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From: "Rich Lesperance" <richl@uf*.ed*>
To: "Thomas Iliffe" <iliffet@ta*.ta*.ed*>
Cc: <HoustonCaveDivers@ca*.co*>, <cavers@cavers.com>
Subject: Re: U.S. Navy destroys caves!
Date: Sun, 7 May 2000 21:34:58 -0400
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Thomas,

I can't speak for the Navy, but I spent 12+ years in the army. From 1987 =
when I joined, until last year when I got out, there has been an =
incredible change in sensitivity to environmental issues.

When I first joined, no one thought anything strange about dumping used =
motor oil into a sewer.

Now, whole sections of maneuver areas are off-limits, or cannot be =
halted in, because of the presence of endangered species. Troops can =
receive an automatic article 15 (administrative punishment, possibly =
including loss of pay, confinement to barracks, and loss of rank) for =
dumping a can of used oil on the ground, or even for forgetting to put a =
'drip pan' under a vehicle with a slight leak.=20

Facilities returned to civilian use, after years of military use (and =
environmental abuse), had millions of dollars spent on them to remove =
traces of waste oil, hydraulic fluid, etc.

This is both inside of, and outside of, the US.

If you were to approach the Navy commander with the same offer to =
dispose of the oil waste, and he were to tell you today, that he'll just =
dynamite the cave, he would quickly find himself without a command after =
the congresspeople got through with him.

Rich L

  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Thomas Iliffe=20
  To: John Childress ; CaveTex@Ca*.ne*=20
  Cc: HoustonCaveDivers@ca*.co* ; cavers@cavers.com=20
  Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2000 8:32 AM
  Subject: Re: U.S. Navy destroys caves!


  At 06:13 AM 5/6/00 -0700, John Childress wrote:
  >     Check out this story about the U.S. Navy dumping raw sewage into
  >Bassett Cave in Bermuda.
  >
  >http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm
  >
  >John

  Some additional information on this cave is as follows:

  BASSETT'S CAVE, SANDYS PARISH
  Nelson (1840) depicted Bassett's Cave in his descriptions of Bermuda's
  caverns: "The largest and, geologically speaking, the most instructive
  [cave in Bermuda], is Basset's, near Somerset bridge.  It is said to =
extend
  for more than a mile; but the first few hundred yards of toilsome =
progress
  usually satisfies the curiosity of the majority of its visitors.  It =
seems
  to be comparatively recent, from the fresh state of its surfaces, and =
the
  small quantity of stalactite observable; this absence of incrustation,
  however, renders the origin of this cavern very palpable; namely, the
  undermining of the substrata by the sea, the waters or which lie in =
pools
  at the bottom."
  Lloyd (1835) mentions the first and only known caving fatality in
  Bermuda's history in this cave: "Near the sea-shore, I visited a large
  cavern called Basset's Cave; the entrance is wide, and lies quite =
exposed:
  after proceeding a little way, we came upon a spring of deep water, in
  which an unfortunate young man lately drowned himself.  He had been =
missing
  for some days when his body was discovered by a favorite dog."
  A calcite-covered skull and beak of a seabird, the Strickland's
  shearwater, was collected from Bassett's Cave in 1907 (Shufeldt, =
1916).
  Bassett's Cave, located on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Air Station
  Annex, is being used as a natural cesspit by the base for disposal of =
raw
  sewage and waste fuel oil.  Sea level pools within the cave are =
covered by
  a half a meter or more oil, rising and falling with the tides. =20

  From: Iliffe, T.M. (1993).  Speleological history of Bermuda.  Acta
  Carsologica, 22(4):114-135.

  I visited Bassett's Cave in the mid 1980's and saw large pipes =
carrying raw
  sewage and waste oil into the cave.  This foul effluent ran down =
across the
  rocks in the cave before disappearing under a lake of oil.  The walls =
of
  the cave showed a "bathtub ring" of oil that was left by the receding =
tide
  on the otherwise white limestone walls.  The oil in this lake was so =
thick
  that no water could be seen beneath it.  I discussed this pollution =
problem
  with the owner of a local hotel that was set up to burn waste oil of =
any
  type in the boilers.  They offered to pump this oil of the cave and =
dispose
  of it at now charge.  When I approached the commander of the Navy Base =
with
  this offer, he turned it down.  He said that before the property would =
be
  returned to Bermuda, some explosives would be found to bring down the =
roof
  of the cave.  He was far more interested in covering up the problem =
than
  cleaning it up.

