Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig, who was once employed for several years by the same Southwest Florida Water Management District as one of their attorneys, and who was well aware of the law, who listened to the Federal Clean Air Act as being non-existent within the state of Florida and within Florida Statute 403 states: “Sir, just an organizational matter. We have Mr. Fogler here from the Division of Forestry. He was here as a rebuttal witness for us and at Dr. Blanco’s request. Based upon your earlier ruling….(which was that wildfires and smoke from wildfires are irrelevant to public safety)…is Mr. Fogler free to go or should he remain?”

The phrase: “Sir, just an organizational matter,” used by Ms. Craig in the preceding paragraph, may sound like a routine, housekeeping request. It is clearly not. She is about to ask the Judge to dismiss Dr. Blanco’s only remaining witness. This would be akin to a defense attorney asking the Judge in a murder case to please dismiss the only eye-witness to the killing. “Just an organizational matter,” indeed! It would have been much more accurate for Ms. Craig to say what she really wanted, which was to: “Please send away this witness because we are terrified of what his testimony might be, because it will be really bad against us!!“

The next statement regarding Mr. Fogler, who was the representative from the Florida Forest Service, was very revealing. Ms. Craig states: “He was here as a rebuttal witness for us and at Dr. Blanco’s request.” The operative word in this statement is: “was,” which implies that the decision to dismiss Mr. Fogler had already been made, even though the Judge had not yet made any such decision. Otherwise, Ms. Craig would have said that: “He is here…” It is important to note that this interaction occurred immediately after a Court mandated recess, which allowed discussion to occur off the record. How is it that an attorney can make such a decision before the Judge of the courtroom makes this decision on the record? This information can be found in Volume 1, on page 80, Lines 14-18, in the verbatim transcript of this case.

The Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston, then suddenly made a dark and disturbing statement that defies what any Judge in any courtroom would ever say while dismissing a key expert witness who was scheduled months in advance to attend and was accepted and approved to appear by this exact same Judge. Here is the unbelievable statement from the Judge within this Court transcript:

“Well, it seems to me based on my ruling that  I’m not aware of anything–based on what I know of his knowledge and expertise, there’s nothing he’d be testifying to other than things having to do with fire hazards. And based on my ruling, I don’t see any point in him remaining any further.”  Of course, the Judge is unaware of anything regarding the expert witness’s testimony because he refused to listen to even one word–and the expert witness was a high-ranking government employee within the state of Florida and had tremendous and crucial testimony to give in Court that day!!

The Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston denied that Florida Statute 403 was to establish within Florida law the Federal Clean Air Act. The Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston denied that the Water Management District must include within their public safety the threat of wildfires, smoke, and fire management on mitigation land, as well as sinkholes brought about by drought.

The Judge then dismissed a key expert witness from a legitimate Florida governmental agency who was previously approved by the very same Judge, himself, to appear and testify on behalf of Dr. Blanco, without even listening to one word of testimony by this key witness. The Judge’s own words were: “I’m not aware of anything–based on what I know of his knowledge and expertise, there’s nothing he’d be testifying to other than things having to do with fire hazards. And based on my ruling, I don’t see any point in him remaining any further.”   (Volume 1, Page 80, Lines 19-25.)

Just what, exactly, prevented the Judge from listening to this expert witness except perhaps the Judge not wanting pertinent testimony from being recorded within Court testimony and preserved within Court documents? Isn’t the Federal Clean Air Act considered important here in the state of Florida? Or has Florida thrown this Federal law out the window since it is not convenient for the wealthy land developers to have to wade through this law in order to receive their precious Environmental Resource Permits from the state of Florida?!

The concern for a potential increase in fire activity is not only relevant, but required by state and Federal laws in order to protect public safety, which all Water Management Districts are required to consider before issuing environmental permits necessary for construction. Excavations near wetlands are known to dry and dehydrate those wetlands. The Florida Forest Service states on their own website that muck fires, which occur in dehydrated wetlands, are some of the most dangerous and difficult to control of all fires, and generate large amounts of blinding smoke, which can persist for many weeks. This is even more important if the wetlands are adjacent to major highways and development.

This particular project was to be built immediately adjacent to the Suncoast Expressway, which is a major roadway north of Tampa, as well as within one mile of State Road 54. Many homes within a new residential community, as well as businesses, such as a Super Target, a PetCo Pet Store, a Residence Inn Hotel, a McDonalds, a Starbucks Coffee shop, a Chili’s Restaurant, a Carrabbas Italian Restaurant, a Vallartas Mexican Restaurant, a sushi bar restaurant, a day care center, a dance school, and the Opinicus Company, which is a high-tech firm, that was brought to Pasco County, in an effort to increase the number of high paying jobs in the area, are within the danger kill zone from a wildfire and smoke.

Mr. Jason Smith was paid by funds generated through property taxes, which all homeowners are forced to pay. He was therefore present in this court proceeding to represent the tax-paying citizens living in the Southwest Florida Water Management District area. Instead, he chose to attempt to block the Court from hearing essential information that Dr. Blanco intended to bring forward for the record to question the safety of this project. Mr. Smith’s response to the Judge was indicative that he and the District were more concerned with helping a very wealthy property developer to make money more than the duty that they had to protect the public safety. Mr. Smith’s response clearly shows that the Southwest Florida Water Management District believes that they can issue permits for development without regard for public safety, as well as multiple state and Federal laws. In reading the court transcript of this case, remember that the attorney, Mr. Smith, is being paid with tax-payers’ money–and not private money from the corporation of the land developers NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes! –and Mr. Smith is supposed to have the best interests of the residents and visitors of Florida foremost within his mind and his actions. It is considered attorney misconduct when an attorney lies to the Judge while slyly working for another entity besides his own client, which in this case was supposed to be the people of the state of Florida, but Mr. Smith decided to side with Newland Homes, instead. In this case, he was allowing the land developer, Newland Homes, to illegally prosper, while he was ignoring the public safety of Florida’s tax-paying residents and visitors! Therefore, what occurred in court that day is that the attorney for the Florida governmental Water Management District, Mr. Jason Smith, two attorneys for Newland Homes, Mr. David Smolker and Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig, and the presiding Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston of the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings, all decided that the public interest test of protecting public safety purposefully did not include wildfires and the smoke created by these fires. However, the Florida state statute 403, which the attorneys quoted, actually does include wildfires because this particular statute concerns the Federal Clean Air Act, which regulates smoke from wildfires in the interest of public safety!

Would you like to see a video of the actual Kill Zone that would be affected if the same type of wildfire ignited the exact same area that burned down to the ground back in June of 1998? We here at “Danger To Everyone In Florida.org” drove through the recently heavily developed area that is only one mile away from where governmental agents and attorneys from the state of Florida deny that any public safety or health hazards exists. We video-taped the commercial, business area that would be affected, but we did not include video-tape of individual homes or the children playing in the fenced-in area at the day-care center. Our concern to protect families’ privacy would not let us show the private, personal areas located in the Kill Zone. However, just down at the end of the road behind the Super Target was a large subdivision of million dollar homes, a luxury apartment complex, and a high-end townhome subdivision, and we felt that the families living there should have their privacy respected. Also, the children at the day-care center should not have their faces exposed for the world to see without their parents’ permission. However, here is the video that we took of where people could actually and literally be killed directly within The Kill Zone because of the corrupt governmental agencies of Florida in our court case!

The video is 9 minutes and 24 seconds in length, filmed by us, Dr. and Mrs. Octavio Blanco of dangertoeveryoneinflorida.org, so please watch:

Title: The Kill Zone: Our Government Does NOT Care About Us!

 

 

The following video shows an out of control wildfire and how terrifying the situation can be for local homeowners forced to deal with the circumstances.  Although this wildfire is located in San Diego, California, both Florida and California are similar in having to deal with threats from wildfires.   Video is only 1 minute and 15 seconds, so please watch:

 

 

*****The following several paragraphs are part of the epitome of this Court case. Please read these important and paramount paragraphs to see how the injustice was slapped against Dr. Octavio Blanco. He lost his expert witness who was summoned to court that day by the Judge, himself, who declared that the Federal Clean Air Act, under Florida Statute 403 did not exist, but just examine this:

Here is Florida State Statute 403, which deals with enforcing the Federal Clean Air Act, and according to 403.021, it states:

1) The pollution of the AIR and waters of this state constitutes a menace to public health and welfare; creates public nuisances; is harmful to wildlife and fish and other aquatic life; and impairs domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational, and other beneficial uses of AIR and water.”

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0403/0403.html

 

According to “The Legal and Administrative Basis For Local Air Quality Management,” which was submitted by the University of Florida Levin College of Law Conservation Clinic, on page 7 of their report, they state:

 

“Florida has an approved state implementation plan, pursuant to Section 110 of the Clean Air Act…..The heart of Florida’s SIP statutory authority is found in  Chapter 403, Florida Statutes, ‘Environmental Control.’”

 

Found on page 7:

 

http://www.law.ufl.edu/_pdf/academics/centers-clinics/clinics/conservation/resources/airquality.PDF

 

This testimony from Mr. Jason Smith, as well as multiple other statements given under oath, prove that governmental state agencies within the state of Florida do not care about fires and how they affect public safety–and they even deny that such a Federal law exists, even though they are legally responsible by order of Federal law by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency for ensuring the public safety during controlled burns and wildfires from smoke fumes in the air that affect drivers’ visibility and breathing conditions due to fine particulate matter!

How do you feel? What are you thinking? Are you outraged yet by the negligence of the government of the state of Florida, and especially when it will be proven that multiple attorneys deny these facts to a Florida Judge and that same Judge agrees that there is no such Federal law on the books within the state of Florida that protects public safety from these fires and their deadly smoke? More, concerning this law, will be discussed later on this website. All attorneys and the Judge himself concluded that Federal law need not be considered when issuing permits. They decided to ignore Florida’s state statute 403, which is meant to protect public safety from both the hazards of breathing in fine particulate matter from smoke from wildfires and from dangerous driving conditions due to the smoke obstructing the view of motorists! This clearly appears to violate the Federal Clean Air Act!

Here are links to the United States of America’s Environmental Protection Agency that by Federal law mandates that fine particulate matter from smoke caused by wildfires be regulated. Pertinent, key quotes from the Environmental Protection Agency’s website are:
“Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA sets limits on certain air pollutants, including setting limits on how much can be in the air anywhere in the United States. The Clean Air Act also gives EPA the authority to limit emissions of air pollutants coming from sources like chemical plants, utilities, and steel mills. Individual states or tribes may have stronger air pollution laws, but they may not have weaker pollution limits than those set by EPA.”

 

Clearly, according to the above quote, the behavior of all attorneys there in the court room that day believed that Florida is exempt from the Federal Clean Air Act, even though the Federal law declares that no individual state within the United States of America can adopt a less stringent law than what is within the Federal Clean Air Act!

 

http://www2.epa.gov/regulatory-information-topic/air

 

Another quote from the United States of America’s Environmental Protection Agency, which clearly defines smoke from wildfires as being one of their six regulated pollutants that states must address is this:

 

“‘Particulate matter,’ also known as particle pollution or PM, is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particle pollution is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles.

 

“The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. EPA is concerned about particles that are 10 micrometers in diameter or smaller because those are the particles that generally pass through the throat and nose and enter the lungs. Once inhaled, these particles can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects. EPA groups particle pollution into two categories:

 

“*** ‘Inhalable coarse particles,’ such as those found near roadways and dusty industries, are larger than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.

 

“*** ‘Fine particles,’ such as those found in smoke and haze, are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. These particles can be directly emitted from sources such as forest fires, or they can form when gases emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles react in the air.”

 

http://www.epa.gov/air/particlepollution/

 

The two Florida laws that were being examined in court that day to satisfy the United States of America’s Environmental Protection Agency’s Federal Clean Air Act to account for public safety were named by both the attorneys and the Judge. One is Florida Statute 403, which encompasses the necessary and required Federal law of the Clean Air Act to be upheld in the state of Florida. The other is the Florida Basis of Review. To expound upon Florida Statute 403, here is Florida’s own stipulation of air quality as being of paramount importance for public safety.  And just to see how very corrupt this Florida Court was that day to deny that anything to do with fire hazards and wildfire smoke hazards were in the state of Florida, regarding the Federal Clean Air Act, just look at how many times within Florida Statute 403 the term “AIR” appears!  And “AIR” refers to smoke from wildfires, which is regulated by the Federal Clean Air Act, under “fine particulate matter, from smoke from wildfires!”

“403.011 Short title.–This act shall be known and cited as the “Florida AIR and Water Pollution Control Act.” History.–s.2, ch. 67-436.

“403.021 Legislative declaration; public policy.–

“(1) The pollution of the AIR and waters of this state constitutes a menace to public health and welfare; creates public nuisances; is harmful to wildlife and fish and other aquatic life; and impairs domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational, and other beneficial uses of AIR and water.

(2) It is declared to be the public policy of this state to conserve the waters of the state and to protect, maintain, and improve the quality thereof for public water supplies, for the propagation of wildlife and fish and other aquatic life, and for domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational, and other beneficial uses and to provide that no wastes be discharged into any waters of the state without first being given the degree of treatment necessary to protect the beneficial uses of such water.

(3) It is declared to be the public policy of this state and the purpose of this act to achieve and maintain such levels of AIR quality as will protect human health and safety and, to the greatest degree practicable, prevent injury to plant and animal life and property, foster the comfort and convenience of the people, promote the economic and social development of this state, and facilitate the enjoyment of the natural attractions of this state. In accordance with the public policy established herein, the Legislature further declares that the citizens of this state should be afforded reasonable protection from the dangers inherent in the release of toxic or otherwise hazardous vapors, gases, or highly volatile liquids into the environment.

(4) It is declared that local and regional AIR and water pollution control programs are to be supported to the extent practicable as essential instruments to provide for a coordinated statewide program of AIR and water pollution prevention, abatement, and control for the securing and maintenance of appropriate levels of AIR and water quality.

(5) It is hereby declared that the prevention, abatement, and control of the pollution of the AIR and waters of this state are affected with a public interest, and the provisions of this act are enacted in the exercise of the police powers of this state for the purpose of protecting the health, peace, safety, and general welfare of the people of this state.

(6) The Legislature finds and declares that control, regulation, and abatement of the activities which are causing or may cause pollution of the AIR or water resources in the state and which are or may be detrimental to human, animal, aquatic, or plant life, or to property, or unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property be increased to ensure conservation of natural resources; to ensure a continued safe environment; to ensure purity of AIR and water; to ensure domestic water supplies; to ensure protection and preservation of the public health, safety, welfare, and economic well-being; to ensure and provide for recreational and wildlife needs as the population increases and the economy expands; and to ensure a continuing growth of the economy and industrial development.”

 

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0403/0403.html

 

The above excerpt from Florida Statute 403 must be examined by law enforcement in this court case because all attorneys present, as well as the Judge, decided that this Florida law, based on the Federal law of the Federal Clean Air Act, does not exist!! All attorneys and the Judge only wanted to focus on water resources as being the law within Florida Statute 403, but as can clearly be seen by the highlighted, bold, italicized, and underlined words of AIR  within Florida Statute 403, both AIR and water were indeed a concern within this state law. Therefore, all attorneys and the Judge were in error to dismiss AIR pollution in Court that day!

When the Judge decided that the Florida Statute 403 did not exist to protect public safety from AIR pollution, he used that decision to make a further terrible decision: he chose to dismiss the expert witness for Dr. Blanco, Mr. David Fogler of the Florida Forest Service, without allowing him to testify. Mr. Fogler was absolutely an expert witness on the subject of wildfires, smoke, and the Federally regulated air pollutant of fine particulate matter and the deadly and toxic effects they have on public safety. The Judge then turns around and financially sanctions Dr. Blanco with an amount that ended up being close to a half million dollars because Dr. Blanco no longer had an expert witness to testify on his behalf.

Apparently, the Judge decided not to read the actual Florida Law, Statute 403, because according to this law, the state of Florida is required to “prevent” air pollution. Fine particulate matter from smoke from wildfires is definitely listed by the Federal government as one of the six pollutants to be regulated and controlled.

Also, Section 1 clearly states that AIR pollution is a public safety hazard and must be considered a menace to both public health and safety as well as to wildlife.

Also, Section 3 states that the public must be “afforded reasonable protection from the dangers inherent in the release of toxic or otherwise hazardous vapors, gases…into the environment,” (smoke from wildfires, as required by Federal Law.)

Also, Section 4 states that they are to “provide for a coordinated statewide program of AIR and water pollution prevention.”

Also, Section 5 states: “It is hereby declared that the prevention, abatement, and control of the pollution of the AIR and waters of this state are affected with a public interest, and the provisions of this act are enacted in the exercise of the police powers of this state for the purpose of protecting the health, peace, safety, and general welfare of the people of this state.” (Remember that the Judge, himself, asked what the public interest test was in order to protect public safety! Our Legislators answered that question within Section 5 when they declared that this clearly is within the public interest to prevent AIR pollution!)

Also, Section 6 states that “the Legislature” (of the state of Florida) “finds and declares,” (meaning that there is no way that a Florida Judge can get past this law,) “that the control, regulation, and abatement of the activities which are causing or may cause pollution of the AIR or water resources in the state and which are or may be detrimental to human, animal, aquatic, or to plant life, or to property, or to unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property be increased!”
When Dr. Blanco brought up concerns about fire hazards, the Judge dismissed this concern. However, it clearly states in Section 6 of Florida Statute 403 that if a hazard may be caused by a project or people, that it must be considered, and the law must help to increase public safety!! Fire hazards must be prevented in the state of Florida because they are definitely considered to be part of the public safety interest test, even though all attorneys and the Judge himself decided that the Federal Clean Air Act does not exist in the state of Florida!

http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2012/Chapter403/All

So, there you have it. Apparently there is a war going on within Florida’s courtrooms between the Legislature who writes the laws into force and the Judge who denies that both state and Federal laws exist. In Volume 1, on Pages 74 and 75 of our court case there is provided the following evidence:

Volume 1,  Page 74, Lines 25 and 1, the Judge asks: “What is the public interest test? Is it in the statute and the rules for the basis of review? What do they say?” (Remember from directly above, the Florida Legislature has stated in clear and exact wording: From Florida Statute 403.021, Subsection (5): “It is hereby declared that the PREVENTION, abatement, and control of the pollution of the AIR and waters of this state are affected WITH A PUBLIC INTEREST, and the provisions of this act are enacted in the exercise of the police powers of this state for the purpose of protecting the health, peace, safety, and general welfare of the people of this state.”

*****Prevention means exactly that: The government must come in beforehand and prevent the fire hazard that creates the AIR pollution, which is absolutely considered to be within the public interest. The Judge in this case and all attorneys did not allow this evidence to be brought into the Court, even though Florida Statute 403.021 strictly and clearly declares this fact to be the law of the state of Florida! Dr. Blanco tried to bring forward the Federal Clean Air Act and the fact that Florida must prevent AIR pollution within the state of Florida, but the Judge denied that Florida must uphold the Federal Clean Air Act when he said that fire was not considered to be a public threat to public health and safety. (This can be found in Volume 1, on Page 75, Lines 11-13.)

In June of 1998, a disastrous wildfire occurred in the exact same area as the location where NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes want to excavate their 30-acre sand mine / mitigation. It is, therefore, a historical fact that wildfires and smoke from wildfires, at this exact location, are a direct and real threat to public safety and should be discussed in a Court of law. Florida Statute 403 demands that the prevention of smoke from wildfires to occur. The Federal Clean Air Act demands that smoke from wildfires to be considered as one of the six air pollutants–fine particulate matter–to be regulated by each state.

It is not the Judge’s job to rewrite the law. His job is to interpret the law that the Legislature writes.  The words “with a public interest…for the purpose of protecting the health, peace, safety, and general welfare of the people of this state,” makes the Judge’s ruling incorrect and unconstitutional. All moneys stolen from Dr. Blanco during this court case should be IMMEDIATELY refunded to him!!!!

Mr. David Smolker, hired by the land developers NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes, states Florida Statute 403 by name:  Volume 1, Page 74, Lines 3-10 states: “They deal with water resources in the state. That is the over arching subject matter of Chapters 373 and four–403. They do not–so we’re dealing with the water resources of the state. And that’s been broadly defined to include wetlands and in some instances to include the vegetation that are associated with wetlands. However, it does not reach or regulate fire, a fire risk.”

Then, in Volume 1, on Page 74, Lines 11-15, the attorney, Mr. Jason Smith, for the Florida governmental agency, the Southwest Florida Water Management District and being paid for by Florida’s tax-payer dollars, chimes in and agrees that public safety is not important when he states: “That is correct, Judge. It has to do with whether or not there’s outstanding water, and if there isn’t that’s what the public interest test has to do with, not anything related to fire regulation.”

