Daily Archives: March 1, 2018

Call Florida House today to stop bad springs amendment 2018-03-01

Update 2018-03-02: The amendment was withdrawn, thanks to all of you who called!

They’re going to vote tomorrow (Friday), so call today or very early tomorrow and ask your state rep to vote against Amendment 246447 by Rep. Ingoglia on HB 1149. That amendment would force septic tanks to be installed near springs while putting off useful actions for years during further “review” and “study”.

Contact numbers for them are here: http://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx

Or here are all the ones in the Suwannee River Basin listed on a web page.

2015 onsite sewage final report
Illustration from the “2015 final report written as part of the study originally authorized in Specific Appropriation 1682 of chapter 2008-152, Laws of Florida”.

On House Bill 1149, a general environmental regulation bill, Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-35) this afternoon introduced Amendment 246447 which includes for example:

(3) As part of the pilot program, the department, in coordination with the Department of Health, must:

(a) Review and build upon Continue reading →

WWALS Booth at Cedar Key Arts Festival, 2018-03-24-25

Dave and Louise Hetzel will staff the WWALS booth at a big event in a small town in the Suwannee River Estuary, Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25, 2018.

Cedar Key Arts Festival

When: 10AM-5PM Saturday, March 24, 2018
10AM-4PM Sunday, March 25, 2018

Where: downtown Cedar Key, Florida

Event: facebook, meetup

WWALS member Anna White Hodges, who arranged a site for the WWALS booth, says: Continue reading →

Push the Florida fracking ban through 2018-03-01

WWALS joins Florida Sierra Club in asking you to this link push the Florida Fracking ban through to a vote:

Senate Bill 462— Advanced Well Stimulation Treatment by Senator Dana Young (R-Tampa)—has passed two committees and has one to go — but there are no more scheduled meetings. Its companion House Bill 237 by Rep. Kathleen Peters (R-Treasure Island) has not even been heard in its first committee.

But there’s still time — leadership can schedule more meetings or bring the bills to the floor for a vote.

Follow this link for a convenient form to send email to your Florida statehouse member.

WWALS is a member of Floridians Against Fracking

Floridians Against Fracking logo

Fracking and drilling associated with fracking for oil and natural gas poses a direct and immediate threat to the drinking water, air, food, health, wildlife, climate, and economy of communities across Florida….

What are the tenets of the coalition?

Continue reading →

Coal ash dewatering bill HB 879 passed 169:3 on crossover day 2018-02-28

On the very last possible day, the Georgia House passed the coal ash dewatering bill, HB 879, 169:3 (with 2 not voting and 6 excused), yesterday, on crossover day (after which bills cannot move from the Georgia House to the Senate).

Thanks to every Georgia House member from the Suwannee River Basin for voting for GA 879: Patty Bentley (District 139), Buddy Harden (148), Ed Rynders (152), Clay Pirkle (155), Dominic LaRiccia (169), Penny Houston (170), Jay Powell (171), Sam Watson (172), John Corbett (174), John LaHood (175), Jason Shaw (176), Dexter Sharper (177), and Jason Spencer (180). Thanks to all the WWALS members who contacted any of them.

Plant-bowen-ash-pond,
Georgia Power Plant Bowen Ash Pond Dewatering Plan, found on GA-EPD Coal Ash Pond Dewatering Plans.

Despite the hard work of the Georgia Water Coalition, HB 880, “Solid waste management; safe disposal of coal ash in municipal and commercial solid waste landfills”, never made it out of Continue reading →