ALABAMA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 11 S. UNION STREET, MONTGOMERY ALABAMA 36130 REP. JOHNNY Mack MORROW District No. 18 STATE House: 334-242-7698 1895 HIGHWAY 25 256-356-8043 Rep BAY, ALABAMA 35582 December 8, 2015 H. Lanier Brown,ILEsq. Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart, L.LP. Three Protective Center, Suite 200 2801 Hwy. 280 5. Birmingham, AL 35223 Dear Chairman Brown and Commissioners: The Alabama Environment Management Commission (AEMC) has an extremely important vote forthcoming that could impact the course of history for your Commission and Alabama. | think itis imperative for AEMC to have a historical perspective. The time period was the 1950's. The place was Phil Campbell, a rural community in Northwest Alabama. ‘My parents owned a small farm located a few miles southeast of town. Cotton was a crop grown on the farm and Boll Weevil control was critical. At the young age of 12, one afternoon I cranked my MT John Deere tractor and drove to Camp's Feed and Seed Store to pick up a supply of toxaphene (which has an EPA classification of Group 82, probable human carcinogen) or ODT. | regularly used both to kill Boll Weevils that were capable of destroying our cotton crop. That night after dusting the crop, a large rain fell washing the pesticide into a large stream where | fished. The next day | went down to the stream and was astounded with what I saw. Millions of dead fish were floating in the stream where | fished. This was a defining moment in my life when | witnessed the massive destruction that | had caused. Why did millions of fish have to die? | realized that something was very wrong with this even at this impressionable young age - 1am now 73 years old serving in the Alabama Legislature representing House District 18. | have served in this capacity for the past 25 years. During the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's, we witnessed the destruction of beautiful landscapes and the pollution of our environment in Alabama at a rate that was unimaginable. As a child, traveling with my Mom and Dad to Birmingham, | remember the offensive smell of Birmingham long before we arrived.Later as a graduate student working on my MBA at Samford University from 1968-1970, | recall Birmingham radio stations issuing Air Pollution reports warning the elderly and others with health issues to not go outside because the air was not safe to breathe. Growing up in Phil Campbell, my family had practically no household garbage. The garbage that we did have, we would find some alternate use. This did change and I remember that we found ourselves looking for places to dispose of household garbage. Our society was moving towards a "throw-a-way" society in which we live today. Legal dumping areas were not available to families living in rural areas and rural communities. Our beautiful landscapes and environment were deteriorated when families dumped household garbage. Our pristine streams were, at the same time, being destroyed as silt from construction projects, strip mining, farming, timber harvesting, and other activities began filling them. During the last half of the 20th century we destroyed God's beautiful earth more so than all generations before us. This had to stoplil | am a firm believer in Free Market Economic Systems. The natural market forces of supply and demand will not prevent the destruction of our environment. Businesses operating in a free market will invest money if there is a potential to make more money. This is what makes our free enterprise system work. Businesses will not, in that same free enterprise system, spend money in order to have a clean environment or to control pollution. Government intervention was necessary. It is regrettable that government had to intervene, but our free enterprise simply was not working for environmental protection. Environmental legislation was passed to reverse the destruction, Itis sad that today that many of our politicians in Washington and Montgomery are less concerned about protecting our environment and more concerned about the following: + Improving my polling numbers. * Political posturing to get ready for the next election * Spinning an issue to improve their political mage. * Making Republicans or Democrats look bad. * Protecting individuals or businesses that gave money the last election cycle. ‘* Protecting individuals or businesses they hope will give money the next election cycle. Making sure that our children and grandchildren have a clean, pollution free Alabama has no Political Action committee. This issue makes no political contributions that will help politicians get reelected. To support this issue of a clean, pollution free Alabama, politicians would have to put this issue ahead of their reelection. That will not happen!Environmental legislation was passed to reverse the destruction of our environment. The Alabama Environment Management Commission was created by the Alabama Legislature to make certain that these laws were enforced. You are a member of this Commission. ‘The Alabama Legislature has the Constitutional responsibility to appropriate money to fund state ‘agencies. Legislative leadership has failed to do this as General Fund appropriations have decreased for ADEM dramatically over the past decade. Many of us who voted NO on the General Fund Budget did so because appropriations such as ADEM's were not addressed. Your Commission is to make certain that Environmental Laws are enforced. The Alabama Legislature was mandated by the Constitution to fund the enforcement of these laws. Legislative leadership failed to do that. Please do not let the failure of the Alabama Legislature force you into funding ADEM. This is the responsibility of the Legislature- not yours!!! (On December 18th, | respectfully ask that you vote No and send 2 message to the failed Legislative Leadership. Do not assume the responsibility of funding your agency. That is clearly the Legislature's Constitutional responsibility. Vote No for the 20% increase in permit fees. Thank you for your service to Alabama and thank you for allowing me to express my thoughts and ideas to you. Shere, | ( tN \ 3S \ Johnny Mack Morrow State Representative House District 18 JMM/mm,