Then, in Volume 1, on Page 75, Lines 11-13, the Judge states that fire hazard is not included in the public interest, and he soon dismisses the expert witness, Mr. David Fogler, who was a high-ranking employee within the governmental agency of the Florida Forest Service. Afterwards, Dr. Blanco was financially sanctioned to a sum that in the end amounted to almost half of a million dollars!

How in the world, when all attorneys and the Judge read Florida Statute 403 and actually stated that particular law by name in court that day, did they fail to see that this Statute allows a court of law to listen to testimony of any activity that may cause  pollution to the AIR, and that the Florida Legislature finds and declares that the efforts to protect public safety be increased and not diminished?

Right now there needs to be a formal investigation into how and why everyone present in that courtroom that day–all attorneys and the Judge–chose to proceed down the path which occurred, and all to the legal and financial detriment of both Dr. Octavio Blanco and to all of the residents and visitors of Florida through this clearly illegal ruling by denying both Florida state law and Federal law in the Federal Clean Air Act!

In fact, wildfire smoke is so dangerous that it is only recently that scientists are learning just how grave the danger is from inhaling it. Several scientific research studies have been conducted that prove that a tremendous increase in ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, and mercury fill the air with the smoke particles. According to these scientific studies, more dangerous levels of carbon monoxide were produced during a wildfire than was naturally occurring throughout all of North America; the level of ground-level ozone was three times higher in a wildfire than regularly produced; and, up to 800 tons of mercury is dispersed into the air per year from wildfires. This information comes from a very interesting website called “Smoked Bear,” linked here:

 

http://www.smokedbear.com/pollution-its-spreading-like-wildfire/

 

Therefore, how can multiple attorneys and a Florida state Judge deny that the Federal Clean Air Act exists and then deny that wildfires–especially the smoke–is somehow not considered a threat to public health and safety? Public record from court documents shows that the Southwest Florida Water Management District–who is responsible for fire, water, and air related issues by authority of Florida’s state statutes of law and Federal law–denies that any of these issues are important to public safety. The District’s goal throughout Florida has long been to allow development to occur as efficiently as possible, regardless of the financial and death toll to the rest of us here in Florida. Observing state and Federal laws, which are meant to protect public safety, would hinder this goal. A further agenda in lying to the Judge in this case, when asked in court about their responsibilities revolves around their goal to dismiss and eliminate a key expert witness for Dr. Blanco from the Florida Forest Service. He could have discussed how drought conditions are heavily contributing to both deadly sinkholes and deadly wildfire activities, since his state governmental agency sets the drought index each year, which affects all of us. He was clearly qualified to testify to many important issues, which affect public safety. Unfortunately, for all of us, he was illegally denied the right to testify by the Judge in this case.

 

 

*****PART 4:   The State of Florida’s Government does not take drought conditions into consideration so as to prevent catastrophes.

Aside from safety issues, the bank accounts of many Floridians are being drained due to governmental corruption in this state. Insurance rates to cover citizens’ homes have skyrocketed due to the increase in sinkhole activity. Further draining Florida’s home-owners’ bank accounts are efforts to maintain lawns and landscapes within deed-restricted home-owner association neighborhoods during these extended drought periods, which are exacerbated in their severity due to the Florida Water Management Districts’ egregious mismanagement of water resources. However, the homeowner associations and the courts are levying fines for wilted, withered, and dying landscaping, as well as to the desperate attempts of homeowners to preserve their landscape plants with watering their lawns without permission from watering restrictions before their multi-thousands of dollars of landscape investments die. The homeowners are being forced to replace grass and landscape plants during the drought conditions to “keep up the appearance that Florida is still thriving environmentally and economically,” further draining their finances to keep up these very same appearances. Perhaps, if the Florida state governmental agencies actually performed their jobs for the people of Florida instead of prostituting themselves out to wealthy land developers, we here in the state of Florida would not be in this mess!! Governmental corruption passes the debt to the innocent citizens of the state of Florida, which should have been paid by the land developers!

Another goal of the Court for dismissing the key witness from the Florida Forest Service was to put Dr. Blanco into the situation where he would be vulnerable to being hit like a ton of bricks by a financial sanction of a whopping $240,000 for a one day hearing in Court, which eventually ballooned up into almost a half million dollars, due to Dr. Blanco no longer having a key expert witness to testify on his behalf, while the same Judge allowed witness after witness, after witness, after witness, after witness to testify on behalf of the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Newland Homes’ land developer. However, this may have been a good thing–a blessing in disguise–because now in the end, we are finally able to bring this sworn court testimonial evidence to the global public and expose Florida’s governmental corruption for exactly what it is to the whole wide world! There will be no hiding the corruption by Florida’s government when a billion pairs of eyes from around the world, who are concerned about the safety of Florida and all of the people who visit this great state, read the sworn court testimony within the documents that we are bringing forward today, and when we, the people demand for the corruption to end!!

It will be proven within these court documents that the issue of drought conditions are never even once addressed by the Water Management Districts in order for a land developer and environmental engineers to obtain their building permits to destroy wetlands that naturally protect us from these deadly horrors. When the environmental engineer, Mr. Brian Surak, working for the developer was asked under oath in Court, could drought conditions possibly be considered, the witness replied that yes, they could, but the Water Management District likes to use the ICPR computer model, which does not consider drought conditions. Even though there is nothing holding back the Water Management Districts from considering drought conditions within their computer models–which would help prevent the exacerbation of both deadly sinkholes, which killed Mr. Jeffrey Bush, and deadly wildfires–the Southwest Florida Water Management District, as well as the other four state Water Management Districts, choose not to use the true and accurate climatic conditions of Federally protected wetlands, which are supposed to be observed. Florida’s Water Management Districts could include the examination of drought conditions within their requirements in computer models for land developers to acquire their Environmental Resource Permits, but they do not. They do not require the study of drought conditions because if these real, true conditions of Florida’s wetlands were included in the calculations of the computer models, the land development projects could be deemed too costly to implement, both financially because of the monetary costs, as well as the unforgivable harm to the environment that would be lambasted with a dire and cataclysmic set of consequences once it is set into motion, and the situation would not be able to be turned around before death and destruction ensued. Instead, the Districts keep permitting cheap and efficient protocols for developers by ignoring state and Federal laws, choosing to pass the true costs of their actions on to the residents and visitors of Florida.

A successful compromise and resolution could have still been made in order for the land developers to acquire their environmental permits. They could have avoided excavating near sensitive wetland areas, as well as preserving larger buffer areas free of construction. Unfortunately, that would involve them losing out on precious millions of dollars of profit, which their greed would not allow. These land developers want to steal every last grain of soil and every last drop of water in order to optimize their profits on the bottom line, and they appear to not care whom or what suffers and dies in the wake of their endless greed. It is a shame, really, because the acquisition of more money for a few greedy land developers is leading to hardship for up to 100 million people of Florida each year, as well as to the suffering and worrying that perhaps a billion people around the world are experiencing each year while their friends and families are in Florida and worrying about their health and safety! Isn’t this the proverbial “killing the goose that laid the golden egg?” Eventually, people will wake up to the criminal activities occurring here in Florida and realize that residents and visitors alike are in danger. People will likely then choose to visit or reside elsewhere, taking their money with them. The government of Florida seriously needs to wake up right now and examine and rectify the issues being addressed on this website, “Danger To Everyone In Florida.org,” before it is too late to save our beautiful state, as well as the industries and tourism located here. Time is of the essence!

 

*****PART 5:   This is an overview regarding the laws that have been allegedly violated.

There will be deep underlying questions regarding violations of the United States Constitution, multiple Federal laws, State laws, and state governmental agency rules–including, but not limited to:

A) alleged violation of the First Amendment Right for citizens to freely petition the government and courts without the threat of punishment by the levying of illegal financial sanctions for exposing governmental corruption and enforcing Federal laws.

B) alleged denial of due process by the Judge in order to prejudice the Court against Dr. Blanco.

C) blatantly unjust ruling by the Judge to cause financial harm to Dr. Blanco by ruling for a Court-ordered sanction of $240,000 for a one day hearing, which subsequently ballooned into around half a million dollars in total costs involved in further litigation in this Court case, which Dr. Blanco was wrongfully forced to endure. It is speculated that this financial punishment was in response to Dr. Blanco exposing governmental corruption including violations to the United States Constitution’s First Amendment Right; the Federal Clean Air Act; the Federal Clean Water Act; the Federal Endangered Species Act; denial of due process by the Judge; fraud and illegal gain by Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley in a court of law; the illegal taking of money from an innocent party (Dr. Blanco) and giving it to another party (NNP-Bexley, Newland Homes, their attorneys, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District) under duress of Court sanctions; and attorney misconduct, including attorneys lying to the Judge. There was also the offense of committing scientific misconduct of falsification of data put into computer models that was committed by an environmental engineer hired by the land developer NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes, as well as incomplete and incompetent work, which was done by another scientist in support of Newland Homes and accepted as standard practice by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding section 404 permitting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, even though it is scientifically invalid; and the evidence that this is an on-going pattern of criminal activity that appears to be a state-wide governmental conspiracy because it has been documented to have happened in at least 35 different Florida court cases.

D) alleged attorney misconduct on behalf of Dr. Blanco’s own attorney, Ms. Mara Shaughnessy, who inexplicably kept Dr. Blanco completely in the dark, concerning critical judicial hearing dates, including the fee hearing, which resulted in the unjust award of over $240,000 in sanctions against him. She never even informed Dr. Blanco of this catastrophic ruling, which has had crippling consequences to him and his family, she never informed him of his right to appeal the ruling, she never informed him of the fee hearing, and she never informed him of his right to appeal the fee hearing. It was ONLY when a process server delivered the news of the $240,000 debt being demanded to be paid that Dr. Blanco even discovered that his court case had been adjudicated by the Judge to the extent and the degree that the legal process had run its course. Ms. Mara Shaughnessy, an attorney, licensed by the state of Florida, had for her own reasons, chosen to conceal all of these court hearings and rulings from her client, Dr. Octavio Blanco. This attorney lacked the professional and moral responsibility to inform her client of these devastating events, if in fact, her goal was to protect her client’s interests, versus another and darker agenda, which will require further investigation to fully understand.

E) alleged violations of and the disregard for at least 30 different rules required for land developers to fulfill and follow when applying for an Environmental Resource Permit in the state of Florida from the Department of Environmental Protection and the Water Management Districts, as is mandated within the Environmental Resource Permit Applicant’s Handbook, Volume I.

 

 

*****PART 6:   This portion gives evidence of alleged violation of the United States Constitutional First Amendment Right.

Regarding A) alleged violation of the First Amendment Right for citizens to freely petition the government and courts without the threat of punishment by the levying of illegal financial sanctions for exposing governmental corruption and enforcing Federal laws:

………It will be shown that there is a state-wide governmental conspiracy against honest and concerned citizens of Florida who are exercising their Constitutional First Amendment Right to petition the Courts in order to receive a fair and impartial hearing concerning Federally protected property being harmed by greedy and negligent land developers, as well as governmental agencies that are charged with the protection of these resources. This conspiracy has unjustly persecuted people in at least thirty-five other court cases, and these victimized peoples’ only motivation was to enforce Federal and State laws, and to ensure the protection of all of us. Our Constitutional First Amendment Right states that citizens have the right “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” which means that the Courts cannot use financial penalties to unjustly burden and punish citizens just for asking the Judicial System to consider our concerns.

The judicial system in Florida has historically been unfairly biased towards land developers who are seeking permits to destroy Federally protected property in an effort to maximize profits, and this same judicial system has been unfairly prejudiced against concerned homeowners located nearby to these land development projects. Citizens who attempted to enforce Federal laws usually spent their time and money in vain with little chance of success. Attorneys for regulatory agencies have long threatened these residents with potential financial sanctions if they proceeded with these so-called “frivolous lawsuits.” There were enough of these cases that turned out not to be so frivolous after all, that the government had to decide to take action in order to prevent any further litigation that might expose the government’s illegal actions. The state of Florida apparently decided that the best way to stop the annoying efforts of those who realized that it was their duty to uphold the Constitution was to intimidate these individuals and groups by manipulating the outcome of court cases and using the power of enormous financial sanctions to punish these “offenders” and scare off anyone else that might consider similar action.

The Judge in this case was the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston of the Department of Administrative Hearings, and this case number was 08-001972. The excerpts presented here come directly from sworn court testimony and can be viewed in their entirety by contacting the Southwest Florida Water Management District to retrieve the complete transcript, or the majority of the transcript can be viewed at the link located on a tab at the top of this website.

Dr. Blanco exposed in Court the serious flaws in the data programmed into computer models used by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which were in some cases clearly in error, and in other cases, the models themselves were illogical and scientifically invalid to the point of being blatant lies. Also, another expert witness testified that he had never even been to several locations on the proposed project site before deciding that no endangered species would be impacted by this permit, and that no wetlands would be detrimentally harmed by this project, before he signed off saying that he had done this work; and, this was not the first time that he had not visited a land development site to search for endangered species within the span of less than one year, as was exposed within the largest newspaper within Florida!

These facts were heard by the Judge and should have immediately made the proposed permit incomplete and invalid. Shockingly, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston, of the Department of Administrative Hearings, chose to ignore this damning testimony given by the witnesses from the land developer, and then he turned around and sanctioned Dr. Blanco the staggering figure of over $240,000 for a one day court appearance for allegedly frivolously delaying a permit, which in reality, the permit should never have been granted because Dr. Blanco was exposing the many allegedly violated laws that occurred in this court case underneath the watchful eyes of both the Judge and all of the attorneys–and these laws that were allegedly violated amounted to at least  ten different laws, including multiple Federal laws, as well as at least 30 Florida rules and regulations that land developers must uphold in order to receive their land development permits! This new sworn testimony should have instead led the Judge to question the validity of this and all other proposed permits that were similarly incomplete and invalid, yet were previously granted by one of the five Florida Water Management Districts. It would also have been reasonable for the Judge to recognize that Federal, as well as Florida state laws, were compromised based on these court testimonies.

This court case was clearly not a frivolous lawsuit. Testimony revealed that multiple laws and rules had been violated, which means that this was an illegal and invalid permit to begin with, and this Court challenge was both valid and necessary. It is the right and duty of every American citizen to step forward and speak up to enforce the Constitution, as well as the laws of the land. The arbitrary sanctioning and punishing of an American citizen, by our government, threatens all of us. We only have a stable, functioning society if we can depend on a fair and impartial Judicial System to settle disputes, based on the law. This case, and at least 35 others in Florida, proves that this vital premise is no longer a reality in the Sunshine State.

Sworn court testimony will prove that an expert in charge of required studies to ensure that no endangered species would be impacted by the project actually confessed under oath that he had never even been out to many of the land development sites, listed within the petition to receive the permit, that he had originally claimed to have studied.  It was only AFTER Dr. Blanco challenged the Environmental Resource Permit that the Water Management District intended to issue, that the so-called expert decided to perform a whopping 210 hours of additional work that he had previously neglected to do!

The Newland property in question in this case is located in Pasco County, which has no Environmental Protection Commission such as the one in Hillsborough County that caught Mr. Godley certifying that he had done work, that in reality had never been done.  As usual, this Water Management District, much like all of the districts statewide, did not bother to check up on the land developer’s expert to verify that the studies, which he claimed to have done, actually had been completed.  These agencies, which are entrusted with the protection of our vital natural resources, as well as ensuring that permits which they grant will not lead to hazards to public safety, are only too happy to accept the word of “bought and paid for” scientists who only care about collecting another paycheck.  Mr. Godley claimed to have performed the required studies, but did he actually do them?

The Judge heard this testimony, which clearly proved that insufficient work had been done to grant a valid permit, and yet the Judge still decided to grant this illegal permit, and he still chose to sanction Dr. Blanco for bringing this illegal activity to his attention, instead of congratulating him for exposing this fraudulent activity!!

It is illegal for a Judge to listen to sworn Court testimony of a witness confessing to committing a crime and then to sanction a different innocent victim for the money to pay for the honor to expose this corruption! All scientific work had to have been performed before the Water Management District was able to grant the permit. This is the entire point of a citizen challenging an Environmental Resource Permit in a court of law: to prove evidence before an Administrative Law Judge that the permit should be found to be invalid! An environmental engineer cannot just take the liberty of going back “out to the field” once the permit is challenged and do the required work AFTER the permit is challenged. The fact that the Judge ordered the innocent Dr. Blanco to pay for this expense of 210 extra hours of work after the permit was challenged is clearly unjust!!

Dr. Blanco exposed that the necessary and required work on behalf of NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes was never performed before he challenged the permit that was already in the pipeline to be granted!!! If this fact does not enrage an intelligent person who is informed of this occurrence, then what will enrage someone–especially when all tax-payers of Florida–both residents and visitors alike, are the ones financially subsidizing all of these various crimes to continue to happen?! Therefore, why was Dr. Blanco charged for the 210 hours of extra work that Mr. Steve Godley of B.R.A performed just because Dr. Blanco exposed this crime? What were all of the attorneys thinking when they heard this confession?! What was the Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston thinking during this ruling??!! Some people out there might be thinking along the lines that this constitutes the very severe crime of extortion since court transcripts reveal exactly what occurred in court that day! Sworn court testimony is very difficult to refute! Clearly, Dr. Blanco was financially sanctioned in order to force him to shut up and go away because his effort to shine the light of sanity and civility within a court of law was prevented by both the Judge and all attorneys present that day who listened to this unbelievable and unfathomable transcript testimony!! More information regarding this environmental engineer, Mr. Steve Godley, will be given further along on this website.

Proof of the existence of a state-wide governmental conspiracy concerning judicial proceedings similar to Dr. Blanco’s case that has violated the U.S. Constitutional First Amendment Right in at least 35 other court cases involving other individuals and groups is located at the top of this website in the tab section. It will be in the form of an e-mail from an outside attorney who is aware of the illegal circumstances happening within Florida’s courts.

It will be proven that the financial sanctions are completely illegal for several reasons that should have been obvious to the Judge. An environmental scientist hired by the land developer confessed under oath that he had never been to much of the project site when he falsely claimed that he had completed all of his work necessary for the permit to be granted. This fact in itself would have been clear evidence to a fair and impartial judge that there had been no attempt by Dr. Blanco to frivolously delay a permit since no valid permit existed due to this scientist’s confession of signing off on an incomplete study, and therefore, no legal sanctions were possible.

The Federal Clean Water Act was allegedly violated by another environmental engineer who proved that he committed scientific misconduct of falsification of data when he admitted to using false scientific numbers within his computer model. Wetlands were only identified by the use of maps, and drought conditions were never considered within the computer model. There is also the question of if the excavation was ever even necessary in the first place because two witnesses claimed that the hole was there to provide free fill dirt for the land developer to use during construction and not to prevent flooding, while a third witness contradicted this statement by declaring that absolutely not one grain of sand would be leaving that site as any type of fill dirt because it was not a fill dirt site, but only a flood plain compensation area. More information regarding this environmental engineer will also be given further on in this introduction and summary.

The entire $240,000 judgement that the Court levied against Dr. Blanco for a one day hearing should be considered a crime, and all monies taken from him, that eventually reached almost half a million dollars, should be returned to Dr. Blanco. Because all necessary and required work in order to obtain the environmental permit was not performed prior to the intent to grant the permit, there should have been no permit to be eligible to have been granted and no judgement of a frivolous lawsuit against Dr. Blanco for holding up the issuance of the permit. The permit should have been deemed invalid by the Court IMMEDIATELY! Dr. Blanco is being financially sanctioned because he was a whistleblower who stepped up and pointed out that Federal and state laws had been violated. This, in turn, is a violation of Dr. Octavio Blanco’s First Amendment Right, which is guaranteed to him and all citizens, under the Constitution of the United States of America, to freely petition the courts for the government to listen to our grievances without prejudice and without punishment for exercising our Constitutional rights.

