Daily Archives: December 8, 2021

More water questions from GA-EPD about TPM strip mine too near Okefenokee Swamp 2021-12-07

Since September, GA-EPD has twice more asked the miners for more information on their permit applications to strip mine for titanium dioxide too near the Okefenokee Swamp. We have more questions beyond those. You can ask GA-EPD questions, and to deny the mining permit applications.

On October 20, 2021, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) asked more questions about water: retention, disposal, reclamation. The miners’ answer on November 19th apparently was not satisfactory, because on December 7, 2021, GA-EPD asked more water questions.

[TPM Ponds and Another GA-EPD Letter]
TPM Ponds and Another GA-EPD Letter

I’ve got another: how can Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) with a straight face promise “zero discharge of wastewater” and in the next paragraph say “Overflow from the process water primary overflow pond may occur due to heavy rain events.” That’s exactly what happened after Hurricane Irma at three north Florida Chemours mine sites where TPM was processing tailings, resulting in TPM still being under a Florida Consent Order. What if wastewater overflows into the Okefenokee Swamp during a hurricane or other “heavy rain event”? What stops wastewater even in TPM’s proposed retention ponds from seeping down into the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink?

And another: TPM still shows piezometers for water monitoring on property it does not own, with a disclaimer that it has no access to. So how will TPM monitor that area, which is downhill towards the Okefenokee Swamp, which is the headwaters of the St. Marys and Suwannee Rivers?

You can ask GA-EPD for a moratorium on mining permits, or to deny the permits, or at the very least to examine them very thoroughly and produce the equivalent of the Environmental Impact Statement that the Army Corps should have been working on.
https://wwals.net/?p=55092

You can also use Protect Georgia form to end a message to your Georgia statehouse delegation.

Floridians, this mine site is upstream from Florida, and you can also use these forms.

All of this GA-EPD correspondence with the miners and the permit applications is Continue reading →

Last stretch of Alapaha River, US 41 to Gibson Park 2022-02-05

Update 2022-02-06: Pictures: last stretch of the Alapaha River 2022-02-05.

Update 2022-02-01: Expedition leader Shirley Kokidko paddled this stretch, and reports back: “There is limited room for vehicles at the put-in so everyone needs to park up by the highway and carry kayaks down to the river. It is muddy and slippery at the launch. I would not recommend this outing for beginners due to alot of strainers and deadfall in the river with a good current also pushing you along. The water is cold and it is predicted to be a cool day so bring a change of clothes, just in case. Today we saw an eagle, feral hogs, turtles and a lot of ducks.”

Update 2021-12-15: History of Alapaha River Bridges, US 41 to Nobles Ferry –Ken Sulak 2021-12-08.

Paddle it while there’s water; much of the year the Alapaha River is dry down here, at the bottom of the Alapaha River Water Trail.

We’ll also paddle slightly upstream on the Suwannee River to the Alapaha River Rise, which is where the water comes back up from the Dead River Sink when the riverbed is dry in between.

We are dependant on the kindness of the winter wet season. If the Alapaha is dry at this date, we will reschedule until it has water.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 3 PM, Saturday, February 5, 2022

Put In: US 41 Alapaha River Landing. South side of the road, under the power line, between Jennings and Jasper, FL, in Hamilton County.

GPS: 30.528956, -83.039627

Take Out: Gibson Park Boat Ramp, 6844 SW CR 751, Jasper, FL 32052. Right bank, west side of the Suwannee River. From Jasper, Hamilton County, FL, travel southwest on SW CR 249 to SW CR 751; turn left and boat ramp is on the right in Gibson Park, in Hamilton County.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join

Event: facebook, meetup

[Bridge, Alapaha River, US 41]
Bridge, Alapaha River, US 41. Photos: Bobby McKenzie, 2021-05-07.

Continue reading →