Monthly Archives: June 2016

Madison, FL BOCC tonight: WWALS on agenda about Sabal Trail 2016-06-22

Sabal Trail would go far too close to Madison Blue Spring and water wells in Madison County, it doesn’t have all permits, and the Madison BOCC could help stop this unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous fracked methane pipeline boondoggle. I have five minutes to say all that tonight to the Madison Board of County Commissioners.

Madison County, FL Courthouse Annex
Photograph by George Lansing Taylor Jr.

Anybody else who wants to speak, please sign up in advance, according to the Madison BOCC meeting rules. And the more people who come, the more likely they’ll pay attention.

When: 6PM Wednesday June 22nd 2016

Where: Courthouse Annex, 229 S.W. Pinckney Street, Madison, Florida 32340

Excerpt from the agenda. Continue reading →

WWALS flies with Southwings

Many thanks to Southwings and pilot Roy Zimmer for the ride on Roy’s Rollercoaster. The wind did pick up a bit towards mid-day but that only made it more fun.

Chris Mericle, John S. Quarterman, Roy Zimmer, Can Denizman
Chris Mericle, John S. Quarterman, Roy Zimmer of Southwings, Can Denizman

We saw what we flew to see. More on that later.

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Suwannee Farms, Lakeland Sands, and Bill Gates in Suwannee County, FL

Why does a farm need an industrial wastewater facility permit? WWALS got an email alert from FDEP about such a permit request for Suwannee Farms LLC on June 11th. A bit of digging shows it’s apparently now owned by Bill Gates, along with many more nearby acres in center pivot agriculture.

Suwannee Farms, Suwannee River Terra, and Lakeland Sands Permit: Water – Industrial Wastewater Facility Permit
Project Name: SUWANNE FARMS LLC
Location Id: FLA470031
Location Name: Suwanne Farms LLC
County: Suwannee
Application Number: FLA470031-005

For further information, please contact the Northeast District permitting office in Jacksonville at (904) 256-1700

Suwannee Farms has its own Continue reading →

Antioch Cemetery in a field, Jasper, FL

“Gone but not forgotten” say many of the epitaphs Closer in Antioch Cemetery, stranded in the middle of a center pivot field near Jasper, Hamilton County, Florida. Who did this? Could it be Bill Gates?

The cemetery is at the end of SW 38 Trail, 30.4606571, -83.1870117, in a tiny 1.97 acre parcel 4736-000 owned by Continue reading →

Election of Board Members and Officers, Annual Member and Quarterly Board agendas 2016-07-13

Two meetings back to back, starting 7PM Wednesday July 13th at the IHOP in Adel:

  1. WWALS Annual Member Meeting with annual report and election of board members. Several board slots are open, so if you want to be nominated, fill in the application form.
  2. WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting, with annual election of officers.

The draft agendas are below. Continue reading →

Request for Class 3 Permit Modification by CR/T from GA-EPD 2016-06-22

Update 2016-06-24: report and video of the meeting.

A chemical plant on E. Hill Ave. in Valdosta wants to stop monitoring chemicals in one of its wells, Map: MW-20 and SMW- it says because of difficult access due to stormwater that collects there. Yet they want to “add analysis of naphthalene, 2-methylphenol, and phenol for the post-closure care monitoring program.”

Facebook: event

When: 6-7 PM Wed June 22nd 2016

Where: South Georgia Regional Library
300 Woodrow Wilson Dr, Valdosta, Georgia 31602

This is the same location as the Arizona Chemical plant that almost closed in 2008. Stuart Taylor, VDT, 30 November 2014, Made in Valdosta: Chemical Research Technology, Continue reading →

Public Comment Period for Madison Blue Springs until 2016-06-24

A public hearing already happened last week, but you can still send comments until next Friday, June 24th 2016, about Madison Blue Spring State Park. Maybe you’d like to comment on the specific improvements they plan, or maybe something about Nestle or maybe how close Sabal Trail wants to come with its fracked methane pipeline.

That’s the deadline in the Green Publishing notice, but the Public Comment Form says Thursday June 23rd, so to be safe, get your comments in by next Thursday. Continue reading →

Dye test in Dead River Sink on Alapaha River

Update 2016-06-22: Dye test into the Dead River Sink: it came back up several days later and eighteen river miles south, in the Alapaha River Rise and Holton Bluff Spring, both on the Suwannee River.

The Alapaha River disappears underground in dry seasons, and nobody has ever known where it comes back up. Soon, we will know.

Green Publishing, 16 June 2016, Dye test held for river basins,

The Florida Geological Survey will be conducing a dye test for the Suwannee River Water Management District in the Upper Suwannee/Alapaha River basins later this month. They will introduce dye into the Dead River Swallet (swallets are sinkholes that capture flow) and a swallet that is located on privately owned land. They will also have sampling devices setup at Continue reading →

Citrus County ordinance against fracking 2016-06-14

An actual law, an ordinance, beyond just words in a resolution. Citrus is the latest of many Florida counties to ban fracking, including Madison.

The text of the ordinance is on the SpectraBusters blog, and here’s a report. Jim Tatum, Our Santa Fe River, 14 June 2016, Citrus County Approves Fracking Ban,

Commissioners Dennis Damato, Ronald Kitchen, Joe Meek, Scott Adams, and Scott Carnahan unanimously passed a ban-fracking ordinance. The ordinance was amended to include all the county, both incorporated and non-incorporated areas, skillfully inserted by the able and prepared county attorney Denise A. Dymond Lyn.

That article continues with pictures of many of those involved, including WWALS members Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, Jim Tatum, and Harriett Heywood (pictured above). In WWALS territory, Continue reading →