 

 

*****PART 7:   This portion explains the alleged violation of a citizen’s due process in Court.

Regarding B) Alleged denial of due process by the Judge in order to prejudice the Court against Dr. Blanco:

…….The Judge allegedly denied due process to Dr. Blanco with his dismissal of his expert witness, Mr. David Fogler of the Florida Forest Service, whom for months was an accepted and approved expert witness by the Court.  Even though Mr. David Fogler was summoned and appeared before the Court on the day of the hearing, he was forbidden to testify on behalf of Dr. Blanco by the Judge, who summarily dismissed him at the urging of the opposing counsel, without Dr. Blanco’s approval or even Dr. Blanco being allowed to object and be heard by the Court concerning his reason for the objection and about the line of questioning he would have taken with his own expert witness. The Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston of the Florida Administrative Hearing, never even asked Dr. Blanco what his witness would testify to in Court or even to consider the witness’ expert opinion before dismissing him. Mr. Fogler was never even deposed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s attorneys, whom for years had always demanded the opportunity to depose Dr. Blanco’s witnesses before going to trial. How could anyone have known what Mr. Fogler’s testimony might have been under these circumstances? It seems very suspicious that he was allowed to be present in the courtroom that day as a potentially damaging expert witness, unless it was known beforehand that he was never going to be allowed to testify, and once the Judge uses his strong arm to unilaterally and unequivocally dismiss him with the silent but ever-present threat that if Mr. Fogler or Dr. Blanco spoke up to challenge this ruling that they might be held “in contempt of Court,” then of course intimidation was used in Court that day to force Dr. Blanco and Mr. David Fogler to remain silent about this Judge’s ruling!

Mr. David Fogler was accepted and approved by the Court for several months, and he had extremely relevant evidence to share, yet he was silenced by illegal activity on the part of the Court and the Water Management District. If Dr. Blanco had just been given the opportunity to ask a few simple questions of his own expert witness, it would have been proven that Mr. David Fogler of the Florida Forest Service should have indeed been allowed to testify in this Court of law because he definitely had relevant testimony, but the Judge completely refused a single word to be uttered by the witness. This should be considered to be the denial of due process by the Judge because the previously approved and Court-summoned witness was not allowed to speak and to give evidence in a Court of law.  The Judge chose to just arbitrarily dismiss an accepted expert witness on the day of the trial on very questionable and suspicious grounds, apparently due to his own prejudice against the witness, without even knowing what his testimony would be.

THE JUDGE EVEN ADMITTED TO THIS FACT IN COURT–that he did not know what would be asked of the witness, and therefore, the Judge did not know what would be testified into evidence by the witness–which could have helped Dr. Blanco’s defense, yet the Judge chose to dismiss this witness before allowing him to speak even one word in Court. It can only be speculated what truths and scientific facts would have been brought into evidence in a Court of law if the witness had been allowed to testify, especially since he appeared in Court that day expecting to testify,  and especially since the Judge then decided to sanction Dr. Blanco for the sum of $240,000 to punish him for showing up in Court and not having a witness there to testify on his behalf!

How can a Judge sanction a person for not having a witness when it was the Judge, himself, who dismissed the expert witness who was an employee for a state governmental agency and was credentialed to give expert testimony? This just does not make any sense, unless there is nefarious and Court-prejudiced malice against Dr. Blanco from the beginning of the trial! After all, this very same Judge had allowed Mr. Fogler to remain on the witness list for months. He also allowed Mr. Fogler to appear in Court that day in order to testify. Why did this very same Judge decide to wait until the hearing had already begun to finally officially decide to dismiss the witness? This was a very effective way to prevent Dr. Blanco from having the opportunity to find a replacement witness!

Dr. Blanco is not to blame for the expert witness being dismissed! It was not Dr. Blanco dismissing the witness or even giving permission to the Judge to dismiss the witness. The Judge did not ask the witness what he would testify to before just booting him out of the door and had also stated that he did not know what testimony Mr. Fogler might provide. It is also very revealing that Mr. Fogler had never even been deposed, which is nearly unheard of in these proceedings. This witness was a high-ranking employee within a Florida state governmental agency who could have given very important testimony within this court hearing! It leaves one to wonder just what was attempted to be covered up by the Court in preventing this witness from testifying on Dr. Blanco’s behalf! Certainly, the Judge could have simply listened to the testimony and then made his ruling against Dr. Blanco, but then of course, there would have been an inconvenient legal record of Mr. Fogler’s testimony available for anyone to read. The dismissal of Mr. Fogler also facilitated the levying of crippling and punishing financial sanctions against Dr. Blanco. This action was meant to teach Dr. Blanco and all others who might dare to challenge a state governmental agency, that there would be serious consequences to any citizen who attempted to exercise their Constitutional First Amendment Rights in the state of Florida.

Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig, who was representing Newland Homes in this case, actually approached the Judge and requested that Dr. Blanco’s only remaining expert witness, Mr. David Fogler of the Florida Forest Service, be dismissed because she claimed that he was irrelevant to the court case. Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig had absolutely no idea what Mr. David Fogler would testify about because she never even bothered to depose him. She only assumed that he would discuss fire hazards, but if she had only taken the time to discover that his agency was responsible for setting the local drought index in Florida, and that he was the one responsible for paving the way for the Water Management District (her own previous employer) to be allowed to set emergency watering restrictions, then perhaps Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig would not be allegedly guilty of standing in the way of allowing pertinent testimony to be given in a Court of law, according to Florida Bar law, which states:

“A lawyer may not withhold information to serve the lawyer’s own interest or convenience or the interests or convenience of another person.”

 

http://www.floridabar.org/divexe/rrtfb.nsf/FV/42B57D8F7D441A8885257170006FAE7F

 

Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig was previously employed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District as an attorney before deciding to work for a private practice law firm. She, therefore, should have been very aware of the relevant testimony that Mr. Fogler could have provided in this case. Perhaps, that was the underlying problem that led to the dismissal of Mr. Fogler. Both the current Water Management District’s legal team and the developer’s attorneys wanted no part of what Mr. Fogler might have testified to on the record, under oath, as a representative of another Florida state agency. The Judge in this case was also employed by a state agency, namely the Department of Administrative Hearings. He quickly agreed to Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig’s plea to please remove this expert witness, Mr. David Fogler, who could have provided potentially damning evidence that would have led to serious inter-agency friction that no one in state government wanted to deal with. This testimony from Mr. Fogler could have rocked the state of Florida’s comfortable system of granting illegal environmental permits to wealthy developers without regard to the true enforcement of state and Federal laws.

Mr. David Fogler should have been allowed to testify concerning the relationship of construction activities to the worsening of drought conditions and the subsequent increase in fire hazards, which are a threat to Public Safety. This did not occur because two attorneys lied to the Judge and said that nowhere in Florida Statute 403 are fires ever “contemplated” for the Public Safety. Actually, Florida Statute 403 encompasses the Federal Clean Air Act, which directly regulates smoke from wildfires because of the dangerous pollutant of fine particulate matter, which can actually kill people! The Environmental Protection Agency makes it mandatory for all fifty states to monitor smoke from wildfires for Public Safety. States can be more strict on regulating air pollutants, but they cannot be less strict than the Federal Government’s Environmental Protection Agency’s rules and guidelines. For two attorneys and a Florida Judge to deny that a Federal law is not required to be upheld at the state level leaves one to question if a state can circumvent Federal law, regarding the environment, and especially when that law is there to protect us!

Mr. David Fogler of the Florida Forest Service was dismissed without being allowed to testify, presumably, because everyone in the Court believed that he could only speak about fire hazards. This belief is completely untrue. Mr. Fogler could easily have spoken about issues concerning water, as well as fire hazard. The Florida Forest Service addresses the issue of water in their online website, as well as wetland and water resource protection. His agency is also responsible for setting the drought index for the state of Florida, which is necessary to allow the Water Management Districts to impose emergency water restrictions. The Water Management Districts’ denial that they have any authority or duty to consider increased fire hazards, which may result from permits that they grant, completely contradicts their own governmental agency website, which claims that they do consider potential fire risks. Both state governmental agencies are required to monitor and protect water supplies within Florida, as well as to prevent fire hazards. It even states on the Florida Forest Service’s website that the Division of Forestry works hand-in-hand with the five Water Management Districts to do just that!

Here is the Florida Forest Service’s website page that admits working together with the Water Management Districts in order to protect wetlands, as it states: “In view of these effects on wetland communities, the Florida Forest Service has made wetland restoration an integral part of our total resource management strategy on State Forests. Through partnerships with the state’s five Water Management Districts, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and other public and private entities, over 100,000 wetland acres on State Forests have been enhanced or restored since the program was initiated in 2000. Funding for many of these projects is made possible through cooperative arrangements between the Florida Forest Service and local, state and federal government agencies. As of October, 2010, almost $5 million has been spent on State Forest wetland restoration projects.”

 

http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Our-Forests/Best-Management-Practices-BMP/Wetland-Restoration-on-State-Forests

 

Notice that the almost $5 million dollars of funding came from tax-payer dollars, and yet a Florida Judge and attorneys hired by the state of Florida, or hired by the private land developer, NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes, do not want this information getting to the light of day because they censor how the Florida Forest Service is here to help the Water Management Districts, who are mismanaging the state’s water resources. They then turn around and attempt to silence other state agencies who might just have the power and information to show the world what is actually illegally occurring here in the state of Florida! Remember, the Judge, after being hounded by attorneys from both the state of Florida and the private land developer, told the expert witness from the Florida Forest Service to basically: “shut up and GO HOME!“ Perhaps, none of the parties involved wanted to risk potentially damaging testimony from this witness to ever get onto the Court record. The connection between the mismanagement of water resources and the perennial drought conditions that lead to increased sinkhole activity and fires could well lead to “inter-agency friction” between the Water Management Districts and the Florida Forest Service if Mr. Fogler had been allowed to testify.

Here is a Youtube video distributed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District that admits to utilizing fire in the form of prescribed fires, which must receive a written prescription permit from the Florida Forest Service (i.e. the witness, Mr. David Fogler, who was present in Court that day to testify and could have discussed the process of writing a prescribed fire prescription during drought conditions with a sister Florida state governmental agency–any of the five Florida Water Management Districts–before any prescribed fire could ever be legally granted), even though the Southwest Florida Water Management District is denying in Court that fire is in any way relevant to public safety, or that a high ranking expert witness from the Florida Forest Service should be allowed to testify. If a high-ranking employee, such as Mr. David Fogler of the Florida Forest Service, would have to grant his permission for the Southwest Florida Water Management District to use their prescribed fire permit for their controlled burns, then why was he summarily dismissed by this Court of law without having his testimony on the record?!  What are they trying to hide by covering up this man’s testimony?!

 

 

There were multiple attorneys there that day to watch as an expert witness from a state government agency was dismissed before any testimony was given. The proposed reason for the expert witness’ dismissal was because all of the attorneys involved stated that fire was not a part of the Water Management District’s concerns, but their own website and Youtube video disproves this statement made in Court by the attorneys. Also, Federal law demands the regulation of smoke from wildfires, regardless of if one of the 50 states disagrees! Even Florida’s state statutes of law, chapters 373 and 403 admit that fire is a public safety hazard, and chapter 373 sets up a trust fund in order to finance prescribed fires by the Water Management Districts of the state of Florida. The Environmental Protection Agency along with the Federal Clean Air Act strictly regulates smoke from wildfire as being one of the six harmful pollutants that must be monitored for public safety! Therefore, the attorneys allegedly lied to the Judge in order to dismiss a key witness for Dr. Blanco. These attorneys include Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig, Mr. David Smolker, Mr. Smith, and Ms. Mara Shaughnessy. The dismissal of the witness, Mr. David Fogler of the Florida Forest Service, should be considered a crime based on the violation of the laws stated above. The following is further evidence that proves this point:

On page 3 of this website, the Southwest Florida Water Management District claims to use fire within their own Division. Here are their own words:

“Prescribed Burning:

“Florida’s natural systems have not only adapted to, but actually depend on, frequent fire caused by lightning. With urban buildup, fires cannot be allowed to burn as they once did. The district uses prescribed burning to simulate natural fires under controlled conditions. These fires stimulate flowering and seed production, control insects and diseases harmful to vegetation, and maintain the natural diversity and balance of plant life.”

 

http://www.jsgulfportcouncilblog.info/images/SWF07.pdf

 

Here is the link to the Florida Forest Service being the official state governmental agency that sets the drought index, also known as the Keetch Byram Drought Index, which must be set by the Florida Forest Service, (i.e. Mr. David Fogler from the Florida Forest Service who was present in Court that day and could have testified on behalf of Dr. Blanco about this drought index being set by his own governmental state agency), and before any Florida Water Management District can ever implement emergency water restrictions, including the ability to levy fines for illegal watering, as well as utilizing law enforcement agencies to police their restrictions:

 

http://flame.fl-dof.com/fire_weather/KBDI/

 

…..When Dr. Blanco was questioned about citing Florida law regarding how the Water Management Districts are charged with protecting public safety, Dr. Blanco could not state the actual statute number, which is 3.2.3. As a veterinarian by profession, he was not privy to this legalese information of attorneys, yet he was aware of it and asked the Court to consider this information on his behalf. However, all of the attorneys present at the hearing knew what the state statutes were, yet they remained silent about revealing the public safety test information on the Court record. The Judge asked about both the Environmental Resource Permit law and the Basis of Review law, but all attorneys refused to elucidate, validate, and verify what the Judge was requesting to be answered. It appears that all attorneys allegedly withheld the answers to the Judge’s questions in order to win a ruling in their favor. However, even though the attorneys did not stipulate the rules of Florida law, this does not dismiss the Judge in this matter from not knowing the actual Florida statutes. As a Judge, he had access to the documentation of all of Florida’s statutes regarding state procedures, which was entered into evidence before the hearing even began, in order to study them prior to rendering his verdict.

Dr. Blanco’s witness, Mr. David Fogler of the Florida Forest Service, was 100% qualified to discuss environmental issues regarding water issues in Court that day, but he was forbidden to speak. However, if he were to be asked fire-related questions regarding Public health and safety, as well as aquatic animal and wildlife safety, the Environmental Resource Permit regarding Basis of Review allows such topics to be discussed. Nowhere in the Basis of Review is fire disallowed or discounted as a threat to public safety. Also, in Florida Statute 403, the Federal Clean Air Act must be upheld, yet the attorneys present in Court that day, as well as the Judge, decided to ignore this important Federal Law. Just because the attorneys for the other side tried to weasel their way out of discussing fire does not allow this ever to be able to be justified! The attorneys attempted to discredit fire as being a hazard by saying that fire was not mentioned in the Basis of Review; however, no specific threat is ever mentioned by name in the Basis of Review!  No threat is ever mentioned specifically, just the fact that no harm can be caused to Public safety, Public health, and the wildlife and aquatic species located on the property or to neighboring properties. Once again, Mr. David Fogler was dismissed contrary to law.

Also, Florida is legally required under the Florida Basis of Review to hold land developers accountable to “identify POTENTIAL environmental public health or safety issues resulting from their project,” when a land developer is in the process of acquiring an Environmental Resource Permit.

Environmental Resource Permit Applicant’s Handbook:  10.2.3.1. (a), page 84

 

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/files/database/site_file_sets/2479/Applicant_Handbook_I_-_Combined.pdf

 

In June of 1998, a terrible, massive wildfire ignited in the exact, same location as the area where Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley intended to build their land development project.  Due to the fact that a wildfire has historically erupted at that location, it is considered a “potential” threat that the land developer, by law, must include in determining public safety, health, and welfare when designing their land development project!  However, the land developer wanted no part in this “fire risk” consideration on behalf of protecting the future homeowners who would be purchasing their homes from Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley.

Here are some of the laws that the Southwest Florida Water Management District must consider in their “Basis of Review,” regarding the Public Interest Test that the Judge requested the attorneys to provide:

“In determining whether a regulated activity located in, on, or over surface waters or wetlands, is not contrary to the public interest or, if such an activity significantly degrades or is within an outstanding Florida Water, that the regulated activity is clearly in the public interest, the District shall consider and balance, and an applicant must address, the following criteria:

“a) whether the regulated activity will adversely affect the public health, safety, or welfare or the property of others

“b) whether the regulated activity will adversely affect the conservation of fish and wildlife, including endangered or threatened species, or their habitats.”

And also:

………3.2.3.1 Public Health Safety, or Welfare or the Property of Others.

“In reviewing and balancing the criterion regarding public health, safety, welfare, and the property of others in paragraph 3.2.3(a), the District will evaluate whether the regulated activity located in, on, or over wetlands or other surface waters will cause:

“a) An environmental hazard to public health or safety or improvement to public health or safety with respect to environmental issues. Each applicant must identify potential environmental public health or safety issues resulting from their projects.”

*****Please notice the above wording as it is stipulated in Florida law!  Nowhere is fire disregarded or dismissed as being a direct threat to public safety and public health!  Therefore, the attorneys lied to the Judge about the “irrelevancy” of a fire hazard to public safety and public health within the Florida Law of the Basis of Review!  They lied about this in order to win a ruling in their favor and to have Dr. Blanco’s key expert witness to be dismissed and to have devastating financial sanctions to be adjudicated by the Judge!

When a citizen of Florida comes before a Court of law and requests the Court to consider their case, a Judge must listen to evidence concerning exactly what is mandated within 3.2.3.1, subsection “a” to have the applicant (in this court case, NNP-Bexley, Newland Homes, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District) to address the public safety issues concerning fire hazards, since the very land that the land development project is sitting upon burst up into unimaginable wildfire flames on the date of June 26, 1998! This wildfire was a real, true wildfire that destroyed the Bexley property that was a pine tree forest for tree-logging agricultural purposes, and is land that is directly next door to Dr. Blanco’s own property; therefore, Dr. Blanco is referring to an actual historical event that occurred instead of a hypothetical event. Dr. Blanco had every right to address in a Florida Court of law the “potential environmental public health or safety issues resulting from their projects” regarding NNP-Bexley, Newland Homes, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s pending environmental permit based upon past historical evidence and the potential for the same threat to harm Public Safety, Public Health, wildlife and aquatic species, and his own neighboring property!

The really sad part about how the judicial system here in Florida failed to address Dr. Blanco’s legitimate concerns is the overwhelming fact that now, as was pointed out in our video that we took on an iphone of the Kill Zone that would be affected in the land surrounding the land developer’s project site, this land has been seriously and heavily developed to the point that a giant subdivision of residential homes, as well as several commercial businesses, including a Super-Target, a Carrabba’s Italian Grill Restaurant, a Chili’s Restaurant, a Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant, a day care center, a dance studio for children to receive dance lessons, a Starbucks Coffee House, a McDonald’s, and a Residence Inn hotel, and the Opinicus Company have been closely built to the fire-hazard location. Also, both State Road 54 and the Suncoast Expressway would be prone to hazards due to smoke from wildfires, which is mandated to be regulated by the Federal government in the Federal Clean Air Act. How the Judge in this court case can nullify public safety, when 3.2.3.1 (a) in the Basis of Review mandates that public safety MUST be addressed by a land developer’s project, should be investigated!

Just to reiterate the exact location of the Kill Zone full of people that the governmental agencies of the state of Florida declare to be non-existent, here is once again, the video that we took of the location where the people have a high potential of being killed or injured by our government’s actions:

 

 

Also, the law states:

………..3.2.2 Fish, Wildlife, Listed Species and Their Habitats.

“To meet the condition for issuance in paragraph 3.1.1(a), an applicant must provide reasonable assurance that a regulated activity will not impact the values of wetlands, other surface waters and other water related resources of the District, so as to cause adverse impacts to:

“a. The abundance and diversity of fish, wildlife, and listed species,

“b. The habitat of fish, wildlife, and listed species.”

These rules are located on pages 21-23 of The Basis of Review located here:

 

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/files/database/site_file_sets/17/erp_basis_of_review.pdf

 

For fire to not be covered as an environmental hazard is preposterous, since fire most definitely destroys fish, wildlife, and is a threat to Public safety, as well as to neighboring property. Nowhere within the E.R.P Basis of Review is fire ever disqualified and told not to be considered as a part of the Public interest test.

Suspiciously, Florida’s judicial system, located within the court room of the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston of the Florida Administrative Hearings Court, seems to exclude itself from upholding Federal law, as required within the Federal Clean Water Act, the Federal Clean Air Act, and the Federal Endangered Species Act. There is simply no excuse for the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston to not demand that environmental engineers utilize true scientific data within computer models used to protect Federally protected wetlands. There is simply no excuse for the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston to not take accountability and responsibility for Federal law that includes smoke from wildfires as being one of the six Federally regulated pollutants dangerous to public health and safety. There is simply no excuse for an environmental engineer to not go out to all sites on a land development project and checking for endangered species and wildlife BEFORE a permit is granted. However, in the court case number 08-001972 under the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston of the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings, somehow all of these excuses were permitted, although they were contrary to Federal laws. Then, to add insult to injury, the very same Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston of the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings, turned around and financially sanctioned Dr. Blanco the extreme sum of $240,000 for a one day hearing, and which finally resulted in almost a half million dollars of debt, due to the fact that Dr. Blanco had the audacity to appear in Court in an effort to exercise his Constitutionally protected First Amendment Right and had the nerve to expose deeply disturbing multiple violations of Federal laws that the state of Florida was committing and trying to hide!