  Tom Iliffe=20


  At 06:13 AM 5/6/00 -0700, John Childress wrote:
  >     Check out this story about the U.S. Navy dumping raw sewage into
  >Bassett Cave in Bermuda.
  >
  >http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm
  >
  >John

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
  *  Dr. Thomas M. Iliffe                       *
  *  Department of Marine Biology               *
  *  Texas A&M University at Galveston          *
  *  Galveston, TX  77553-1675                  *
  *  Phone: 409 740-4454  Fax: 409 740-5001     *
  *  E-mail: iliffet@ta*.ta*.ed*             *
  *  http://www.marinebiology.edu/iliffe.html   *
  *  http://www.cavebiology.com                 *
  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=3DGENERATOR>
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</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Thomas,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>I can't speak for the Navy, but I spent 12+ years in =
the army.=20
From 1987 when I joined, until last year when I got out, there has been =
an=20
incredible change in sensitivity to environmental issues.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>When I first joined, no one thought anything strange =
about=20
dumping used motor oil into a sewer.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Now, w</FONT><FONT size=3D2>hole sections of =
maneuver areas are=20
off-limits, or cannot be halted in, because of the presence of =
endangered=20
species. Troops can receive an automatic article 15 (administrative =
punishment,=20
possibly including loss of pay, confinement to barracks, and loss of =
rank) for=20
dumping a can of used oil on the ground, or even for forgetting to put a =
'drip=20
pan' under a vehicle with a slight leak. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Facilities returned to civilian use, after years of =
military=20
use (and environmental abuse), had millions of dollars spent on them to =
remove=20
traces of waste oil, hydraulic fluid, etc.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>This is both inside of, and outside of, the =
US.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>If you were to approach the Navy commander with the =
same offer=20
to dispose of the oil waste, and he were to tell you today, that he'll =
just=20
dynamite the cave, he would quickly find himself without a command after =
the=20
congresspeople got through with him.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Rich L</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV=20
  style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
  <A href=3D"mailto:iliffet@ta*.ta*.ed*" =
title=3Diliffet@ta*.ta*.ed*>Thomas=20
  Iliffe</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href=3D"mailto:jwcave@we*.ne*"=20
  title=3Djwcave@we*.ne*>John Childress</A> ; <A=20
  href=3D"mailto:CaveTex@Ca*.ne*"=20
  title=3DCaveTex@Ca*.ne*>CaveTex@CaveTex.net</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A=20
  href=3D"mailto:HoustonCaveDivers@ca*.co*"=20
  =
title=3DHoustonCaveDivers@ca*.co*>HoustonCaveDivers@cavediver.com</=
A> ; <A=20
  href=3D"mailto:cavers@cavers.com" =
title=3Dcavers@cavers.com>cavers@cavers.com</A>=20
  </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, May 07, 2000
8:32 =
AM</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: U.S. Navy
destroys =

