Monthly Archives: August 2017

Phosphate mine protest and decision, Bradford County, FL 2017-08-17

2017-08-16: The letter today from Suwannee Riverkeeper to Bradford BOCC.

A month ago (see WWALS videos) the Commissioners scheduled a decision on hiring a consultant for this Thursday, and others have scheduled a protest before it. See you there.

When: 6:30 PM, Thursday, August 17, 2017, BOCC Meeting
5:30 PM Phosphate Mine Protest

Where: Bradford County Courthouse
945 North Temple Avenue
Starke, Florida 32091

What: County Commissioners of Bradford County, Florida

Protest: facebook event for 5:30 PM Phosphate Mine Protest, hosted by Our Santa Fe River (OSFR)


Photo: Bubba73 (Jud McCranie), Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

The phosphate mine item on the agenda is: Continue reading →

Trash, Withlacoochee River @ GA 122 2017-02-16

Thanks to Lowndes County Manager Joe Pritchard and Public Works Director Robin Cumbus for having these bags of trash picked up after WWALS Executive Direcgtor Gretchen Quarterman had a probationer collect them at Hagan Bridge over the Withlacoochee River on GA 122.

Bags of trash with reference dogs
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for WWALS 16 February 2017.

Lots of other bags of trash Continue reading →

Old Coffee Road across Alapaha River

Many of you know Julian Fields, retired forester, very knowledgable about many things around south Georgia. In this video, he’s showing people where Old Coffee Road forded the Alapaha River. I haven’t been able to find a map of any age that shows that ford. However, given that Old Coffee Road in Berrien County goes as far as Rowetown Church Road, I’d guess either Rowetown Church Road is where Old Coffee Road crossed the river, at Rowetown Church Cemetery, or it was somewhat upstream. Does anybody know?

Julian Fields

Or I suppose I could just ask Julian. Here’s the video: Continue reading →

WCJB TV: Dunnellon Compressor Station Gas Leak 2017-08-11

WWALS member Janet Barrow told WCJB TV of Gainesville, Florida,

To the Canadian-owned company that now owns Sabal Trail: rural lives matter. No eminent domain for corporate gain. And Houston, you have a problem.

Janet Barrow of Marion County

That would be Enbridge of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which bought Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas, which is the builder and operator of the Sabal fracked methane Trail pipeline, now renamed Sabal Fail by locals.

Curtis Jennings, WCJB TV 20 News, 11 August 2017, Sabal Trail Pipeline in Dunnellon springs a leak, Continue reading →

WWALS to OSHA: Chronic Leaks at Sabal Trail Dunnellon Compressor Station Site, Marion County, Florida

Let’s try another agency about Sabal Trail’s chronic Mercaptan leaks in Marion County, OSHA: Page 1 of 2

WWALS members in Marion and Citrus Counties have asked me to write you about this situation, especially since all the state and federal permitting agencies and PHMSA have done nothing about it. Sabal Trail did not notify them, and none of them notified any of the local emergency management departments that are left unassisted to deal with this chronic safety problem.

The text is below, or see Continue reading →

Stooges Stink Again: Sabal Trail at Dunnellon Compressor Station 2017-08-05

Update 2017-08-11: Complaint filed with OSHA.

The smell of hazardous Mercaptan “would come and go” for at least two days starting August 5, 2017, and Sabal Trail had been doing some sort of work at the Dunnellon Compressor Station starting the previous day, although they hadn’t bothered to inform local first responders.

A Stooge plumbing
Still from The Three Stooges: A Plumbing We Will Go, Columbia Pictures, 1940

Only two weeks after the July 16-17 stink leak, Sabal Fail again caused expense for Marion County Fire Rescue in sending trucks and personnel. Unlike the private Sabal Trail Transmission LLC, Marion County responded to an open records request, and here are the narrative incident reports.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Continue reading →

Lola Tract: WMA in Lanier and Lowndes Counties

Update 2019-05-09: fixed URLs and added map.

It has a name and it is listed: Lola Tract; WMA Stockton:

Offus84
Google Streetview, Lanier County CR 123 off of US 84 aka GA 38.

Lola Tract WMA is a 391 acre property near Stockton. Hunting opportunities include deer, bear, turkey and small game.

This property is only open during hunt dates.

Directions:

From Stockton Take Hwy. 84 west for 1.4 miles. WMA kiosk is on the right. WMA is on both sides of the river.

Voluntary Public Access Area

Continue reading →

WMA in Lanier and Lowndes Counties

Yes, it’s a WMA on both sides of the Alapaha River, and it will open for hunting this year. It’s also one of seven or eight, all also Dr. Acree’s land. They will each have names, which are currently unknown, but will pop up in the next few days on the DNR website.

Floating downstream
Photo: John S. Quarterman, 2 April 2017, in Alapaha River, Hotchkiss Road to US 84 2017-04-02

This WMA information is from someone who’s been on site and knows the details, Continue reading →

Alapaha River, Hotchkiss Road to US 84 2017-04-02

This was a tiny outing for a couple of visitors from Oregon through what has since become a new Wildlife Management Area on the Alapaha River, between Hotchkiss Road (which had some magnificent potholes) in Lanier County to the site of the pending new park and boat ramp off of US 84 in Lowndes County, Georgia, all on the Alapaha River Water Trail.

Suwannee Riverkeeper banner on the Alapaha River

The visitors were Continue reading →