The reason the Court gave for dismissing this witness, Mr. David Fogler, was arbitrary. The Judge was clearly prejudiced against Mr. Fogler, and the Judge even admitted that he had no clue as to what testimony would have been given by Mr. Fogler under oath. The fact is that Mr. David Fogler could have entered testimony about the drought index and the importance of monitoring the drought index in order to prevent deadly and devastating sinkhole events, as well as how the drought index affects Florida’s Water Management Districts. Mr. David Fogler could have also discussed the Federal Clean Air Act and how the Federal government demands for each state to monitor smoke from wildfires and from prescribed fires that the Water Management Districts create. For Dr. Blanco to be financially sanctioned to a cost of over $400,000 for proving that multiple Federal and state laws are being violated by the Water Management Districts and Florida’s Courts of Law is absurd, and the Judge and all attorneys involved should be investigated.

Dr. Mark Rains is a Ph.D. professor at the University of South Florida, who was also on the expert witness list for Dr. Blanco. He had been delayed due to his research duties in Alaska, leading to a request for a 2 to 3 week continuance in this case to allow him time to return to Florida. The same Judge mentioned above chose to deny the continuance, which deprived Dr. Blanco of a vital expert witness, crucial to his case. There was clearly no extreme urgency for Newland Homes to rush through this proceeding, evidenced by the fact that no construction has occurred at this site as of this date, five years after this incomplete and illegal permit was granted to Newland Homes. Two to three additional weeks delay was obviously NOT going to put the land developer behind schedule. The only real damage was to Dr. Blanco, due to the fact that an expert witness of the caliber of Dr. Rains was successfully excluded from this case, setting the stage for the unconstitutional financial sanctioning, which ensued. Remember, the financial sanctions against Dr. Octavio Blanco occurred because the Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston, dismissed all expert witnesses that Dr. Blanco requested for the Court to permit to attend with their presence!

The Judge ruled on the day of the trial that Mr. Patrick Tara, who was a third expert witness as a professional engineer, could testify on Dr. Blanco’s behalf if he could immediately appear in Court, without any prior notice. The Judge initially instructed Dr. Blanco to summon Mr. Tara on the telephone to come to the proceedings, but only if he could immediately appear. It seems like the Judge was taken off-guard by the immediate and without-notice summons for Mr. Patrick Tara and Mr. Tara’s agreement to appear in Court, even though Mr. Tara is a professional environmental engineer and was perhaps too busy with his own work at the time. Perhaps, the Judge was betting on Mr. Tara being unavailable on that date with such short notice to appear in Court. It is left up to the reader to decide what happened in the mind of the Judge on the date of the hearing. However, while Mr. Tara was in his car and driving en route to the courtroom, the Judge apparently changed his mind and decided that Mr. Tara must turn his car around and go home. Instead, Mr. Tara could testify at a later date by affidavit. Suspiciously, Dr. Blanco’s attorney, Ms. Mara Shaunessy never followed through on the process of getting Mr. Tara’s testimony into the case, even though this would have saved Dr. Blanco from being financially sanctioned for an amount that eventually reached almost half a million dollars. Mr. Tara later informed Dr. Blanco that he was never deposed or even contacted by Ms. Mara Shaughnessy or the Court for the expected affidavit!! It appears that something terribly fishy occurred to set up Dr. Blanco for this financial and legal catastrophic disaster!

Remember, these are three highly qualified expert witnesses that the Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston of the Florida Admistrative Hearings, refused to allow to testify on behalf of Dr. Octavio Blanco, while he allowed witness after witness, after witness, after witness to speak on the witness stand for NNP-Bexley, Newland Homes, and the Southwest Florida Management District. See how prejudiced this Judge is against Dr. Octavio Blanco? This is why we are releasing sworn court testimony to the whole world today!  Sworn Court testimony does not lie!  It cannot be refuted!  The truth will prevail when the whole world sees this Court case corruption for exactly what it is!

It will also be proven that Dr. Blanco’s court case is just the tip of the iceberg with over thirty-five other court cases ending in financial disaster for the concerned citizens of Florida who bravely came forward to exercise his or her Constitutional First Amendment Right to freely petition the Courts in order to have their issues addressed. This conspiracy is a method to bypass and effectively ignore Federal laws, which are a hindrance to the wealthy who control the state of Florida. The successful violation of our citizens’ First Amendment Rights has effectively stopped those who would choose to spend their time and money to enforce the laws written by our forefathers because of these enormous financial sanctions.

 

 

*****PART 8:   This portion gives evidence of alleged fraud and extortion.

Regarding C) blatantly unjust ruling by the Judge to cause financial harm to Dr. Blanco by ruling for a Court-ordered sanction of $240,000 for a one day hearing, which subsequently ballooned into around half a million dollars in total costs involved in further litigation in this Court case, which Dr. Blanco was wrongfully forced to endure. It is speculated that this financial punishment was in response to Dr. Blanco exposing governmental corruption including violations to the United States Constitution’s First Amendment Right; the Federal Clean Air Act; the Federal Clean Water Act; the Federal Endangered Species Act; the Judge denying due process; fraud and illegal corruption on the part of Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, including their own attorneys and Senior Vice Presidents,  in a court of law in order to obtain their illegal Environmental Resource Permit; the illegal taking of money from an innocent party (Dr. Blanco) and giving it to another party (NNP-Bexley, Newland Homes, their attorneys, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District) under duress of Court sanctions; and attorney misconduct, including attorneys lying to the Judge. There was also the offense of committing scientific misconduct of falsification of data put into computer models that was committed by an environmental engineer hired by the land developer NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes, as well as incomplete and incompetent work, which was done by another scientist in support of Newland Homes and accepted as standard practice by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding section 404 permitting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, even though it is scientifically invalid; and the evidence that this is an on-going pattern of criminal activity that appears to be a state-wide governmental conspiracy because it has been documented to have happened in at least 35 different Florida court cases.

……These occurrences happened in spite of the Judge hearing sworn testimony that an opposing expert witness confessed and testified that he had not fully completed work necessary for the issuance of a valid environmental permit. This witness admitted to never even having been to all of the property to which he was held responsible in order to verify the presence or absence of endangered species by the Federal Endangered Species Act, as well as to Federally protected wetlands under his hydrology report regarding the Federal Clean Water Act.  No financial sanctions can be legally demanded from Dr. Blanco for a so-called “frivolous lawsuit” causing the delay of a permit, which was clearly incomplete and invalid, because crucial, necessary, and required work on behalf of the land developers was not performed. The Judge added insult to injury by charging Dr. Blanco for the work that was finally performed AFTER the permit challenge was in place from when Dr. Blanco tried to shed light on the criminal activities which were violating Federal laws. The permit was set to be approved by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in regards to section 404 permitting, and handed over to wealthy land developers if Dr. Blanco had not stepped in to challenge this illegal permit. The incomplete study was also used to satisfy the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Dr. Blanco was financially penalized for exercising his right as an American citizen to ensure that Federal law was observed and that wildlife was protected appropriately.

It is important to realize that American citizens must act to enforce environmental laws in a similar way that police departments function to enforce laws such as speed limits, breaking and entering, etc. We must perform this important role because state agencies such as the Water Management Districts, which are supposed to consider environmental laws when granting permits, clearly have other agendas, which have become more important to them.

Mr. Steve Godley of the company B.R.A., or Biological Research Associates, is the witness referred to in the above paragraph, which was labeled “Regarding C.)” He was found guilty of similar incomplete and incompetent work on another project by Hillsborough County authorities, in which wildlife was found on over 100 acres of property, which had been expertly declared by him to have no such wildlife. He apparently has made it a routine practice to incompletely examine property that he later certifies to have professionally researched.

The Newland property in question in this case is located in Pasco County, which has no Environmental Protection Commission such as the one in Hillsborough County that caught Mr. Godley certifying that he had done work, that in reality had never been done.  As usual, this Water Management District, much like all of the districts statewide, did not bother to check up on the land developer’s expert to verify that the studies, which he claimed to have done, actually had been completed.  These agencies, which are entrusted with the protection of our vital natural resources, as well as ensuring that permits which they grant will not lead to hazards to public safety, are only too happy to accept the word of “bought and paid for” scientists who only care about collecting another paycheck.  Mr. Steve Godley claimed to have performed the work, but did he really do it?  With no one watching over the situation, there is no proof.

The Judge had no problem sanctioning Dr. Blanco for 210 extra hours of Mr. Godley’s work, which should have been performed before the Water Management District decided to approve the permit, and this cost should have been billed to the developer of the project, which was Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, instead of to Dr. Blanco.  However in their absolute enchantment with greed, both Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley illegally accepted their coveted Environmental Resource Permit and then had the audacity to seek out financial compensation in multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars from Dr. Blanco, which could easily reach the definition of extortion.

The following link provides a news story by Mr. Craig Pittman of the Tampa Bay Times, which describes Mr. Steve Godley’s version of: “expert scientific studies,” that are actually clearly fraudulent and illegal.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/inaccuracies-taint-florida-environmental-consultants-record/919436

Mr. Steve Godley gave the following testimony in Court:
The following testimony can be found in Volume 1 on page 85 of this Court document, Lines 3-17. Mr. Steve Godley is responding to NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes attorney, Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig:

MR. STEVE GODLEY: “Newland Communitites is also one of our clients as is–are the large residential landowners or most of them, or the developers I should say in the Tampa Bay area.

“Subsequently we became involved and performed all the environmental analysis as part of the DRI proceedings and–and the development orders that Ms. Brewer mentioned. We also worked with Heidt & Associates on developing and submitting the site conditions assessment permit, the Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit and the ERP for this particular case.

“In addition to those activities we have also worked with Pasco County, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to obtain approvals in regards to listed species. And so at this point it’s been a soup to nuts experience.”

It is clear from this testimony that multiple state and Federal agencies depended on Mr. Godley’s studies to be complete, accurate, and factual when determining that required permitting should be granted and that all relevant state and Federal laws had been satisfied. This was clearly not the case because Mr. Godley testified that he had never even been to many of the sites listed in the petition by Newland Homes. This was not a random oversight, but a pattern of behavior exhibited in other supposedly valid scientific studies, as well.

In the Fee Hearing portion of the court documents, on page 35, lines 23-25, Mr. Steve Godley confesses:

MR. STEVE GODLEY:  “Because I had not been to all of the sites that had been named in the petition, I had to go to the field.”

This confession proves his guilt.  It is absolutely illegal for Mr. Steve Godley to have ignored his responsibilities in fulfilling the Federal Endangered Species Act, as well as ignoring his responsibilities in fulfilling the Federal Clean Water Act.  This entire court hearing is called a “permit challenge.”  By law, when a land developer wants to build a subdivision or a business complex, they must inform the general public of their intentions before they can hold their Environmental Resource Permit in their hands.   Anyone in the general public can come forward and challenge the validity of the permit.  Dr. Blanco did so, and Mr. Steve Godley’s confession of never performing the required work for two Federal laws came to light.  By law, there should have been no permit granted.  However, instead, the permit was granted anyway, and Dr. Blanco was financially sanctioned for the sum of $240,000, which eventually reached half a million dollars.  Mr. Steve Godley signed his name on the land developer’s permit application, stating that he had completed all required work, yet his confession in court shows that he never even went out to all areas of the land sites named in the petition.  This is fraud.  Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley KNEW that they were accepting a permit gained through the actions of fraud, and yet they accepted the permit.  They then committed extortion against Dr. Blanco in trying to illegally financially prosper at Dr. Blanco’s expense.

In the courtroom, during the Fee Hearing , was the man who is the Senior Vice President of Newland Homes, as well as the Senior Vice President of NNP-Bexley.   His name is Mr. Rick Harcrow.  He listened to Mr. Steve Godley’s confession,  yet afterwards, he never declined to receive the Environmental Resource Permit, plus he accepted the Judge’s ruling of financially sanctioning Dr. Blanco for bringing this testimony to the court.  This action on the part of Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley is an act of both fraud and extortion.  Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley fraudulently claimed possession of their permit, and on the date of May 19, 2011, Dr. Blanco received a subpoena to appear on June 21, 2011 with documents of his financial resources so that Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley could garnish his possessions.  Mr. Rick Harcrow heard the confession of Mr. Steve Godley, and his corporations and the attorneys employed by his corporations initiated the financial extortion of Dr. Blanco, even though they were very much aware that they did not have a legitimate permit because they had an incomplete permit application.   The Judge’s action to grant this permit after hearing Mr. Steve Godley’s shocking testimony did not, in any way, satisfy the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act or the Federal Endangered Species Act.   A copy of this document suing Dr. Blanco for the cost of $240,000 is included above in the tab section.  It is interesting that Mr. Rick Harcrow, as well as his two attorneys, Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig and Mr. David Smolker, were all present in court that day and heard this damning confession, yet they all–each and every single one–continued to pursue their activity of extortion against Dr. Blanco.

The confession of Mr. Steve Godley is on page 35 of the Fee Hearing.  Mr. Rick Harcrow’s  testimony is in the Fee Hearing on page 53, lines 21-25; pages 54-56, all of it; and page 57, lines 1-24.  Mr. Rick Harcrow was clearly in the court room on this date and absolutely listened to the confession of one of his environmental engineers admitting to having never performed the required and necessary work in order to satisfy two Federal laws:

RICK HARCROW, the witness herein being first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:

RICK HARCROW:  “I do.”

MS. MARGARET LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Would you please state your name and place of employment for the record?”

MR. HARCROW:  “It’s Rick Harcrow.  I’m senior vice president of operations and general manager for the Tampa Division of Newland Communities.

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “What are your duties and responsibilities in that position?”

MR. HARCROW:  “My duties as senior vice president, is to be–managing all of the aspects of the business of the division, including all of our active communities and all of our startup communities and all of joint ventures interests.  That includes land acquisition, management, entitlements, permitting, environmental, architectural, and all aspects of the business.

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “At this time, I’d like to show you what has been marked as NNP-Bexley 13 for identification.  Can you tell us what that document is?”

MR. HARCROW:  “It’s a copy of my resume.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Does that accurately reflect your education and professional experience?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes, it does.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Are you familiar with the entity known as NNP-Bexley, Limited?”

MR. HARCROW:  “I am.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “What is your position, if any, with NNP-Bexley?”

MR. HARCROW:  “NNP-Bexley is a limited partnership that is made up of Newlands Entity, which is NNP of Tampa, of which I’m an officer of.  I’m the vice president of that entity and then the Bexley family.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “What are your duties and responsibilities in regard to NNP-Bexley?”

MR. HARCROW:  “NNP-Bexley?  My responsibilities are to manage the land, the acquisition, the business plan that Newland has, as part of the partnership, and to oversee all of the acquisition, entitlements, and permitting processing and development activities for the project, as well as sales and marketing, eventually.

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Are you familiar with the administrative litigation brought against NNP-Bexley by Dr. Blanco?”

MR. HARCROW:  “I am.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “How are you familiar with that process?”

MR. HARCROW:  “I’m familiar with it by way of having  been involved in a number of meetings.  And our vice president of operations, who is Rhonda Brewer (phonetic), also kept me involved in the ongoings of the challenge.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Did you review pleadings and correspondence?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Did you review and approve billing related to the case?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Can you please describe the damages or other harm NNP-Bexley could have suffered if Dr. Blanco had prevailed in this litigation?”

MR. HARCROW:  “The harm would have been substantial loss in time with our entitlements and our approvals, our platting of Phase 1 and ongoing uncertainties and delays in terms of land development and all the additional land carry that would go along with that.  Entitlements require time-sensitive items to be done as part of the  approval.

“So, there was a great risk of losing those items or defaulting on those items and triggering a noncompliance with our development order and development agreement and would require a substantial cost and time going back, and to bring those into compliance, which my experience is that you would get another round of regulatory obligations with that.  So, those are a few.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Did NNP-Bexley have a significant financial stake in this–”

MR. HARCROW:  “We did.  Our initial investment and land cost, and all of the professional fees and studies and costs are in the range of tens of millions of dollars at this point.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Are you familiar with the expert witness and attorney’s fees, litigation costs and other costs incurred by NNP-Bexley in the cost of this litigation?”

MR. HARCROW:  “I am.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Were you present for the testimony of the previous witnesses in this sanctions hearing?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Are you familiar with the documents that have been entered in this case, including the invoices?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes, I am.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Do you agree that the testimony and documents fairly and accurately reflect the services provided to NNP-Bexley in the course of this litigation?”

MR. HARCROW:  “I do.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “And do you agree that those fees and costs are obligations of NNP-Bexley that have to be paid?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes, they are.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Have those fees and costs been paid by NNP-Bexley?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Those costs and fees have either been paid or they are in the pipeline to be paid, yes.”

**************

The above testimony from the Senior Vice President of Newland Homes and the Senior Vice President of NNP-Bexley proves three points about these two corporations that the public should become informed about before doing business of any kind with them:

1)  All that Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley care about is making money.

2)  They do not care about your family’s welfare or safety once you purchase one of their homes–especially during times when your house is trying to stand up against a raging wildfire, which could easily be caused by their own disinterest, disrespect, disassociation, and disregard of the local landscape and excavations of their land development projects and how they will negatively affect you.  These corporations do not care about drought conditions that could cause you, your family, and your home to become swallowed up by a monstrous sinkhole, the way that Mr Jeff Bush of Seffner, Florida died when he was lying down in bed asleep at night and fell into a 100-foot deep abyss of a sinkhole beneath his bedroom floor!  When the Vice President of both Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, as well as his attorneys turned their backs on the people who would be purchasing these homes, there is no turning back for them!  Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig was especially corrupt in her actions because she should be held to a higher standard of knowledge regarding the legal requirements in this case, by virtue of her years of employment representing the Southwest Florida Water Management District.  Everyone associated with Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley chose to knowingly break the law and allowed the innocent Dr. Octavio Blanco to become the fall-guy and have to pay all of the expenses for daring to expose their fraud!!

3)   They willingly accepted, a fraudulent permit to build, and then they chose to financially extort Dr. Octavio Blanco  in an attempt to permanently end his and all other concerned citizens’ efforts to exercise their United States Constitutional First Amendment Right to petition the government to address grievances concerning the violation of both Federal and state laws, which are meant to protect our citizens and the environment.   Mr. Rick Harcrow testified under oath that he was motivated by “time sensitive” factors that could cost Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley millions of dollars because of delays caused by a citizen’s permit challenge.  In reality, there has been no construction activity of any kind on the Bexley property in over five years; therefore, Dr. Blanco’s challenge to this Environmental Resource Permit caused no frivolous delay to this project.

 

To expound upon the above three points:

1)  All that Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley care about is making money:

Read these following quotes from their Senior Vice President:

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Did NNP-Bexley have a significant financial stake in this–”

MR. HARCROW:  “We did.  Our initial investment and land cost, and all of the professional fees and studies and costs are in the range of tens of millions of dollars at this point.”

***********IMPORTANT:  This is extremely important testimony because within Mr. Rick Harcrow’s own mind is the knowledge and awareness that his corporations have invested tens of millions of dollars in this project.  He admits that he listened to testimony from Mr. Steve Godley regarding the fact that Mr. Godley did not perform his required work in order to satisfy multiple Federal laws.  Mr. Rick Harcrow, being a senior vice-president for both Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, admitted that he was in charge of the permitting process.  Mr. Harcrow KNEW that the permit application was invalid and incomplete, and therefore, there was NO valid permit to be granted.  Clearly, the tens of millions of dollars invested was more important to Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley than fulfilling Federal and state laws and preserving the public health and public safety!  They were infuriated that a responsible citizen, Dr. Octavio Blanco, called them out for their fraud regarding their building permit!

2)  They do not care about your family’s welfare or safety once you purchase one of their homes–especially during times when your house is trying to stand up against a raging wildfire, which could easily be caused by their own disinterest, disrespect, disassociation, and disregard of the local landscape and excavations of their land development projects; and these corporations do not care if you, your family, and your home gets swallowed up by a monster sinkhole, the way that Mr Jeff Bush of Seffner, Florida died when he was lying down in bed asleep at night and fell into a 100-foot deep abyss of a sinkhole beneath his bedroom floor!

