Dear neighbors, On June 15th, the City of Miami Lakes hosted a Townhall meeting to update the residents about the blasting. Several members of the State Fire Marshal's Office came from Tallahassee to provide information on their efforts to alleviate the situation. Part of the information that they shared with the attendees was that they hired a third-party consulting company to analyze existing data from blasting performed during January to December of 2016. The increase in complaints from residents was the main reason why they decided to hire a third party to conduct the analysis. Their presentation mentioned that they identified some human and instrument errors in the reports submitted by WRQ. Besides this revelation, they pointed out the following outstanding questions: – PPV as only variable of interest DOES NOT explain the physical dynamics of wave propagation and vibration levels in these water-filled limestone quarries. (Additional variables need to be considered/measured to get a true picture of potential damages; looking at PPV measurements alone is not enough in an environment like ours). – On occasion, the seismograph closest to structures DID NOT record the peak values for a blast event. – The geology of the limestone formations influences wave propagation -- the expanses of lake water, blast patterns, and charge detonation. – Explosives type, detonation devices, and detonation interval timing may have a significant impact on PPV and frequency values. These findings are huge because they paved the way to a more comprehensive study that would consider the role of water bodies in wave propagation and the specific conditions of limestone formations. As a reminder, the study conducted in 1980 was done in another state with completely different ground conditions, altitude, etc. The new study will be monitored by the State Fire Marshal's Office. Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam joined forces with Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid and the city councilmen to try to make the best out of this opportunity to shed some light on the real effects of blasting on our communities in order to lower the current ground vibration levels near residential areas and stop the destruction of our homes and quality of life. We hope that this information is helpful and that you continue to support our efforts. All these accomplishments are the result of community advocacy, activism, and representation from our elected officials. Yes WRQ is a mighty foe, however, our 100% volunteer led, ground roots movement has started to chip away at their power. These findings were the result of your calls and emails and they prove that we are on the right track. We suspected that reporting by WRQ was flawed and now we know that it is; we suspected that PPV measurements could be affected by our geology and now we know that they can be; we suspected that PPV measurement did not provide a complete picture of the effects on our homes and, again, we now know that it does not. The silence of the residents gave WRQ power for all those years. By raising our voices over past months we have started to take that power away. Now we have evidence to counter their rhetoric and an opportunity to expose their high priced attorneys and experts as nothing more than biased corporate mouthpieces. Encourage others to join us, get involved, and most importantly, do not stop complaining. Remember that old adage...it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil... 1. Share this petition with your neighbors, family, and friends. 2. Document your damages. Take pictures, videos, and submit along with your complaints to nomoreblastingrivieraisles@yahoo.com 3. Follow us on Twitter: @nomoreblasting Please stay engaged. We need you!