Pollution in Fernandina Beach

[JBtwinz]

Originally Posted by Rainika

Thanks for the replies. Seems that the Mills smell bad but are not actually dangerous to health? When is the smell the worst, if it can be pinpointed. A certain season or time of day or day of the week? I am planning a visit sometime around the new year, would I be able to smell it at its worst then? I am hoping I can smell it for myself before making a decision about where to locate.

It has been mostly on the north end of the island and as said it is only for a bit during the Winter......and truthfully it has been non existent the last year or two.

I would say anything south of Atlantic......but even that is a bit too conservative.

We were really down about a year ago real estate wise.....but I think the days of of deals on the island have slowly disappeared. The rental market (availability) is very tight right now.

I am seeing those little sugar shack cottages along A1A slowly disappear to renovation or destruction for new homes with more frequency in the past 8 months......so it is coming back.

Good luck and welcome.

[wrigley615]

It's only a small sample but on a scouting trip to Fernandina in Oct. 2012, the only time we could smell the paper mills was when we were literally driving next to them. No where else on the island could an odor be detected and the mills were unseen from the majority of the island. They didn't bother me one bit.

[perryrip]

Folks, Up in Georgia we call that "smell" the smell of money!

perryrip

[Bufflehead]

Prior to moving here, we often visited Amelia Island at least twice a year.
At no point have I smelled the mill, unless of course driving adjacent to the site location.
And even then it smells, but it's a tolerable smell. Let me put it this way manure smells worst,
among other smells. The paper mills scent is on the lower scale of atrocious smells.

[Robyn55]

Just FWIW - even down here in PVB - we'll get a small smell of paper mills to the north when a really big cold front pushes down from the north. Haven't had one of those in a couple of years though.

FWIW - the coastal marshes in this part of the world can give off some unpleasant "natural" odors in the winter too. But I haven't smelled them in the last couple of years either. Maybe I'm losing my sense of smell ? Robyn

[squarpeg]

It is amazing how many different opinions people will post on the pollution issue. The fact is you can not offer a knowledgeable answer to this if you do not live in the effected area. A person visiting a time or two, or living out of the "zone" can not be expected to offer a good answer on this. Fernandina Beach has two giant paper mills located almost right downtown in what is called the historic district. This is on the north west side of the island. These industries are deeply ensconced in the community. They offer the community good paying jobs and lots of tax money in return you get a blast of noxious gas, an endless stream of log and chemical trucks running through your town. It is a heavy industry and all you have to do is look out across the bridge when coming to the island to see how ugly and dominant they are on the landscape. I hate them but at the same time I understand the benefits they offer and why many people are pro mill. First let me state that I live either at my home which is just a short walk to downtown, or on my boat which I keep at the marina right in town. For years I walked to work on Jasmine st. If you live in this area you will never forget you live next to a paper mill. The least offensive periods are in the summer because the summer wind usually blows light and from the east or west. During hot weather the island will get an onshore wind as the mainland heats up and this pulls all that pollution away from the island, hence no smell much of the time. In the evening as the land cools the wind will usually do a 180 and then the pollution is headed out towards the beach. If you look at a map and draw the paper mills in place, you can take a marker and draw the summer wind corridor just by drawing a line directly east and west from them. In the winter the wind is much more variable in strength and direction, I find a strong south west wind to be about the worst, sending a very toxic odor right into main street. It is at times very bad at the marina. I usually pick up and leave during those periods. You have to think of it a bit like standing around a campfire. If the smoke blows in your face you move. So yes there is significant pollution in downtown Fernandina, some are not bothered by it as much others, but if you live on the North end your going to get blasted at some point.
If you want to live on the island and not smell the mill I suggest living south of sadler ave or even along the beach is good. Putting that distance between you and the smoke stack really helps dissipate the odor, I can't actually recall ever smelling the mills down near the plantation and summer beach. You'd have to ask someone that lives there. You might ask why would I or anyone live on the north side? At the risk of offending some here, I don't actually think of areas south of Sadler as "Fernandina" that area is mostly developments and resort living, golf courses, fancy hotels. The north end of the island still feels like a small town, like a community. It has kids and families, it has poor people and wealthy people.It has racial diversity, whites, blacks and Latinos. It has cool old Victorian homes and cracker shacks, it has a town that still has a good hardware store, post office, library, friendly pubs and even a "freds" where you can find almost anything. All of this is a 5 minute walk, or a 40 minute walk to main beach. That is what the north end offers and the price you have to pay to live there is some paper mill stink. That is the deal. I think it is worth it. In the beginning these mills enraged me, I have softened on that to some degree because I realize that they are probably the only reason this little town has not been ruined by over development and the creeping menace of corporate resort life. If your looking for a real town hold your nose and come on down.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by squarpeg

If you want to live on the island and not smell the mill I suggest living south of sadler ave or even along the beach is good. Putting that distance between you and the smoke stack really helps dissipate the odor, I can't actually recall ever smelling the mills down near the plantation and summer beach. You'd have to ask someone that lives there. You might ask why would I or anyone live on the north side? At the risk of offending some here, I don't actually think of areas south of Sadler as "Fernandina" that area is mostly developments and resort living, golf courses, fancy hotels. The north end of the island still feels like a small town, like a community. It has kids and families, it has poor people and wealthy people.It has racial diversity, whites, blacks and Latinos. It has cool old Victorian homes and cracker shacks, it has a town that still has a good hardware store, post office, library, friendly pubs and even a "freds" where you can find almost anything. All of this is a 5 minute walk, or a 40 minute walk to main beach. That is what the north end offers and the price you have to pay to live there is some paper mill stink. That is the deal. I think it is worth it. In the beginning these mills enraged me, I have softened on that to some degree because I realize that they are probably the only reason this little town has not been ruined by over development and the creeping menace of corporate resort life. If your looking for a real town hold your nose and come on down.

I agree with everything you say, but quoted and bolded what resonated the most. Those mills employ people.

I'm just north of Sadler and don't get the mill smell as much as you do, but we definitely do periodically get it.

At one point I lived in another north Florida location (Port St Joe) where, in order to promote real estate development, a corporation managed to shut down both a paper mill as well as a chemical plant, and get a new airport built. Then the housing bubble popped, and everything stagnated. I wonder how they're doing now.

[centauri]

Just keep in mind that the locals will support the mills before they will support anything else. The mill's have been there long before the plantation and the ritz.