************IMPORTANT:  Why didn’t the vice president for the two corporations, Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, immediately ask the Judge to please listen to Mr. David Fogler’s important testimony in this case so as to become aware of any environmental dangers that would befall their future homebuyers, so that  any and all careful prevention activities would occur within their land development projects, before anything was built?  Mr. David Fogler could have warned the land developers, Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, about the local environmental hazards here in Florida of sinkholes and wildfires, due to drought conditions, but these corporations clearly do not care about being warned about drought conditions, which lead to both sinkhole formations and wildfire outbreaks!  Both of the corporate headquarters for Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley are located in San Diego, California—not Florida!  Shouldn’t a corporation located on the other side of the United States of America desire to know all of Florida’s environmental problems before they build their communities here, so that they can better plan their communities around the threats of these hazards, so as to protect the lives, safety, health, and possessions of their future homebuyers, who would be families and many with young children and pets?  Clearly, they don’t care.  Their motto should be:  “Out of sight, out of mind,” or perhaps:  “Buyer beware!”

The worst part is that if their entire communities burn down or suffer severe sinkhole damage, the corporations could just say that it was “an act of God or of Mother Nature,” but in reality,  these Court documents prove that they did not want to prevent destruction to Florida by having to listen in a Court room about the environmental hazards here in Florida from an environmental expert from the Florida Forest Service, so as to protect the lives, health, safety, and property of their future homebuyers!  Instead of preventing these conditions from worsening, due to their own negligence in listening to an environmental specialist, clearly all they could think of was their corporate greed’s bottom line’s profits!

From the mouths of Mr. David Smolker, Newland Homes’ and NNP-Bexley’s own attorney, as well as the complicit Water Management District’s own attorney, Mr. Jason Smith, who is being paid his salary by Florida’s tax-payers, came the following, very revealing testimony:

Located in Volume 1.   Page 72. Lines 12-14. Page 73. Lines 15-25. Lines 1-10.

DR. OCTAVIO BLANCO: ” Lack hydration. Have you ever designed projects like this one in areas that have had significant fire activity?”

MR. DAVID SMOLKER: “Your Honor, I would object. I think that’s beyond the scope.”

MR. SMITH: “And it’s irrelevant, Judge.”

THE COURT: “Significant fire what?”

DR. BLANCO: “Activity. History of fires. I’m not asking if this is one, I’m asking has he ever designed one in an area like that.”

THE COURT: “Well, what is the relevance of the fire hazard? Let’s get into that.”

DR. BLANCO: “Okay. The relevance would be that this is an area that’s been known for–”

THE COURT: “Well, let me ask Mr. Smith to say why he think (thinks, sic.) it’s not relevant.

MR. SMITH: “Judge, it’s not relevant because it’s not contemplated in SWFWMD rules for ERP review and approval essentially. It has to do with the development and–of surface water management systems and how the water flows. It has nothing to do with fire risk. We have no indicators in our review process of whether or not an increased fire risk is going to be caused. It’s not our authority.

 

*********IMPORTANT:  The attorney for Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, Mr. David Smolker, while he is in court and being listened to by the Senior Vice President of Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, Mr. Rick Harcrow, tells the Judge that fire hazards within Newland Homes’ Communities is not important to the homebuilder for this dangerous threat to even be heard within a Court of law!

Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley have now essentially put themselves on the record that when they build their fancy communities, they do not take into account  any consideration, whatsoever, of preventing fire hazards, which may well lead to the burning down of the homes in their communities, nor do they care about sinkhole formations!  No one from Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley protested when the Florida Forest Service witness was dismissed before warning the homebuilders about the dangers here in Florida. Also, drought conditions lead to both sinkholes and wildfires.  They did not care about drought conditions in their computer models.  Fire hazards were automatically disqualified from their concerns for their future homebuyers!

Once again, here is Newland Homes’ website:

http://www.newlandcommunities.com/

Once again, below is the link for a video from San Diego, California, where both Newland Homes’ and NNP-Bexley’s corporate headquarters are located, showing a  nightmarish fire burning in a community there.  Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley, located in San Diego, California cannot say that they are unaware of the dangers of wildfires!!  Gee, some people might wonder if this housing community is one of Newland Homes’ and NNP-Bexley’s own subdivisions burning down.  After all, this community is within their own hometown of their corporate headquarters, and they have already stated, through their own attorneys,  that fire is not important to them; therefore, they do not care if your own house burns down!!!

The total disregard that Newland’s executives and attorneys showed for the welfare of both the residents of their future community, as well as all others in the vicinity, is reprehensible, but at least they were attempting to collect more wealth, which is what they covet.

 

Mr. Jason Smith was present in court supposedly representing the interests of the citizens living in this region, as an attorney for the  Southwest Florida Water Management District.

DR. OCTAVIO BLANCO: ” Lack hydration. Have you ever designed projects like this one in areas that have had significant fire activity?”

MR. DAVID SMOLKER: “Your Honor, I would object. I think that’s beyond the scope.”

MR. SMITH: “And it’s irrelevant, Judge.”

THE COURT: “Significant fire what?”

********Dr. Octavio Blanco expressed a concern for the construction of a large residential community in an area that had a history of significant fire activity without the consideration of the hydration status of the region.  Mr. Jason Smith  stated that it would be “irrelevant” to consider this matter as a part of the permitting process.  This conclusion effectively ignores the requirements of the  Federal Clean Air Act, which requires that permitting agencies consider the potential for increased fine particulate matter, that could have a negative effect on the population  of the region.  Mr. Jason Smith was either instructed by his superiors at the Water Management District to assist Newland Homes Communities, in their efforts to obtain an Environmental Resource Permit, even if it meant lying to a Judge, or he chose to do this on his own.  You decide who made the decision to violate the law.

Finally, the clueless Judge responds to all of this by saying:  “significant fire what?” which indicates that he was not really listening to any of these statements for unknown reasons.

***********Taken from court testimony from Volume 1.   Page 72. Lines 12-14. Page 73. Lines 15-25. Lines 1-10.

What on Earth could possess a home and business builder to have both attorneys and a Senior Vice President to be present in court and to state that fires burning down their own communities that they build to just  simply not matter to them?  “It’s irrelevant, Judge.”  How about thinking about the future home-owners and business-owners who will be forced to deal with these fire issues?  But by then, the wealthy land developers will be long gone from Florida (their headquarters are located in San Diego, California,) and will not care about public health, public safety, the wildlife, or the environment.  They will be back in San Diego, California and acting like Ebonezer Scrooge, counting their money and not caring about the DANGER TO EVERYONE IN FLORIDA!!(.ORG)  The people who purchase a home from the land developers Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley better have a lot of buckets of water and a working garden hose to put out the fires that the corporations  deny is a hazard to public safety, public welfare, or to peoples’ possessions–because clearly, Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley absolutely do not care about you!

These are their own words in Court!   And what’s really bad is that Mr. Jason Smith, who worked for the Southwest Florida Water Management District that day in court, also said that the state of Florida does not care about fire, either!  The Southwest Florida Water Management District is paid for by tax-payer dollars.  Your money is funding this insanity!  The Southwest Florida Water Management District is supposed to be concerned for your safety, health, welfare, and possessions, but clearly they are not!  Are you angry yet?!   Whether you are a resident of Florida, or if you are a visitor to Florida, your tax dollars are funding the insanity of what is occurring in Florida’s state government!

3)   They willingly accepted, a fraudulent permit to build, and then they chose to financially extort Dr. Octavio Blanco  in an attempt to permanently end his and all other concerned citizens’ efforts to exercise their United States Constitutional First Amendment Right to petition the government to address grievances concerning the violation of both Federal and state laws, which are meant to protect our citizens and the environment.   Mr. Rick Harcrow a senior vice president for both Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley,  testified under oath that he was motivated by “time sensitive” factors that could cost Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley millions of dollars because of delays caused by a citizen’s permit challenge.  In reality, there has been no construction activity of any kind on the Bexley property in over five years; therefore, Dr. Blanco’s challenge to this Environmental Resource Permit caused no frivolous delay to this project.

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Did you review and approve billing related to the case?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Can you please describe the damages or other harm NNP-Bexley could have suffered if Dr. Blanco had prevailed in this litigation?”

MR. HARCROW:  “The harm would have been substantial loss in time with our entitlements and our approvals, our platting of Phase 1 and ongoing uncertainties and delays in terms of land development and all the additional land carry that would go along with that.  Entitlements require time-sensitive items to be done as part of the  approval.

“So, there was a great risk of losing those items or defaulting on those items and triggering a noncompliance with out development order and development agreement and would require a substantial cost and time going back, and to bring those into compliance, which my experience is that you would get another round of regulatory obligations with that.  So, those are a few.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Did NNP-Bexley have a significant financial stake in this–”

MR. HARCROW:  “We did.  Our initial investment and land cost, and all of the professional fees and studies and costs are in the range of tens of millions of dollars at this point.”

***********IMPORTANT:  The Senior Vice President for Newland Homes and the Senior Vice President for NNP-Bexley states that his corporations invested tens of millions of dollars into this land development project. Mr. Harcrow testified that he believed that:  “the harm would have been substantial loss in time with our entitlements and our approvals,”  in reference to delays related to the permit challenge.  No construction has occurred at this site in over five years, even though their fraudulently received permits were granted years ago.  Mr. Rick Harcrow was merely setting the ground work for a so-called “frivolous”  permit challenge scenario, which did not in any way really exist, but was a devious method of eventually obtaining huge financial sanctions against Dr. Octavio Blanco by the all-too-willing Judge in this case.  The Water Management Districts and the Army Corps of Engineers have been complicit in extending permits for over five years to assist Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley in their efforts to amass more wealth at the expense of the rest of us.  There was never any “time sensitive” threat to Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley, as evidenced by these facts, which have occurred in the ensuing five years.

Mr. Rick Harcrow also states that what his corporations are concerned about is receiving this Environmental Resource Permit in order to build their land development projects—-no matter what that cost is, and no matter what extremes they must take in order to make this event happen!

This testimony from Mr. Rick Harcrow, the Senior Vice President for Newland Homes and Senior Vice President for NNP-Bexley, is stating that he absolutely listened to Mr. Steve Godley’s confession of having never performed the necessary and required work in order to receive two Federal permits; therefore, the permit application is incomplete, and the permit is to be considered invalid, by law!

Mr. Rick Harcrow even admits in his testimony that he had a fear that if Dr. Blanco prevailed and won this court case, that Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley would have to start all over again in their “round of regulatory obligations,” which would further cost them even more money and time!

This is why Newland Homes Communitites and NNP-Bexley accepted their fraudulently granted permit and decided to extort Dr. Octavio Blanco out of what would become $500,000!  Newland Homes Communities and NNP-Bexley did not want to spend any more time or any more money having to go back out to perform their scientific studies, so they illegally accepted their permit (committing fraud), and they illegally went after Dr. Blanco’s possessions (committing extortion), since they were knowingly aware that they did not have a valid permit!

****************

The Federal Clean Water Act might possibly have been violated by another engineer, paid for by the land developer, who hired a consulting firm to only research off-site flooding and not to prevent harm to a wetland and the wetland’s hydric soils, aquatic species, and aquatic plants and trees. It will be shown in the testimony within this court case that absolutely no regard for the health, safety, and viability of wetlands and the inhabitants of these wetlands ever occurred, which is contrary to Federal law. “No net loss” of wetlands is mandated to be performed regarding wetlands. Here is Section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act:

“Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes a program to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. Activities in waters of the United States regulated under this program include fill for development, water resource projects (such as dams and levees), infrastructure development (such as highways and airports) and mining projects. Section 404 requires a permit before dredged or fill material may be discharged into waters of the United States, unless the activity is exempt from Section 404 regulation (e.g. certain farming and forestry activities.)

“The basic premise of the program is that no discharge of dredged or fill material may be permitted if: (1) a practicable alternative exists that is less damaging to the aquatic environment or (2) the nation’s waters would be significantly degraded. In other words, when you apply for a permit, you must show that you have, to the extent practicable:

A) Taken steps to avoid wetland impacts,

B) Minimized wetland impacts on wetlands; and

C) Provided compensation for any remaining unavoidable impacts.”

 

http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/wetlands/upload/reg_authority_pr.pdf

 

 

*****PART 9:   Scientific misconduct is allegedly committed when a scientist enters false data into a computer in order to receive a desired outcome that serves a land developer’s agenda.

The surface water engineer in this case was Mr. Brian Surak, who was working with Heidt & Associates in Tampa, Florida. He was allowed by the Water Management District to plot completely false, erroneous, misleading, and incomplete scientific data into a computer model, which potentially violated the Federal Clean Water Act. This may also be considered to be an example of scientific misconduct of the falsification of data, in which egregiously false scientific data is entered into a computer model in order to obtain a predetermined outcome for the land developer. The legal requirement to assess harmful wetland impacts caused by construction activities has in reality, become a virtual rubber-stamp for developments such as this to continue throughout Florida in violation of state and Federal laws.

Computer models are meant to be used by scientists to predict potential future outcomes of impacts to the environment based on the analysis of accurate data. The computer is programmed to accept all data as being factual, whether the data is real or falsified by the engineer or computer technician in order to illegally swing a desired outcome for their land development client. Unfortunately, these computer models are being routinely programmed by scientists with knowingly false information in an effort to reach a predetermined outcome to satisfy greedy land developers that are seeking legally required environmental permits from the state of Florida and the Federal government. This has led to the successful acquisition of critical land developmental permits granted by these governmental agencies, which have led to devastating results. The excuse of, “Well, we do all of our computer models in this way, and it is generally accepted by the Water Management Districts,” can not be allowed. Even if Mr. Brian Surak has been the project manager for at least 75 land development projects and has been allowed to use scientific misconduct of falsification of data in his computer models by governmental permitting agencies, this conduct remains illegal and unethical. If anything, these 75 different land development permits should be reintroduced to public scrutiny and scientific peer review in order to determine if anything can be done at this time to repair the damage done by such a flawed scientific approach, which intentionally uses incomplete and false data in computer models.

1.) The engineer used maps supplied by the Water Management Districts instead of going out to the field to physically check for the true health and well-being of the wetland, including the actual measurement of the water table level. These maps can be highly misleading because as Dr. Blanco said in his opening statement at the hearing, just because a wetland is colored in blue on the maps, this does not mean that there will always be standing water within the wetland. Often, the wetland has NO standing water upon the surface, and this condition can persist for months at a time. A piezometer, which is a measuring device, could be used to assess the water table level when there is no standing water at the surface of the wetland. Using only misleading, inaccurate maps instead of valid, meaningful data will lead to an incorrect conclusion that a proposed building project will cause no damage to wetlands, which must be protected by state and Federal laws.

2.) The Water Management District instructed Mr. Surak to program false data into the computer model used in this case. This state agency instructs all engineers that are working for developers to use a measurement called a curve score of 100 when considering all wetland impacts. The computer is forced to believe that no rainfall can penetrate such a wetland because it is constantly under water, and therefore, is completely impervious to further water movement. In reality, many wetlands are completely dehydrated with no standing water for months at a time. This situation is clearly scientific misconduct of falsification of data within a computer model. In comparison, asphalt and concrete are assigned a curve score of 98, meaning that water will trickle down into the ground beneath hard surfaces such as asphalt and concrete at a higher rate than a fully dehydrated swamp!!! Clearly, by utilizing this false data, the results of the computer model will be greatly skewed towards being incorrect. Asphalt and dehydrated wetlands are not similar in nature, but Mr. Brian Surak’s computer model is not given this data because the land developer might not receive their environmental permit to build their development since the computer model might have shown grave harm being caused to the wetland.

Here is a website discussing falsification of data and why it is so dangerous to commit this highest offense within the scientific community:

 

http://explorable.com/scientific-falsification

 

According to the Environmental Resource Permit Applicant’s Handbook, Volume I, designed for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the five Florida Water Management Districts, including the Southwest Florida Water Management District, whose own attorneys were present in Court that day, it is mandatory that when any change to a natural wetland occurs from land development, there are rules in place that must be followed. For instance, for all of “perpetuity” (eternity) the land development that affects all wetlands by creating artificial wetlands must be routinely monitored and the results recorded. How could Mr. Brian Surak, who is the project manager in this court case, as well as at least 75 other previous land development projects, not know of the precise health and well-being and water table levels of any of his professionally designed ponds when Florida law requires for routine monitoring of all of these artificially created land sites?! Wouldn’t this be violating Florida law and the Federal Clean Water Act?!

Here is the precise wording of laws that govern land developers and spell out requirements that they must adhere to in maintaining their own artificially created wetlands (such as ponds, which Mr. Brian Surak admits to overseeing their creation.)

“12.4 Minimum Operation and Maintenance Standards

“(a) In accordance with Section 373.416(2), F.S., unless revoked or abandoned, all stormwater management systems, dams, impoundments, reservoirs, appurtenant works, or works permitted under Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S., must be operated and maintained in perpetuity. The operation and maintenance shall be in accordance with the designs, plans, calculations, and other specifications that are submitted with an application, approved by the Agency, and incorporated as a condition into any permit issued.

“(b) Upon completion of the permitted stormwater management systems, dams, reservoirs, impoundments, appurtenant work, or works, the Agency shall have periodic inspections made to ensure the project was constructed and is being operated in compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit,  and in a manner that protects the public health and safety and the natural resources of the state. No person shall refuse immediate entry or access to any authorized representative of the District or DEP (Department of Environmental Protection Agency) who requests entry for purposes for such inspection and presents appropriate credentials.

“(c)  Inspections may be performed by Agency staff during and after construction.  When needed to ensure a project is being operated and maintained in perpetuity, the permit may require the operation and maintenance entity to conduct the periodic inspections.  The required inspection schedule for a specific project will be specified in the permit.”

Florida rules go on to say:

“(f) Inspection and reporting frequencies will be included as permit conditions based on site-specific operational and maintenance requirements, considering things as:

“(4) The topography rainfall patterns…

“(5) The nature of the underlying soils,  groundwater, and hydrology,

“(6) The potential for construction and operation of the project  to cause harm to public health, safety, or welfare, or harm to water resources, water quality standards, or water quality and

“(7) Prior compliance history with the proposed design and performance type, including whether the activity characteristics are likely to pose more than a minimal risk for harm

(h) Unless otherwise specified in the permit, the operation and maintenance entity must maintain a record of each inspection, including the date of inspection, the name and contact information of the inspector, whether the system was functioning as designed and permitted, and make such record available upon request of the Agency, in accordance with section 12.5 below.”

This can be found on pages 124-127 at this link:

 

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/files/database/site_file_sets/2479/Applicant_Handbook_I_-_Combined.pdf

 

From page 71-72 of the Court transcript, here is the Court testimony of the supervising engineer of this project, Mr. Brian Surak, from NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes, admitting to not knowing scientific data about his own 75 projects, after he created them and was supposed to monitor them and record their scientific data, for all of eternity!—Yet, Mr. Brian Surak cannot even provide any scientific data concerning the 75 previous land development projects under oath that day to follow up on how well his computer models had previously predicted the successful outcome of his created wetlands or ponds in protecting the environment!

Dr. Blanco asks Mr. Surak: “Are you familiar with any other excavated floodplain sites nearby?”

Mr. Surak: “I’m familiar with a lot of the ponds that I designed and been around design in the area, sure.”

Dr. Blanco: “Okay. And from that experience, would you be able to say if they tend to stay wet over half the year?’

Mr. Surak: “Designed ponds?”

Dr. Blanco: “The floodplain compensation areas, like for the–in these areas, created wetlands, like if you wanted to create a wetland?”

Mr. Surak: “A created wetland?”

Dr. Blanco: “Yes. What percentage of the time, if you can, would you estimate that they’d have water?”

Mr. Surak: “I couldn’t estimate that. I mean I–I will say that there are periods where created wetlands do go through–I mean dry–”

Dr. Blanco: “But you have no idea what part of the year that would be, what–”

Mr. Surak: “Well, I know the dry season of the year is–is late spring.”

Dr. Blanco: “I meant percentage. Let’s say 365 days, would it be 180 days?”

Mr. Surak: “I couldn’t give you a–”

Dr. Blanco: “No idea? Okay.”

Mr. Surak: “No, I couldn’t give you a percentage. I do know that there’s oftentimes periods of time where wetland creation areas do lack hydration.”

…..Florida laws mandate that Water Management Districts require routine maintenance and evaluation of created wetlands to occur for all of eternity, which means that Water Management staff and project engineers must evaluate the success or failure of the computer models in the real world by assessing the health and well-being of these wetlands during these mandatory visits. Mr. Brian Surak’s testimony clearly indicates that he has no idea of the success or failure of his at least 75 projects regarding legally required assessments of wetlands on these sites. The Water Management Districts allow this illegal activity to occur throughout Florida and are outraged when citizens, such as Dr. Blanco, bring this situation to light in a Court of law.

