Monthly Archives: October 2018

TECO joins Duke and FPL building solar in Florida 2018-10-29

Solar in Florida is not just for Duke and FPL anymore: Tampa Electric is building 260 megawatt hours of solar power, and the Florida PSC and Office of Public Counsel are praising it for reducing coal and natural gas burning. Even FPSC, which approved the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline boondoggle only five years ago, is starting to look up and see the sun in the Sunshine State.

Michael Moline, FloridaPolitics.com, 29 October 2018, Tampa Electric wins PSC clearance for solar power projects,

The Public Service Commission approved a deal Monday that allows Tampa Electric Co. to build five solar-generating plants and pass along the $46 million tab to its ratepayers.

Note that’s million with a letter m, not like the billions FPL is charging its customers for Sabal Trail. Continue reading →

Low bacterial counts at State Line Ramp 2018-10-24

Valdosta’s bacterial counts are always low at State Line Ramp (Mozell Spells), where we moved the WWALS Boomerang paddle race from Georgia to Florida and back.

Things were generally better last week in the Withlacoochee Basin, except for the Little River at GA 133, just above Troupville Boat Ramp. Continue reading →

Energy Book co-authors 2018-08-07

We went to Rum 138 to see Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, when Janet Barrow and I needed to know about the early move of the Sabal Trail pipeline off of the Ichetucknee River. Merrillee, Janet, and I are writing a book about five years working together promoting solar power and opposing that hazardous fracked methane boondoggle.

Janet Barrow, John S. Quarterman, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, 7 August 2018

Three laptops and mounds of paper were used. Almost three months later, we’re still digesting what Merrillee turned up out of her archives. Things we didn’t realize about fossil fuel feints and many solar successes are becoming clear as we compare notes.

Merrillee’s halo seems to be slipping in this picture, and my hat fell off: Continue reading →

Seven more Georgia, Three more Florida, plus slides: ask GA-EPD to tell everyone about spills in Georgia; you can, too! 2018-11-15

Update 2018-12-21: GA-EPD daily online Sewage Spill Reports!

Update 2018-12-14: Now plus a petition individuals can sign.

Update 2018-12-12: Four more Georgia groups make 31: Georgia Women (And Those Who Stand With Us), Atlanta Audubon Society, Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy, and No Ash At All—Wayne County.

Florida groups: you can sign on, too, like some already have!

Update 2018-11-15: Three more Georgia groups make 27: GARC, Ogeechee Riverkeeper, and SELC. Plus slides: Continue reading →

Sabal Trail, WWALS, OSFR’s Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, and FERC’s John Peconom in Jasper, FL 2014-10-21

Four years ago Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson set the festive tone outside a special Sabal Trail Open House:

Photo: John S. Quarterman, the family that demonstrates together stays together: “No pipeline in springs heartland” and “No pipeline in my future” and “Stop fossil fuel production”.

Merrillee has been in the thick of opposing fossil fuel boondoggles and promoting clean solar power since at least 2013.

Why was this one of only two Sabal Trail Open Houses in fall 2014, way back when FERC’s John Peconom actually answered when any of us called? Continue reading →

Tryout of Water Quality Testing, Little River, Troupville Boat Ramp, 2018-10-29

This will be the first tryout of the water quality testing kits WWALS recently acquired. You can only test if you’ve been through the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream training. But you can come watch and make suggestions and see if you want to get trained. This event is all on land; no boat required.

When: 7:00 PM, Monday, October 29, 2018

Put In: Troupville Boat Ramp, 19664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602: on GA 133 off I-75 exit 18.

GPS: 30.851842, -83.346536.

Free: This event is free. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

Photo: Gretchen Quarterman, of WWALS testing training, 2018-09-16.

Continue reading →

Now at State Line Ramp: WWALS Boomerang paddle race 2018-11-03

WWALS Boomerang
From Georgia To Florida
and Back Again
Withlacoochee River
State Line Ramp (Mozell Spells)
11 AM, Saturday, November 3, 2018

Join us for a fun filled day of paddle racing and leisurely paddling on an idyllic blackwater river.

Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton)!

Follow this link for a printable PDF flyer.
Or this link for the same flyer 2 per page.

Event: facebook, meetup, but don’t forget to get tickets!

Tickets: $30 per boat.
We also recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

When: 11:00 AM, November 3, 2018

Put In: State Line Ramp (Mozell Spells, GA 31 Ramp),
6461 Madison Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31601.

GPS: 30.637844, -83.311149

VSU 16 miles, Quitman 23, Adel 37, Tifton 60, Moultrie 55,
Madison 15, Jasper 27, Live Oak 40, Lake City 60,
Tallahassee 70, Gainesville 108, Jacksonville 120.

Photo: John S. Quarterman, Horn Bridge and State Line Boat Ramp (Mozell Spells), 2018-10-27

Continue reading →

Five weeks and fecal coliform down 2018-10-17

Fecal coliform went down last week to 195 at US 41 and 200 at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River, right at the Georgia limit of 200 cfu/100 ml, while rising slightly at US 41 and at the GA-FL line at the Madison Highway Horn Ferry Bridge, according to Valdosta’s testing.

Wednesday of this week, we still don’t know, because Continue reading →

Facebook group: Dangerous Liquified Natural Gas trains and trucks

For discussion and getting the word out, there’s a new facebook group, Dangerous Liquefied Natural Gas on Trains/Trucks.

In a March 3, 2016, letter, the Federal Railroad Administration warned Florida East Coast Railway of the danger of transporting Liquefied Natural Gas on the same tracks as high-speed passenger rail. What could go wrong? Do the math…. If an LNG container is breached, accidentally or intentionally, the liquid begins to warm, resulting in a Flammable Vapor-Cloud that can be blown around by the wind, igniting everything in its path. In Fernley, Nevada, the Flammable Vapor-Cloud fire from a tanker truck loaded with 10,000 gallons of LNG appeared to have been caused by static electricity. Flames shot 40 feet into the air and fire officials evacuated the area. The fire burned for a couple of days, before eventually burning itself out.

Photo: Howard Salmon, for Tahoe Daily Tribune, of Fernley, NV, LNG tanker truck fire, 2005-09-14

As that facebook group says, if you want to help stop fires like that from happening in Florida or Georgia, you can contribute to the WWALS legal fund for the pending case against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for shirking its inland LNG oversight duty.

Thanks to Continue reading →

Y, Scouts, Food, Photography at WWALS Boomerang paddle race 2018-11-03

Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

WWALS Boomerang
Langdale Park to Sugar Creek
and Back Again
Withlacoochee River
Valdosta, Georgia
11 AM, Saturday, November 3, 2018

Join us for a fun filled day of kayak and canoe racing and leisurely paddling on an idyllic blackwater river by the biggest Suwannee River Basin city.

New sponsors: the YMCA on Gornto Road, and the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, with aerial drone photography by The Georgia Photography Fanatic, and food by Under Construction BBQ, plus at the turnaround walk up to The Salty Snapper.