  caves!</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV>At 06:13 AM 5/6/00 -0700, John Childress=20
  wrote:<BR>>     Check out this story about the =
U.S.=20
  Navy dumping raw sewage into<BR>>Bassett Cave in =
Bermuda.<BR>><BR>><A=20
  =
href=3D"http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm">http://www.accessbda.bm/=
01/01010102.htm</A><BR>><BR>>John<BR><BR>Some=20
  additional information on this cave is as follows:<BR><BR>BASSETT'S =
CAVE,=20
  SANDYS PARISH<BR>Nelson (1840) depicted Bassett's Cave in his =
descriptions of=20
  Bermuda's<BR>caverns: "The largest and, geologically speaking, the =
most=20
  instructive<BR>[cave in Bermuda], is Basset's, near Somerset =
bridge.  It=20
  is said to extend<BR>for more than a mile; but the first few hundred =
yards of=20
  toilsome progress<BR>usually satisfies the curiosity of the majority =
of its=20
  visitors.  It seems<BR>to be comparatively recent, from the fresh =
state=20
  of its surfaces, and the<BR>small quantity of stalactite observable; =
this=20
  absence of incrustation,<BR>however, renders the origin of this cavern =
very=20
  palpable; namely, the<BR>undermining of the substrata by the sea, the =
waters=20
  or which lie in pools<BR>at the bottom."<BR>Lloyd (1835) mentions the =
first=20
  and only known caving fatality in<BR>Bermuda's history in this cave: =
"Near the=20
  sea-shore, I visited a large<BR>cavern called Basset's Cave; the =
entrance is=20
  wide, and lies quite exposed:<BR>after proceeding a little way, we =
came upon a=20
  spring of deep water, in<BR>which an unfortunate young man lately =
drowned=20
  himself.  He had been missing<BR>for some days when his body was=20
  discovered by a favorite dog."<BR>A calcite-covered skull and beak of =
a=20
  seabird, the Strickland's<BR>shearwater, was collected from Bassett's =
Cave in=20
  1907 (Shufeldt, 1916).<BR>Bassett's Cave, located on the grounds of =
the U.S.=20
  Naval Air Station<BR>Annex, is being used as a natural cesspit by the =
base for=20
  disposal of raw<BR>sewage and waste fuel oil.  Sea level pools =
within the=20
  cave are covered by<BR>a half a meter or more oil, rising and falling =
with the=20
  tides.  <BR><BR>From: Iliffe, T.M. (1993).  Speleological =
history of=20
  Bermuda.  Acta<BR>Carsologica, 22(4):114-135.<BR><BR>I visited =
Bassett's=20
  Cave in the mid 1980's and saw large pipes carrying raw<BR>sewage and =
waste=20
  oil into the cave.  This foul effluent ran down across =
the<BR>rocks in=20
  the cave before disappearing under a lake of oil.  The walls =
of<BR>the=20
  cave showed a "bathtub ring" of oil that was left by the receding =
tide<BR>on=20
  the otherwise white limestone walls.  The oil in this lake was so =

  thick<BR>that no water could be seen beneath it.  I discussed =
this=20
  pollution problem<BR>with the owner of a local hotel that was set up =
to burn=20
  waste oil of any<BR>type in the boilers.  They offered to pump =
this oil=20
  of the cave and dispose<BR>of it at now charge.  When I =
approached the=20
  commander of the Navy Base with<BR>this offer, he turned it =
down.  He=20
  said that before the property would be<BR>returned to Bermuda, some =
explosives=20
  would be found to bring down the roof<BR>of the cave.  He was far =
more=20
  interested in covering up the problem than<BR>cleaning it =
up.<BR><BR>Tom=20
  Iliffe <BR><BR><BR>At 06:13 AM 5/6/00 -0700, John Childress=20
  wrote:<BR>>     Check out this story about the =
U.S.=20
  Navy dumping raw sewage into<BR>>Bassett Cave in =
Bermuda.<BR>><BR>><A=20
  =
href=3D"http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm">http://www.accessbda.bm/=
01/01010102.htm</A><BR>><BR>>John<BR><BR>*=20
  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *<BR>*  Dr. Thomas M. =

  =
Iliffe           &=
nbsp;          =20
  *<BR>*  Department of Marine=20
  =
Biology           =
   =20
  *<BR>*  Texas A&M University at=20
  Galveston          =
*<BR>* =20
  Galveston, TX =20
  =
77553-1675          &nb=
sp;      =20
  *<BR>*  Phone: 409 740-4454  Fax: 409=20
  740-5001     *<BR>*  E-mail: <A=20
  =
href=3D"mailto:iliffet@ta*.ta*.ed*">iliffet@tamug.tamu.edu</A> &n=
bsp;          =20
  *<BR>*  <A=20
  =
href=3D"http://www.marinebiology.edu/iliffe.html">http://www.marinebiolog=
y.edu/iliffe.html</A>  =20
  *<BR>*  <A=20
  =
href=3D"http://www.cavebiology.com">http://www.cavebiology.com</A> &=
nbsp;           &n=
bsp;  =20
  *<BR>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * =
*</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

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