(4) Falsification of scientific data certainly happened with the information that Mr. Brian Surak plotted into his computer model. In fact, the wetland on Dr. Blanco’s property is within seeing-eye distance of the wetland upon the NNP-Bexley property, being developed by Newland Homes. Dr. Blanco has within his possession a document from Tampa Bay Water that includes piezometer readings to measure the real, true water table level of his wetland. The piezometer is a measuring device placed within the lowest level of the swamp and acts as a yardstick to discover and measure the water table. Dr. Blanco’s document from the governmental agency called Tampa Bay Water consists of piezometer readings every month, multiple times of the month, of the time period from 1994-2011. At least  eighty-six times throughout the 17 years of an engineer from Tampa Bay Water coming out to read the piezometer and recording the true scientific data, the wetland’s water table was located below surface ground level. Eighty-six times for a wetland to scientifically be proven to have the water table below ground while another scientist denies this fact is egregious. This document from Tampa Bay Water contains real, true, scientific data that proves that the scientific data that Mr. Brian Surak plotted into his computer is scientific misconduct of falsification of data, and it was plotted into the computer in order to swing a desired outcome for the land developer in order for them to receive the required environmental resource permit.

Mr. Surak proves that he is unaware of the true, accurate water table levels because when Dr. Blanco asks him if a wetland can have a water table level over three feet below ground level for extended periods of time, Mr. Surak is confused and states that he would seriously question if the said piece of land was indeed actually a wetland. The wetland that Dr. Blanco was referring to with this question regarding the absence of surface water and the water level being located three feet below the ground was, in fact, immediately adjacent to the very same wetland that Mr. Brian Surak had just studied and given an all-clear permission for the land developers to dig a 30-acre, 12 foot deep excavation next to that wetland! How in the world could a supervising environmental engineer possibly approve the excavation of a large tract of land immediately adjacent to a wetland when he admits in a Court of law that he has absolutely no clue about the true scientific measurements and health status of a wetland that he had supposedly professionally examined?

It appears that the Federal Clean Water Act has been violated by scientific misconduct of falsification of data within a computer model. Is it any wonder that over 84,000 acres of all of Florida’s wetlands are dead and gone while the remaining wetlands are deemed as unhealthy? Is it any wonder that the state of Florida receives the fifth highest level of precipitation each year within the United States, yet Floridians are constantly enduring strict and austere watering restrictions that kill their lawns and ornamental plants, which is a huge financial investment for their homes? With so much rainfall, why is there such a lack of water? The answer is that with scientific misconduct of falsification of data within computer models, only death and destruction can result. Multiply the times when scientific misconduct of falsification of data within computer models has occurred with just this one engineer, Mr. Brian Surak alone, using this method–in at least 75 different land development projects–and the extinction of wetlands is inevitable! To top things off, Florida’s state governmental agencies not just look the other way, but encourage engineers hired by developers to continue using falsified data when pursuing environmental permits. The question is:  How long can they keep up this dog and pony show? With deadly and traumatic sinkholes opening up left and right and being on international news, Florida could find itself as not being a hotspot for visitors looking forward to a relaxing vacation or residents who want to call this state their home! Instead, many will go elsewhere, and they will take their spending dollars with them!

An interesting archive of articles about the destruction of wetlands can be found here. The author is a famous journalist and has published multiple books in Florida, Mr. Craig Pittman:

Read Craig Pittman’s “Vanishing Wetlands” here:

 

http://craigpittman.com/Journalism.html

 

Florida is the fifth wettest state regarding annual precipitation rates, yet it has strict and austere watering restrictions due to lack of water:

 

http://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-annual-state-precipitation.php

 

Mr. Surak admits that the Southwest Florida Water Management District does not require piezometers within wetlands, which the state agency is charged with protecting. How effective can wetland protection be when everyone from the state agency to the environmental engineers are clueless as to the true, accurate scientific measurement of the water table within a wetland?

Dr. Blanco’s copy of the document from Tampa Bay Water showing the water table levels of the piezometer readings is located in the addendum on this website in the tabs section.

5.) Mr. Surak also admits that the ICPR computer model used by the Southwest Florida Water Management District never takes drought conditions into consideration as scientific data to be plotted in, which could predict the potentially damaging impact that a dehydrated wetland could experience with a significant drawdown of water. Only flood control appears to be important to Water Management Districts, but how does this perspective help to preserve Florida’s natural wetlands during times of drought when drought conditions are not even once considered within the computer model so as to satisfy the Federal law of the Federal Clean Water Act, which is meant to perpetually protect these wetlands? Florida’s wetlands are not being protected by the state’s Water Management Districts, contrary to what the public believes. The ICPR computer model is only a mirage of wetland protection, much like just pushing pencils around on a desk and occasionally scribbling something down on a piece of paper in a 9 to 5 job actually accomplishes something. It’s all a smokescreen to try to prove that work is being done, when in reality, it is simply a distraction from the fact that no meaningful work to protect the environment is actually being performed! At the end of the day, meetings are held, permits are granted, the public is led to believe that their homes and surrounding neighborhoods have been protected, but in reality, only the wealthy land developers prosper, while the Federally protected wetlands continue to die. The people of Florida are paying for this travesty with their property tax dollars, and all that they are receiving from the Water Management Districts are more headaches and lies claiming that the people of Florida and the wetlands are being protected, because they are not being protected under the current system! Perhaps one of the leading reasons for Dr. Blanco’s and the other thirty-five court cases ending up with huge financial sanctions is to prevent the evidence of the Water Management Districts’ negligence from becoming public knowledge. However, today, this information is going public!

For the Southwest Florida Water Management District to not take drought conditions into mandatory consideration within their computer models sets Florida up for a total failure. Drought conditions and the Water Management District’s mismanagement of water definitely leads to sinkholes like the deadly sinkhole involving Mr. Jeff Bush and the sinkhole underneath the resort just 10 minutes away from Walt Disney World. Perhaps, if the Water Management Districts had taken drought conditions into consideration within their computer models, throughout Florida, over these many years, then our wetlands could be much healthier today and many innocent human lives could have been spared. Mr. Jeff Bush might still be alive, and the innocent visitors vacationing near Walt Disney World could have enjoyed the nice, relaxing vacation that they expected and paid for with their hard earned money. Also, perhaps some of the people who died or were injured on Florida’s interstates due to smoke conditions from wildfires would still be healthy and alive today. It cannot help matters when the Water Management Districts are aware of how drought conditions may affect sinkholes and wildfires, but they do absolutely nothing to address this situation here in Florida by not requiring the study of drought conditions within their Environmental Resource Permit regulations. They make matters worse by using the Courts of law to bully citizens who exercise their Constitutional right to petition the government in an effort to enforce state and Federal laws.

Drought conditions eat away at the limestone rock beneath the surface of the state of Florida. The Southwest Florida Water Management District is aware of how sinkholes form, and they have published their own information stating exactly this fact:
It will be on page 4 of this pdf:

 

http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2013/08/27/11068009/brochure.pdf

 

 

 

*****PART 10:   There are inconsistencies regarding the purpose of the land developer’s excavation, proving that in reality, there is no need to actually develop that area so close to a wetland.

6.) The main concern, which led Dr. Blanco to challenge the issuance of the environmental permit was the proposed excavation of a 30-acre two-and-a-half feet deep hole in the ground being dug just a few feet from a natural wetland. Ms. Rhonda Brewer, the project manager of Newland Homes, states under oath that the hole in the ground could be dug down to at least twelve feet below surface level and still meet the Water Management District’s illogical routine criteria for permit issuance and supposed wetland protection and new wetland creation. This measurement of a twelve feet-deep, 30-acre hole in the ground, was not because it was safe to excavate to this depth around a vulnerable wetland about to be killed, or even necessary as a construction requirement, but rather it was the way to make easy money by the land developer to access free fill dirt in order to up-build their roads and homes!

The twelve feet deep figure was due to a geotechnical engineer who was not being paid to be concerned with the health and viability of wetlands. Mr. Richard Mortensen from Tampa, Florida, the geotechnical engineer from the land developer, Newland Homes Communities, only cared about the depth down into the ground where the free fill dirt of sand existed before the digging would discover a useless layer of clay. Mr. Rick Mortensen was searching for how far down deep into the ground that the land developer would find free fill dirt for the land development project, and not what would sustain the environment. This excavation would completely decimate and murder the wetlands by drawing down the water table to such a low level beneath the ground that all of the aquatic and plant life species would die, while the wildlife species would be forced to further migrate away from this land area in order to find available drinking water.

The strangely odd part of Ms. Rhonda Brewer’s own testimony is that she openly admits that the hole in the ground is being dug in order to receive absolutely free fill dirt for construction, which if obtained from an off-site location costs $12 per cubic yard for the land developer–and 100,000 cubic yards are being excavated, so a total of $1,200,000.00 is being made from this frivolous land excavation, disguised as flood control compensation—while the surface water engineer denies that even a single grain of dirt will be used as free fill dirt for the land developer!  So, which of these witnesses for the land developer and the state are lying under oath in order to gain this Environmental Resource Permit?  It cannot go both ways!  Either the hole in the ground is only to allow for floodplain compensation and the dirt is left alone, or the hole is an unnecessary excavation for flooding and is only serving as a “cash-cow” of free fill dirt to be milked by the land developer in order to raise the ground level for roads and houses for free! In this Court document, these witnesses will be shown to not be able to keep their stories straight because they all contradict each other.

7.) No one (especially the attorneys with the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Administrative Law Judge) seems to care that the computer models are a made up lie, while the wetlands die. It appears that as long as wealthy land developers can reap in their multi-million dollar profits, then who cares within the state of Florida’s governmental agencies that our environment is dying due to the ravages of neglect and greed? The government is looking the other direction when it comes to Florida’s environment being destroyed and all for the sake of making an extra dollar for both state governmental agencies, including the Courts, as well as for the wealthy land developers. As a matter of fact, it has been said under oath within the testimony of this court case that the environmental engineers of this land development project are not there in order to protect the environment from poor construction planning within land development projects. The environmental engineers admit that they are there only to win a required Environmental Resource Permit in order to allow their client, the land developer, to be allowed to reap huge financial gains without due regard to harmful environmental impacts to the wetlands, to the environment, and consequently to the Public Health and Public Safety!

These environmental engineers are hired by the land developers and are paid by the land developers in order to snare their Environmental Resource Permits. These environmental engineers are not there to protect the environment—-and neither are the state agencies, whose own attorneys listen to these facts of corruption in court testimony, and these same attorneys then demand financial sanctions against regular, ordinary citizens who are trying to save the environment of the state of Florida from being destroyed by pointing out these facts! The fact that this is the outcome within Florida’s Courts in over thirty-five other court cases proves that perhaps the FBI should be looking into a possible state-wide conspiracy occurring, in which state governmental agencies and judges are observing corruption while they are financially sanctioning those innocent citizens who are coming forward to expose this corruption!

The alleged unlawful taking of money by the Court definitely appears to fall under illegal activities, such as extortion. The Judge and all attorneys involved, as well as the Senior Vice President of the land developer, Newland Homes Communities and the Senior Vice President of the land developer NNP-Bexley, listened to sworn testimony stating that the crucial and required work from Mr. Steve Godley to satisfy the Federal laws of accounting for endangered species and checking the hydrology of wetlands in listed land sites in the permitted areas were never performed before the proposed issuance of an Environmental Resource Permit was to be granted. Mr. Godley testified that he never even went out to multiple land sites encompassed by the land barriers of the permit in order to check for wildlife and the viability and health of wetlands. The Judge and all attorneys involved listened to another expert witness testify that scientific falsification of data occurred within their computer model. The Judge then chose to dismiss and refused to allow testimony by three highly regarded expert witnesses for Dr. Blanco. Everyone in the Court watched as extremely harsh financial sanctions were demanded by the attorneys and adjudicated by the Judge for Dr. Blanco to pay because he no longer had a single witness to testify on his behalf, thanks to the Judge knowingly and consciously dismissing all expert witnesses, when witness after witness after witness, were available to testify against Dr. Blanco. What can possibly be surmised as to how this court case came to this determination to sanction Dr. Blanco for what would eventually accrue to almost a half a million dollars as his punishment? “The unlawful taking of money” is considered to be a crime. The fact that at least thirty-five other court cases within the state of Florida have ended up in this same way should be considered proof that this is allegedly a state-wide conspiracy to silence people from exercising their Constitutional First Amendment Right to freely petition the Courts without fear of financial punishment or duress.

 

 

*****PART 11:   Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig is an attorney working for the land developer Newland Homes; however, she was formerly an attorney for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.  Therefore, she was well aware of the fact that she was listening to an expert witness’ actual confession of not having performed the work on all of the land sites named in the petition for receiving the permit.  Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig was complicit in the granting of the permit, and she was also the attorney who signed her name on a subpoena to Dr. Blanco, demanding to receive monetary property from him.

In the Fee Hearing, on Page 35, Lines 11-25, Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig–an attorney hired by NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes–questions Mr. Steve Godley about his engineering work and definitely hears his confession that he had not performed it:

MRS. MARGARET LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Was Biological Research Associates asked to provide services to NNP-Bexley in support of litigation and the challenge to NNP-Bexley’s environmental resources permit filed by Dr. Blanco?”

MR. STEVE GODLEY:  “Yes.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “What service did you provide?”

MR. GODLEY:  “There were broad ranges of services, because of the nature of the petition; it was a broad petition.  We’re environmental consultants, and this was an E.R.P. permit, so the range of issues that we had to deal with were everything related to either wetlands or wildlife, hydrology of wetlands, et cetera.  So the range of services included a field review.  Because I had NOT been to ALL of the sites that had been named in the petition, I had to go to the field.” (For an extra 210 hours of field research–the equivalence of 5-and-a-half weeks of extra work without doing anything else!)

If you are outraged by Mr. Steve Godley’s confession of having never performed his required and necessary work, and you wish to share your concerns, you can contact him at Biological Research Associates, at the following telephone number:

Telephone:  1- (813) 664-4500

Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig had formerly practiced as an attorney for the Southwest Florida Water Management District and was perfectly aware that there could be no permit granted because with Mr. Steve Godley’s confession of not having performed the work, the permit application to the Southwest Florida Water Management was invalid and incomplete!  However, this did not stop her from allowing the permit to be granted, as well as asking for Dr. Blanco to pay for her attorneys fees, (adding up to over $111,000!!!) instead of receiving her fees from NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes Communities, who were the ones who hired her!

Ironically, Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig is now employed as a Judge, herself.  Imagine going up within her very own court room and having her to adjudicate your hearing!

http://www.disabilityjudges.com/state/florida/tampa/margaret-craig

If you are outraged by Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig’s  actions in this court case and you wish to share your concerns, you can contact her at the following  telephone number:

Telephone:  1- (813) 883-7300

 

 

*****PART 12:   Mr. David Smolker is an attorney who was present in Court and listened to Mr. Steve Godley’s confession, yet he was complicit with the granting of the permit and the sending out of the subpoena to Dr. Blanco, demanding to receive monetary property from him

In the Fee Hearing on Page7, Lines 18-21, Mr. David Smolker, an attorney hired by NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes, states:

MR. DAVID SMOLKER:  “The total number of hours that were extended in this case, in the case of Ms. Craig, who is a senior associate was 343 hours.  Her hourly rate is $325 per hour.  Total was $111,530.25.”

Mr. Smolker then discusses his own payday that he is seeking from Dr. Blanco.  In the Fee Hearing on Page 7, Lines 21-24:

MR. DAVID SMOLKER:  “I was lead counsel, trial counsel, but not the primary working attorney on the file.  I had 82.65 hours at $400 an hour for a total of $33,060.”

Mr. David Smolker also heard the engineer, Mr.Steve Godley’s confession of not having performed the necessary and required work, but it appears the hefty payday of over $140,000 was too much for his greed to handle.  He unethically and illegally continued to press the Judge, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston, to file financial sanctions in the amount of over $140,000 for Dr. Blanco to be forced to pay to his law firm.  His law firm is Smolker Bartlett Schlosser Loeb & Hinds

http://www.smolkerbartlett.com/attorneys/item/107-david-smolker

If you are outraged by Mr. David Smolker’s actions, and you wish to share your concerns, feel free to contact him at the following links:

Telephone:  1- (813) 223-3888

Email:  DavidS@SmolkerBartlett.com

 

 

*****PART 13:   Mr. Rick Harcrow, a Senior Vice President for Newland Homes Communitites and NNP-Bexley, testifies that he listened to all of the witnesses; therefore, he listened to Mr. Steve Godley’s confession

Another person present in the court room that day was Mr. Rick Harcrow.  Mr. Harcrow is the senior vice-president of Newland Homes of the Tampa office, as well as being the senior vice president of NNP-Bexley.  This means that a corporate executive for both Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley listened to Mr. Steve Godley’s confession of not having performed the necessary and required work for his companies to receive their Environmental Resource Permit, yet he kept his mouth shut and never declined receiving the permit.  He also allowed the Judge to financially sanction Dr. Blanco for his companies’ expenses, passing along his costs to an innocent victim who was trying to exercise his United States Constitutional First Amendment Right to freely petition the government by requesting a permit challenge to be performed.

In the Fee Hearing, on Page 54.  All of it.  Page 55.  Lines 1-15:

MS. MARGARET LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Would you please state your name and place of employment for the record?”

MR. RICK HARCROW:  “It’s Rick Harcrow.  I’m senior vice president of operations and general manager for the Tampa Division of Newland Communities.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “What are your duties and responsibilities in that position?”

MR. HARCROW:  “My duties as sennior vice president, is to be–managing all of the aspects of the business of the division, including all of our active communities and all of our startup communities and all of joint ventures interests.  That includes land acquisition, management, entitlements, permitting, environmental, architectural, and all aspects of the business.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “At this time, I’d like to show you what has been marked as NNP-Bexley 13 for identification.  Can you tell us what that document is?”

MR. HARCROW:  “It’s a copy of my resume.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Does that accurately reflect your education and professional experience?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes, it does.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Are you familiar with the entity knows as NNP-Bexley, Limited?”

MR. HARCROW:  “I am.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “What is your position, if any with NNP-Bexley?”

MR. HARCROW:  “NNP-Bexley is a limited partnership that is made up of Newlands Entity, which is NNP of Tampa, of which I’m an officer of.  I’m the vice president of that entity and then the Bexley family.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “What are your duties and responsibilities in regard to NNP-Bexley?”

MR. HARCROW:  “NNP-Bexley?  My responsibilities are to manage the land, the acquisition, the business plan that Newland has, as part of the partnership, and to oversee all of the adquisition, entitlements, and permitting processing and development activities for the project, as well as sales and marketing, eventually.”

********It is clear that Mr. Harcrow is very much informed with the process of receiving an Environmental Resource Permit and with all of the legalities involved that must be performed, by law.  The proof that he was present in court that day and listened to Mr. Steve Godley’s confession is located in the Fee Hearing, on Page 56, Lines 2-25; Page 57, All of it.  Page 58, Lines1-2:

MS. MARGARET LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Did you review and approve billing related to the case?”

MR. RICK HARCROW:  “Yes.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Can you please describe the damages or other harm NNP-Bexley could have suffered if Dr. Blanco had prevailed in this litigation?”

MR. HARCROW:  “The harm would have been substantial loss in time with our entitlements and our approvals, our platting of Phase 1 and ongoing uncertainties and delays in terms of land development and all the additional land carry that would go along with that.  Entitlements require time-sensitive items to be done as part of the approval.

“So, there was a great risk of losing those items or defaulting on those items and triggering a noncompliance with our development order and development agreement and would require a substantial cost and time going back, and to bring those into compliance, which my experience is that you would get another round of regulatory obligations with that.  So, those are a few.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Did NNP-Bexley have a significant financial stake in this–”

MR. HARCROW:  “We did.  Our initial investment and land cost, and all of the professional fees and studies and costs are in the range of tens of millions of dollars at this point.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Are you familiar with the expert witness and attorney’s fees, litigation costs and other costs incurred by NNP-Bexley in the cost of this litigation?”

MR. HARCROW:  “I am.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Were you present for the testimony of the previous witnesses in this sanctions hearing?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Are you familiar with the documents that have been entered in this case, including the invoices?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes, I am.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Do you agree that the testimony and documents fairly and accurately reflect the services provided to NNP-Bexley in the course of this litigation?”

MR. HARCROW:  “I do.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “And do you agree that those fees and costs are obligations of NNP-Bexley that have to be paid?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Yes, they are.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:  “Have those fees and costs been paid by NNP-Bexley?”

MR. HARCROW:  “Those costs and fees have either been paid or they are in the pipeline to be paid, yes.”

MS. LYTLE-CRAIG:”  “I have no further questions for Mr. Harcrow.  I would offer Exhibit 13 into evidence.”

*****This part of court testimony proves that a corporate executive for both NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes was present to listen to all previous witnesses and fully understood the permitting process.

The website for Newland Homes Communities shows that their corporate headquarters is located in San Diego, California.  Isn’t it ironic that the horrifying video of a dangerous and out-of-control wildfire that we uploaded onto this website was based in San Diego, California!  What if the subdivision that was burning down was an actual Newland Homes Community subdivision?!  The fact that Newland Homes does NOT care about wildfires is clearly evident within testimony within our court documents!  Therefore, if that subdivision was actually found to be built by Newland Homes, they most likely did not care that it was burning down, either!

According to the above testimony, all that Newland Homes cared about was their time-sensitive permits and their several millions of dollars that they had spent in order to receive their incomplete and invalid Environmental Resource Permit!

http://www.newlandco.com/About-Newland/Offices/SanDiego.aspx

If you are outraged and wish to share your concerns, you can contact Newland Homes’ headquarters office in San Diego, California, at this telephone number:

Telephone: 1- (858) 455-7503

 

 

*****PART 14:   An attorney for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Mr. Jason Smith, was present in Court that day; therefore, he listened to the confession of Mr. Steve Godley, and yet he did not object to the granting of the permit.  It is illegal for the Water Management District to grant a permit when the permit application is invalid or missing required work.

The Florida State government agency called The Southwest Florida Water Management District had attorneys present in court who absolutely heard Mr. Steve Godley’s confession that he had not been out to all of the land sites named in the petition, and it was this Water Management District that was responsible for granting the Environmental Resource Permit to Newland Homes and NNP-Bexley.  How could attorneys working for the Water Management District listen to Mr. Godley’s confession and yet still grant the permit when it was clear that there was no valid permit application filed with the Water Management District?

If you are outraged at the state government agency of the Southwest Florida Water Management District for illegally granting an invalid building permit, and you wish to share your concerns with them, you can contact them here:

Telephone:  1- (352) 796-7211

 

 

*****PART 15:   Dr. Blanco actually received a subpoena from the land developer demanding financial punishment against him, even though they knew they received an invalid permit based on fraud.

After the fee hearing, in which Dr. Blanco was sanctioned, Dr. Blanco was forced to show up before the Court with several years’ worth of IRS documents and bank records stating his income for each year. His last year of income, while he was fighting this court case full-time on behalf of the public safety of everyone in Florida, was only $20,000, due to lack of time to perform his profession as a veterinarian. He is now about $500,000 in debt because of this improper and illegal judgement. He was also forced to provide a list of his financial possessions, which is next to nothing. Newland Homes then attempted to steal his family’s 100-acre agricultural farm from him in order to pay for these egregious and illegal court costs! Luckily, because the farm is in a legal land trust, the land was off limits to the vulture attorneys who wanted to swoop down and devour it.

The Blanco family has done their best for over 50 years to care for and protect this property, as evidenced by the efforts of Dr. Blanco to challenge environmental permits that his scientists believed would harm wetlands, wildlife, and public safety. Unlike the greedy developers who go to court to make money, Dr. Blanco goes to court knowing that he is going to lose money, because it is the right thing to do, morally and ethically, to enforce state and Federal laws that are being ignored. Dr. Blanco has lived on that land since he was three years old, and he has protected it at all costs. Both of his grand-parents and father died out there while working on that land, and all of this time he has tried his best to protect the wetland that is located on the northern-most end of the property.

 

 

*****PART 16.   Mara Shaughnessy was Dr. Blanco’s attorney and yet never informed him of the fee hearing for him to be allowed to listen to the testimony.  also, upon hearing Mr. Steve Godley’s confession, she never objected to the Judge granting the invalid permit.

D) Regarding alleged attorney misconduct on behalf of Dr. Blanco’s own attorney, Ms. Mara Shaughnessy, who inexplicably kept Dr. Blanco completely in the dark, concerning critical judicial hearing dates, including the fee hearing, which resulted in the unjust award of over $240,000 in sanctions against him, for a one day hearing, which eventually ballooned up into almost a half a million dollars. She never even informed Dr. Blanco of this catastrophic ruling, which has had crippling consequences to him and his family, she never informed him of his right to appeal the ruling, she never informed him of the fee hearing, and she never informed him of his right to appeal the fee hearing. (How difficult would it have been for a simple phone call or an email, and yet nothing came from her except for a short, cryptic email that arrived 12 minutes before closing time on the night before the fee hearing.  This email was so cryptic that it never informed Dr. Blanco of the location or the time of the fee hearing, so it would have been impossible  for Dr. Blanco to appear at the fee hearing!  With the email arriving 12 minutes before Ms. Mara Shaughnessy’s office closed for the day, how was he ever to be able to contact her in order to be informed of the location and time of the fee hearing?  The only other emails that he received from Ms. Shaughnessy were  for her bill to be paid at the end of this process!) It was ONLY when a process server delivered the news of the $240,000 debt being demanded to be paid that Dr. Blanco even discovered that his court case had been adjudicated by the Judge to the extent and the degree that the legal process had run its course, and time had run out. Ms. Mara Shaughnessy, an attorney, licensed by the state of Florida, had for her own reasons, chosen to conceal all of these court hearings and rulings from her client, Dr. Octavio Blanco. This attorney lacked the professional and moral responsibility to inform her client of these devastating events, if in fact, her goal was to protect her clients’ interests, versus another and darker agenda, which will require further investigation to fully understand.

Ms. Mara Shaughnessy was a key player in leading to this legal fiasco! Just read the Court transcript testimony! There is no refuting this information! Dr. Blanco would have made an effort to enter evidence at the fee hearing that would have made it abundantly clear that he had exposed multiple violations of state and Federal laws, meaning that this was clearly not a “frivolous” lawsuit. Ms. Shaughnessy kept Dr. Blanco away from this hearing by neglecting to inform him of his vital day in Court, and instead, sat idly by while the Judge, attorneys, and all of the witnesses present conspired in this legal travesty.  Why was Ms. Mara Shaughnessy so silent about the fee hearing when her own client was in such dire jeopardy of extreme and abusive financial sanctions against him?!  What was Ms. Mara Shaughnessy’s ulterior motive for her actions to perform such a heinous and despicable crime against Dr. Octavio Blanco?!

The Judge had originally ruled that a qualified engineer named Patrick Tara could testify for Dr. Blanco in the permit hearing and ordered that he be instructed to drive to the proceeding, effective immediately, without any prior notice! Mr. Tara agreed to appear and started to drive to the hearing site. The Judge subsequently and inexplicably without warning reversed his previous ruling and ordered that Mr. Tara would NOT be allowed to testify at the hearing. The Judge now decided that Mr. Tara should turn his car around and not appear in the courtroom, after all. The Judge instructed that Mr. Tara could only provide an affidavit at a later date. Ms. Mara Shaughnessy was ordered to provide Mr. Tara’s testimony in the form of an affidavit for the Court to consider in the future. Ms. Mara Shaughnessy never followed through on this important duty. This blatant disregard in carrying out her duty as Dr. Blanco’s attorney in this case made it even easier for the Judge to unjustly punish Dr. Blanco. Ms. Mara Shaughnessy knew that Dr. Blanco was being sanctioned and knew that it was her responsibility to proffer the witness, but she chose to neglect her duties and to expose her client, Dr. Octavio Blanco, to a disastrous financial outcome due to her lack of professional integrity.

What was Ms. Mara Shaughnessy, an attorney in Brandon, Florida, thinking throughout all of these events? Was Ms. Mara Shaughnessy just purely lazy and chose not to put in any effort on her part in carrying out her duties as an attorney? Was Ms. Mara Shaughnessy just too stupid to know how to correctly handle a court case in a professional manner with integrity towards her client? Or was there a more sinister and nefarious reason for why Ms. Mara Shaughnessy let her client be financially destroyed and ruined? Did she have any type of an agenda against Dr. Blanco to purposefully throw the case? She chose to never proffer the witness, Mr. Patrick Tara, even though any competent attorney would have realized how important this testimony was to the case. It was imperative for Dr. Blanco to have witness testimony documented in this case to avoid financial sanctions from the Judge. She never consulted with Dr. Blanco concerning the rulings of the court case, including the monetary amount of the financial sanctions that were ordered against him. Ms. Mara Shaughnessy should be investigated regarding her competency to practice law in the state of Florida. Other innocent clients in the future should be protected from any harm that she might either stupidly or purposefully cause to them by her proven lack of professional integrity!

If you are outraged by the clear evidence of legal malpractice by Ms. Mara Shaughnessy and wish to share your concerns, you can contact her by email or by telephone:

http://www.marashaughnessy.com/

Telephone:  1- (813) 657-6700

 

 

*****PART 17:   This is the list of the remaining 30 rules and laws, out of the total of 40, that the land developer applicant is meant to follow, that have allegedly been violated.

Regarding E) alleged violations of and the disregard for at least 30 different rules required for land developers to fulfill and follow when applying for an Environmental Resource Permit in the state of Florida from the Department of Environmental Protection and the Water Management Districts, as is mandated within the Environmental Resource Permit Applicant’s Handbook, Volume I.

 

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/files/database/site_file_sets/2479/Applicant_Handbook_I_-_Combined.pdf

 

(1.) On page 20 of the Applicant’s Handbook, the Water Management Districts never even acknowledge drought conditions within their own dictionary of terms. We have in our possession scientific documents which prove that the wetland on our property, and within seeing eye distance of the other wetland next door, was without standing water 86 times over the course of 17 years, as proven within our records from the governmental agency called Tampa Bay Water. The “expert hydro-engineer hired by NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes tried to pretend that wetlands are completely covered with standing water 24/7/365. Our scientific data disproves most of Mr. Brian Surak’s testimony regarding this matter. Drought conditions lead to more sinkhole formations and wildfires, further putting the Public Safety at risk!

(2.) On page 21, the Water Management Districts determine what endangered species are and make it clear that they must be properly searched for before a permit is to be granted. The Judge in this case, the Honorable J. Lawrence Johnston, somehow had no problem with the testimony of the expert, Mr. Steve Godley of B.R.A.–also known as Biological Research Associates–when he declared and confessed that he never went out to many of the sites listed in the land developer’s petition to do his job, in order to search for either the endangered species or to monitor the endangered wetlands, in order to make sure that the animals and wetlands were taken care of, as is required by Federal law for all 50 states of the United States of America to uphold, both by the Federal Endangered Species Act and the Federal Clean Water Act. Mr. Godley testified that he had to perform 210 hours of additional field work after the Water Management District had issued an “intent to permit” ruling, meaning that they believed that all necessary work had been completed to issue a valid permit. This was clearly not the case. It was not until Dr. Blanco filed a permit challenge, which initiated this legal proceeding, that Mr. Godley finally did the required work, which should have been done before the “intent to permit” ruling, on ALL of the land sites listed in the petition. These facts made this Environmental Resource Permit invalid, and the ensuing permit challenge anything but frivolous. To top it off, the Judge ruled that Dr. Blanco should be forced to pay Mr. Godley’s fees, instead of Newland Homes, in which it was Newland Homes who had hired this known fraud named Mr. Steve Godley to perform this work required by Federal laws, in order to obtain this permit. Dr. Blanco was essentially punished for being a whistle-blower and exposing this crime in a Court of law!

(3.) On page 22, the Water Management Districts determine the hydroperiod as being “the duration and range of elevation of inundation in a wetland.” However, multiple “expert witnesses” had no clue of how low the water table levels were beneath the surface of wetlands during drought periods. They only wanted to discuss and use scientific data about the water table level during the high-water period. They even denied that these wetlands would actually be true wetlands if their water tables were so far beneath the ground during the drought periods. Why should anyone trust how “high” they claim the water table levels were during the rainy season? Either the experts knew or didn’t know what the water table levels were throughout the various seasons of the year. By not knowing the true water table levels and not plotting in this correct scientific data within their computer models, the results of the modeling is inaccurate and clearly in error. However the Court still recognizes them as “Experts,” and accepts the falsified results of their computer models.

(4.) On page 22, the Water Management Districts determine that wetlands should always be considered “impervious land” because they assume that standing water is always on these wetlands, 24/7/365. They even go out of their way to determine that wetlands have the same permeability as an asphalt parking lot, which was testified to in this case. In reality, wetlands are often totally dry for months at a time, meaning that computer models will produce inaccurate predictions for the real world. We have, in our possession, scientific proof that the wetland on Dr. Blanco’s property repeatedly went from having the water table level being several feet below ground to multiple feet above ground in a very short span of time, which disproves Mr. Brian Surak’s statements and the Southwest Florida Water Management’s ICPR data of wetlands being “impervious land.” Dr. Blanco’s wetland is adjacent to the wetland on the subject property being considered as part of the Environmental Resource Permit in this case, and both wetlands will likely have identical water measurement data.

On May 30, 2001, the water table in Dr. Blanco’s wetland was over five feet below the surface. In one and a half months, the water table level was declared by the governmental agency of Tampa Bay Water to be over a foot above the surface of the wetland.  How did it do this if the land is impermeable?!  This is over six feet of water permeability,  and yet the scientists lie in their computer models and say that this isn’t so! And then they charge the whistle-blower, Dr. Octavio Blanco, with almost half of a million dollars worth of debt for pointing out this fact in a Court of law!

Another example was on May 29, 2002, the water table level within Dr. Blanco’s swamp was five feet below ground level, and yet only six weeks later, on July 9, 2002, the water table level was declared by the governmental agency, Tampa Bay Water, to be around two feet above the surface of the wetland.   How did it do this if the land is impermeable?!  This is approximately seven feet of water permeability, and yet the scientists lie in their computer models and say that this isn’t so! And then they charge the whistle-blower, Dr. Octavio Blanco, with almost half of a million dollars worth of debt for pointing out this fact in a Court of law!

A third example was on June 29, 2009, when the water table level was four feet below ground. In just 18 days, the water table level was over two and a half feet above ground, according to the governmental agency of Tampa Bay Water!  How did it do this if the land is impermeable?!  This is about seven feet of water permeability in just 18 days, and yet the scientists lie in their computer models and say that this isn’t so! And then they charge the whistle-blower, Dr. Octavio Blanco, with almost half of a million dollars worth of debt for pointing out this fact in a Court of law!

…….This all boils down to lying and thieving people within our courthouses when a whistle-blower like Dr. Octavio Blanco points out these many discrepancies within a Court case, and yet he gets financially punished around half of a million dollars for exposing their obvious crimes!

The records from the governmental agency of Tampa Bay Water can be found within the tabs section of this website for your perusal.

(5.) On page 24, the Water Management Districts determine that a “permit area” is “the area where works occur as part of an activity requiring a permit,” and yet the environmental engineer, Mr. Steve Godley, admitted in the fee hearing transcript on Page 35, Lines 11-25 that he never performed critical, required work before the permit was challenged by Dr. Blanco:

MS. MARGARET LYTLE-CRAIG: “Was Biological Research Associates asked to provide services to NNP-Bexley in support of litigation and the challenge to NNP-Bexley’s environmental resources permit filed by Dr. Blanco?”

STEVE GODLEY: “Yes.”

MS. MARGARET LYTLE-CRAIG: “What service did you provide?”

STEVE GODLEY: “There were broad ranges of services, because of the nature of the petition; it was a broad petition. We’re environmental consultants, and this was an E.R.P. permit, so the range of issues that we had to deal with were everything related to either wetlands or wildlife, hydrology of wetlands, et cetera. So the range of services included a field review.   Because I had not been to all of the sites that had been named in the petition…(Permit Area)…I had to go to the field.”

….Mr. Steve Godley admits that the “petition area,” as defined in the Environmental Resource Permit Applicant’s Handbook, Volume I, was never thoroughly examined to ensure that there were no endangered species present to satisfy both state and Federal laws. This actually includes the study of wetlands, hydrology of wetlands, and the complete and thorough search for any evidence of the presence or absence of endangered, protected wildlife. When Mr. Steve Godley confessed that he: “had not been to all of the sites that had been named in the petition,” and that he “had to go to the field,” for an additional 210 hours of field research and studies for these “forgotten” areas that he had ignored before the permit challenge, this permit should have been deemed invalid, and NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes should have forfeited their right to their permit.

Instead, NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes Communities demanded their right to their permit, and in addition, were rewarded by the Judge with exorbitant financial sanctions against Dr. Blanco.

This is an example of just one of many corporations getting away with obvious, multiple, egregious violations of state and Federal laws here in the state of Florida and getting away with it because of complicit, corrupt state governmental agencies!

The following testimony can be found on page 85 of this Court document, Lines 3-17. Mr. Steve Godley is responding to Ms. Margaret Lytle-Craig:

MR. STEVE GODLEY: “Newland Communitites is also one of our clients as is–are the large residential landowners or most of them, or the developers I should say in the Tampa Bay area.

“Subsequently we became involved and performed all the environmental analysis as part of the DRI proceedings and–and the development orders that Ms. Brewer mentioned. We also worked with Heidt & Associates on developing and submitting the site conditions assessment permit, the Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit and the ERP for this particular case.

In addition to those activities we have also worked with Pasco County, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to obtain approvals in regards to listed species. And so at this point it’s been a soup to nuts experience.”

….Mr. Steve Godley admitted that it was his company that was hired to perform the field work for NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes Communities BEFORE Dr. Blanco challenged the Environmental Resource Permit. Mr. Godley testified that he, “had not been to all of the sites that had been named in the petition.” This fact led him to perform an additional 210 hours of extra field work after the Southwest Florida Water Management District had already determined that the necessary studies had been completed to warrant issuance of an Environmental Resource Permit. Clearly, this was an invalid and incomplete permit that should have NEVER been granted, and Dr. Blanco should not have been financially sanctioned for pointing out this fact in Court.

As was mentioned by Mr. Godley, he described wetlands and hydrology as being part of his expertise and duties, but that there were many sites that he had never even studied. Clearly, this violates Florida Statute 373, which is overseen by the Federal Clean Water Act, which regulates wetlands, and the authorities should investigate the potential violation of this Federal law. The Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit was granted with the same incomplete evaluation of Federally protected lands and animal species, meaning that it should be just as invalid, as the Southwest Florida Water Management District Environmental Resource Permit. Section 404, (H.), (1.), (a.), (II.) states that a Federal permit can be revoked if it was obtained, “by misrepresentation, or failure to disclose fully all relevant facts.”

This Army Corps of Engineers regulation can be found on page 3 of the following website:

http://www.usace.army.mil/portals/2/docs/civilworks/regulatory/materials/cwa_sec404doc.pdf

(6.) In 3.3.2.2, subsection (c): Alteration, Maintenance, and Operation:
(c.) “Addition of, or changes to an existing project that will result in changes in the rate, volume, or timing of discharges; the point or points of discharge; increased pollutant loading; or that intrude into or otherwise adversely affect wetlands or other surface waters by activities such as rim ditching, draining, filling, or excavation.”

…..The environmental engineers in this case testified that they did not know what the water table level in the wetlands was throughout the year. How could they possibly know the effect of this project on changes in the rate, volume, or timing of discharges? Their computer models are inaccurate to the point of being absurd. Also, it is not just water pollutants that get into the wetlands. Smoke from wildfires will send the element mercury into both the air and water, which will initially impact wildlife, and eventually affect humans, as is illustrated from the following quotes from this website:

Mercury

“Mercury is an element that cannot be created nor destroyed by humans.9 This naturally occurring element is found in the earth’s surface and is often used in devices such as thermometers. When the element is burned it transforms into a vapor and can be deposited in lakes and streams where the element can build up in fish, making them highly toxic.9 If these fish are eaten, the effects can be lethal to babies and animals. Coal and gold mines, as well as other industries, are often cited as being producers of mercury pollution.9 Yet, wildfires, although rarely mentioned, are major producers of mercury pollution.

“Another recent NCAR study looked at the amount of mercury pollution wildfires produce. The study explained that plants store mercury in their leaves and needles and when burned the needles and leaves release “nearly all the mercury they had stored—from 94% to 99%.”10 The study concluded that wildfires spewed mercury pollution into the air “at up to 800 tons per year…”10 Coal-fired plants, currently the main focus point of reducing mercury pollution, produce a substantially smaller 41 tons per year.10 This means that wildfires produce nearly 20 times more mercury pollution than U.S. coal-fired plants produce annually.

 

http://www.smokedbear.com/pollution-its-spreading-like-wildfire/

 

Pollutants, including mercury, should be considered within this law. Mercury goes into the fish and is consumed by humans. The mercury comes from wildfires burning down vegetation that gets into the food supply.

Why don’t the Water Management Districts take all of this into consideration when they are permitting their projects? Smoke from wildfires is a Federally regulated pollutant, as is mercury.

(7.) On page 63 of the Applicant’s Handbook, in 6.1.2.1, it states: “General Permits–The Construction phase of a general permit is five years and cannot be extended. If construction activities have not been completed within that five year period, a new notice of intent to use the applicable general permit must be submitted.”

It has been five years since the permit was granted and absolutely nothing has been built on their property. The Judge presiding in this case decided NOT to grant Dr. Blanco the opportunity to have a Ph.D. university professor, Dr. Mark Rains, the opportunity to testify on his behalf because it would have delayed the hearing by a mere three weeks so as to allow Dr. Rains to return to Florida from Alaska where he was working. These three weeks meant nothing to Newland Homes Communities since five years later, absolutely nothing has been built. However, these three weeks meant a total of almost half a million dollars of debt to Dr. Blanco. Where is the justice in this scenario?

(8.) On page 73 of the Applicant’s Handbook, in 7.2.5, the agencies are instructed to revoke permits if it is discovered that a petitioner has submitted inaccurate information to receive the permit. Mr. Brian Surak admits to not knowing the true water table level of the wetland and used inaccurate data within his computer model. Mr. Steve Godley admitted to never having performed crucial and required field work before the permit was challenged and was forced to do an extra 210 hours of work in order to comply with permit requirements. However, this is illegal because all work must have been performed before the permit was available to be challenged. All of the attorneys and the Judge heard Mr. Godley confess that he had not performed this work, and yet the permit was still granted. Effective immediately, this developer’s permit should be revoked, and Dr. Blanco should be refunded by the state of Florida all monies stolen from him.

(9.) On page 76 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 8.2.5, off-site storage and conveyance of water resources must not be altered. How can this project guarantee this outcome when it is proven in Court that the project engineers do not know the true water table levels of the wetlands and use inaccurate scientific data within their computer models?

(10.) On page 76 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 8.2.6, the petitioner must give reassurance that base flows and levels will not be compromised on adjacent wetlands, but how can this be reassured when the engineers are uninformed of the true water table level of these wetlands?

(11.) On page 79 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.1, the rules stipulate that there can be NO net loss of wetlands or their functions. Once again, with already lowered water table levels in the wetlands, caused by drought conditions–which are never taken into consideration by the engineers–how can this goal be assured when the engineers are uninformed of the true water table levels of the wetlands as they plot in their scientific data into their computer models?

(12.) On page 79 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.1.1, subsection (a): “A regulated activity will not adversely impact the value of functions provided to fish and wildlife and listed species by wetlands and other surface waters.”

How can fish thrive in a wetland when the water table level is below the surface of the ground?  There is no water for them to live in!  How can wildlife drink water when the water table level is below the surface of the ground? Mr. Brian Surak, who was the supervising engineer of the Newland Homes land development project testified that, “I would challenge the District and the Corps that it isn’t a wetland if there’s water 3 feet below the surface.” This testimony can be found in Volume 1, on page 51, Lines 11-13 of the Court transcript. The wetland referred to in this testimony is on Dr. Blanco’s property and lies immediately adjacent to the proposed Newland development. Data compiled by Tampa Bay Water indicates that the water table has been at least 3 feet below ground level in this wetland many times over the years. It has been, and continues to this day, to be officially considered a functional wetland by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. In addition, Mr. Steve Godley admitted under oath that he never went out to several land development sites, so how can wildlife be protected when it was NEVER even studied?

(13.) On page 79 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.1.1, subsection (b), it states: “A regulated activity located in, on, or over wetlands or other surface waters will not be contrary to the public interest, or if such an activity significantly degrades or is located within an Outstanding Florida Water, that the regulated activity will be clearly within the public interest.”

How can smoke from wildfires, which is called “fine particulate matter” under the Federal Environmental Protection Agency not be considered “within the public interest test?” How can the toxin mercury, which is released during wildfires not be considered “within the public interest test?” These are deadly situations that can directly impact your neighborhood, yet they were forbidden to be discussed by the Judge in this proceeding.

(14.) On page 79, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.1.1, subsection (c): “A regulated activity will not adversely affect the quality of receiving waters.” How are receiving waters not adversely affected from increased levels of mercury from wildfires? Also, once again, when the environmental engineers do not know the water table levels of the land, how are they able to accurately predict the quality of the receiving waters from an adjacent wetland?

(15.) On page 80, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.1.1, subsection (f): They cannot cause secondary impacts to wetlands.

Obviously, if primary impacts are occurring to wetlands due to scientific misconduct of falsification of data, then both secondary and tertiary impacts will occur. Who knows when and if the domino effect will stop, as long as a state agency, such as the Water Management District, chooses to ignore true and valid scientific studies, and instead encourages developers to use shortcuts and meaningless computer models.

(16.) On page 80, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.1.1, subsection (g): “A regulated activity will not cause unacceptable cumulative impacts upon wetlands and other surface waters.”

Cumulative, by definition, means increasing in size by successive additions. The excavation of a 30-acre hole in the ground immediately adjacent to a wetland, which has been known to be dehydrated many times in the past is clearly an, “unacceptable cumulative impact,” which violates this subsection. This excavation would cause an additional new risk for water to be drawn down from an already fragile wetland, which has been struggling to hang on.

(17.) On page 80, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.1: “Protection of wetlands and other surface waters is preferred to destruction and mitigation due to the temporal loss of ecological value and uncertainty regarding the ability to recreate certain functions associated with these features.”

It has been shown in our court documents that both Ms. Rhonda Brewer and Mr. Rick Mortenson were complicit in admitting that this excavation of 30 acres was being dug in order to produce free fill dirt worth millions of dollars to Newland Homes Communities. As a matter of fact, the hole in the ground could have gone as deep as 10-12 feet in order to find free fill dirt before the layer of sand was diminished and a useless layer of clay was breached. Mr. Brian Surak states on Page 78, Lines 1-4 and on Page 79, Lines 5-10, when asked the following question by Dr. Blanco:

DR. BLANCO: “So would the rest of that excavation be for purposes of fill, get fill material?”

MR. BRIAN SURAK: “Absolutely not.”

DR. BLANCO: “Then what’s the rest of it for?”

MR. BRIAN SURAK: “For wetland creation. That is a–that pond is–the sole reason for that pond being there is the wetland creation to mitigate for on-site wetland impacts. The secondary benefit of it is floodplain compensation, but the primary reason for that pond is wetland mitigation

…..How can Mr. Brian Surak state with a straight face that absolutely NO fill dirt would leave the site of the excavation when both Ms. Rhonda Brewer and Mr. Rick Mortenson stated that it was all about free fill dirt for Newland Homes Communities, in the cost of millions of dollars?

It appears that this 30-acre hole in the ground just feet from a natural wetland is all about the “dollar signs” that it represents, and not about protecting wetlands, like 10.2.1 demands for natural wetlands to be protected before they are destroyed and replaced by artificial, man-made created wetlands, which very likely may never even function nearly as well as the original, natural wetland.

(18.) On page 80, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.1.1, it states that the applicant must consider: “if the proposed activity will cause impacts to wetland functions and other surface water functions…then the Agency in determining whether to grant or deny a permit shall consider whether the applicant has implemented practicable design modifications to reduce or eliminate such adverse impacts.

“The term ‘modification’ shall not be construed as including the alternative of not implementing the activity in some form, nor shall it be construed as requiring a project that is significantly different in type or function. A proposed modification that is not technically capable of being completed, is not economically viable, or that adversely affects public safety through the endangerment of lives or property is not considered ‘practicable.’ A proposed modification need not remove all economic value of the property in order to be considered ‘not practicable.’ Conversely, a modification need not provide the highest and best use of the property to be ‘practicable.’ In determining whether a proposed modification is practicable, consideration shall also be given to the cost of the modification compared to the environmental benefit it achieves.”

…..Public safety, animal safety, and environmental safety would all be potentially harmed by this excavation. Newland Homes Communities has no right to impose their economic goals upon us at the expense of our public safety and public health. They are not allowed to make money at the cost of our lives.

(19.) On page 81, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.1.3, it states: “Should such mutual consideration of modification and mitigation not result in a permittable activity, the agency must deny the application”

Considering everything that we have exposed on this website, why is it that the Southwest Florida Water Management District has not already denied and revoked the permit that they gave to NNP-Bexley and Newland Homes Communities? Further, why do all five of the Water Management Districts in Florida continue to illegally approve permits, which provide large profits for wealthy developers, instead of protecting the citizens and environment, that they should be representing? After all, everyone who pays taxes in the state of Florida is required to fund these agencies that supposedly are protecting you and your families, instead of catering to private companies seeking to maximize wealth regardless of the impact to others.

(20.) On page 81, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.2, it states: “An applicant must provide reasonable assurances that a regulated activity will not impact the values of wetland and other surface water functions so as to cause adverse impacts to: (a) The abundance and diversity of fish, wildlife, listed species, and the bald eagle.”

…..The values of the wetlands will obviously deteriorate dramatically when a useless and needless 30-acre pit is dug right next to a wetland. This wetland was already damaged due to drought conditions and excessive pumping from municipal wellfields in the vicinity, which routinely lowered its water table several feet below surface ground level. Two out of three witnesses admitted under oath that this 30-acre excavated pit was only there to provide free fill dirt for the land developer, giving them millions of dollars worth of construction dirt. This wetland is very likely to suffer adverse impacts due to this project, which is clearly in violation of 10.2.2. Water Management Districts must enforce the rules that are in place, or seek to change these rules if their agenda continues to be placing the needs of developers ahead of the public that they should be protecting.

(21.) On page 81, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.2, it also states: “An applicant must provide reasonable assurances that a regulated activity will not impact the values of wetland and other surface water functions so as to cause adverse impacts to: (b) “The habitat of fish, wildlife, and listed species.”

…..When the habitat of fish, wildlife, and listed species is destroyed from this useless and needless 30-acre hole in the ground right next to a viable, yet struggling wetland, then these protected species of animals are very likely to be adversely impacted, in violation of this rule.

(22.) Also, on page 81, of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.2, subsection (b), it states: “As part of the assessment of the impacts of regulated activities upon fish and wildlife, the Agency will provide a copy of all notices of applications for individual (including conceptual approval) permits that propose regulated activities in, on or over wetlands or other surface waters to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for review and comment, in accordance with section 20.331(10), F.S. In addition, Agency staff may solicit comments from the FWC regarding other applications to assist in the assessment of potential impacts to fish and wildlife and their habitats, particularly with regard to listed species.”

Let’s ask any and every governmental environmental protection agency at both the state and Federal level to inspect Mr. Steve Godley and how he never even went out to several land sites on the 1,700 acres of land that were to be evaluated for endangered species and hydrologic conditions of multiple wetlands! Let’s definitely call upon all higher levels of governmental agencies to do a thorough investigation of how all of these laws and rules have allegedly been violated! The fish, wildlife, their habitats, and public safety must be protected with an open and transparent investigation being conducted regarding all aspects of this Court case!

(23.) On page 83 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.2.4, subsection (a), it states: “An applicant must provide reasonable assurance that the regulated activity will not change the hydroperiod of a wetland or other surface water, so as to adversely affect wetland functions or other surface water functions, as follows:

“(a) Whenever portions of a system, such as constructed basins, structures, stormwater ponds, canals, and ditches, could have the effect of reducing the depth, duration, or frequency of inundation or saturation in a wetland or other surface water, the applicant must perform an analysis of the drawdown in water levels or diversion of water flows resulting from such activities and provide reasonable assurance that these drawdowns or diversions will not adversely impact the functions that wetlands and other surface waters provide to fish and wildlife and listed species.”

…..Mr. Brian Surak does not know the true water table level of the wetland and that the level could be three or more feet below the ground, so how does he know that the 30-acre excavation will not further drawdown the water level of this wetland? The applicant did not perform any kind of “an analysis of the drawdown in water levels or diversion of water flows resulting from such activities and provide reasonable assurance that these drawdowns or diversions will not adversely impact the functions that wetlands and other surface waters provide to fish and wildlife and listed species,” as required by 10.2.2.4, subsection (a). This was a clear violation of a rule that Water Management Districts are required to enforce. The project engineer, who was working for the developer, did not attempt to perform any type of analysis, whatsoever. During rain events, the wetland will have standing water, but the wetland will have to now share its water supply with the 30-acre newly created wetland. During the dry season and periods of drought, the wetland will not retain all of the water that it once did, due to the 30-acre hole in the ground now parasitically living off of the water supply, by draining away water that would have remained in the wetland before any excavation had occurred. The wetland will now be even more dry and prone to dying all because of a useless and needless 30-acre hole in the ground that Newland Homes desires in order to provide themselves with free fill dirt.

(24.) On pages 83 and 84 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.3, it states: “Public Interest Test:

“In determining whether a regulated activity located in, on, or over wetlands or other surface waters is not contrary to the public interest, or if such an activity significantly degrades or is within an Outstanding Florida Water, that the regulated activity is clearly in the public interest, the Agency shall consider and balance, and the applicant must address the following criteria:

“(a) Whether the regulated activity will adversely affect the public health, safety, or welfare, or the property of others

“(b) Whether the regulated activity will adversely affect the conservation of fish and wildlife, including endangered and threatened species, or their habitats.”

….Because of the severe drawdown in the water table level within the adjacent wetland that this 30-acre hole in the ground would produce, it is reasonable to conclude that wildlife will pay the price by having their habitats “adversely affected.” The wetland on Dr. Blanco’s property is immediately adjacent to this excavation area, and it should be protected according to 10.2.3., subsection (a). There was no effort in this court case or during the entire permitting process to ensure the protection of Dr. Blanco’s wetland, which directly led to his challenge of the permit in this proceeding. This permit is clearly “contrary to the public interest,” due to it being part of the cumulative impact of the illegal granting of environmental permits, which has led to an increased risk of both sinkholes and wildfires throughout Florida.

(25.) On pages 84 and 85 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.2.3.1, it states: “Public Health, Safety, or Welfare, or the Property of Others:

“In reviewing and balancing the criterion regarding public health, safety, welfare and the property of others…the Agency will evaluate whether the regulated activity located in, on, or over wetlands or other surface waters will cause:

“(e) Environmental impacts to the property of others. For example, construction of a ditch that lowers the water table such that off-site wetlands or other surface waters would be partly or fully drained would be an environmental impact to the property of others.”

…..The construction of the 30-acre excavated area will further drawdown water table levels by draining water that would have otherwise remained in the immediately adjacent wetland, as well as being an extra reservoir for receiving waters, that would have reached the wetland if they had not been intercepted by this unnecessary, man-made hole in the ground. Neighboring wetlands would also have retained water for longer periods of time, especially during drought episodes. This is especially important when considering 10.2.3.1., because surface water is critical to prevent the oxidation and subsequent loss of the hydric soils, which by definition, must be present for land to be considered a functional wetland. Each day that the surface of the wetland remains dry is another day that the essential hydric soils continue to be lost forever. Somehow, the Water Management District continues to ignore their own rules, and in fact, vigorously assist land developers in their pursuit of these illegal permits. Attorneys for the District were proven, in this court case, to demand that a private citizen, such as Dr. Blanco, must be punished for daring to suggest that both state and Federal laws should be enforced.

Also, since public safety, health, and welfare are being specifically addressed, shouldn’t Florida Statute 403 be discussed and the effects of Air pollution, specifically smoke from wildfires, be considered as a threat to public safety, health, and welfare?

(26.) On page 104 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.3.1, it states: “Restoration is usually preferred over creation as it often has a greater chance of success due to soil characteristics, hydrologic regime, landscape position, or other factors that favor reestablishment of wetland or other surface water communities.”

The Water Management Districts state that created wetlands are less likely to succeed than restored wetlands. This permit, as granted, is likely to kill both the created wetland and the existing wetland. The only benefit gained by the excavation of this land, immediately adjacent to a protected fragile wetland, is the financial and economic benefit to the land developer for mining free fill dirt to construct their homes and roads and businesses. The wetland in question was clearly not protected by the permitting agency in this case, namely the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Ultimately, everyone except the land developer loses!

(27.) On pages 106-107 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.3.3.2, subsection (k), it states: “Applicants shall submit detailed plans describing proposed construction, establishment, and management of mitigation areas. These plans shall include the following information, as appropriate for the type of mitigation proposed:

“(k) A management plan comprising all aspects of operation and maintenance, including water management practices, vegetation establishment, exotic and nuisance species control, fire management, and control of access.”

…..The Environmental Resource Permit Applicant’s Handbook, Volume I, clearly states that fire must be considered, and should have been allowed to be discussed in Court that day!

(28.) On pages 106-107 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.3.3.2, subsection (n), it states: “Applicants shall submit detailed plans describing proposed construction, establishment, and management of mitigation areas. These plans shall include the following information, as appropriate for the type of mitigation proposed:

“(n) A description of anticipated site conditions in and around the mitigation area after the mitigation plan is successfully implemented.”

…..How can there be a true and honest description of anticipated site conditions after the excavation is constructed when there is inaccurate and false scientific data put into the computer model of the pre-development conditions?

(29.) On pages 106-107 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.3.3.2, subsection (o), it states: “Applicants shall submit detailed plans describing proposed construction, establishment, and management of mitigation areas. These plans shall include the following information, as appropriate for the type of mitigation proposed:

“(o) A comparison of current fish and wildlife habitat to expected habitat after the mitigation plan is successfully implemented.”

…..When the environmental engineer, Mr. Steve Godley, confessed under oath that he had never even been to several of the land sites, then how could it ever even be possible to know this information, which must be included for the permit to be approved and granted? If Dr. Blanco had not challenged the legality of the permit, the fatal flaw regarding Mr. Steve Godley’s work would never have been exposed to the light of day!! This fact, alone, is sufficient to make this Environmental Resource Permit completely invalid. Somehow, the Water Management District, decided to ignore this violation of the law, and they issued the permit anyway. Further, the Judge heard all of this testimony and not just ruled that the permit should be granted, but also that extreme financial sanctions should be levied against Dr. Octavio Blanco as a clear punishment to him and all others that might choose to exercise their Constitutional First Amendment Rights to petition the government, in an effort to enforce the laws of the land.

(30.) On page 107 of the Applicant’s Handbook, under 10.3.4, it states: “If applicable, applicants shall monitor the progress of mitigation areas until success can be demonstrated…”

…..Mr. Brian Surak was the project engineer in this case and would be the professional, responsible for assuring that 10.3.4 is properly enforced. His testimony in this court proceeding clearly demonstrates that he has not carried out this duty in the many other projects that he has already concluded. The following testimony can be found beginning on page 71, line 10:

DR. OCTAVIO BLANCO: “Are you familiar with any other excavated floodplain sites nearby?”

MR. BRIAN SURAK: “I’m familiar with a lot of the ponds that I’ve designed and been around design in the area, sure.”

DR. BLANCO: “Okay. And from that experience, would you be able to say if they tend to stay wet over half the year?”

MR. SURAK: “Designed ponds?”

DR. BLANCO: “The floodplain compensation areas, like for the–in these areas, created wetlands, like if you wanted to create a wetland?”

MR. SURAK: “A created wetland?”

DR. BLANCO: “Yes. What percentage of the time, if you can, would you estimate that they’d have water?”

MR. SURAK: “I couldn’t estimate that. I mean I–I will say that there are periods where created wetlands do go through–I mean dry–”

DR. BLANCO: “But you have no idea what part of the year that would be, what–”

MR. SURAK: “Well, I know the dry season of the year is–late spring.”

DR. BLANCO: “I meant percentage. Let’s say 365 days, would it be 180 days?”

MR. SURAK: “I couldn’t give you a–”

DR. BLANCO: “No idea? Okay.”

Mr. Surak, the project engineer in this case and many others in the past, states that he was familiar with multiple properties in the area that involved excavating ponds and creating wetlands. Unfortunately, he was completely clueless as to what percentage of the time that these created wetlands had water. How could the Judge in this case, the Water Management District lawyers present in the courtroom, as well as any other rational, intelligent person believe that Mr. Surak was in any way likely to carry out the requirements of 10.3.4? The obvious answer is that only those with their own agendas would believe that this rule had any remote possibility of being enforced! Mr. Surak also seemed surprised that a wetland would still be considered a wetland if its water table level dropped to three feet below the surface of the ground. What type of expert project engineer of 75 land development projects does not even know that wetlands can have their water table levels lowered by much more than three feet below ground surface level, and still be legally considered to be functional wetlands? How can an individual, such as this, be trusted to monitor created wetlands to ensure that they succeed and that the established wetlands are stable and healthy?

In conclusion, we at “dangertoeveryoneinflorida.org,” believe that we have provided extremely strong and convincing evidence, including sworn court testimony documents and outside links to information, proving our allegations are true that multiple laws–at least 40– have been violated here in the state of Florida!