If drilling mud may be released, how can this also be? “No wastewater has been or will be dumped into the Withlacoochee River.” Sabal Trail seems to have contradicted itself. And didn’t answer the permit questions from WWALS. Nonetheless all their responses are marked “Resolution Date: 10/30/2016”. Nope, not resolved, Sabal Trail. See new questions.

Sabal Trail also said (see the PDF) it was completing drilling under the Flint River, was drilling under the Ochlockonee and Withlacoochee Rivers in Georgia, had just started under the Santa Fe River, was doing clearing and pad preparation for the Chattahoochee and Suwannee Rivers, and hadn’t yet started anything at the Withlacoochee (south) River in Florida. Plus quite a few complaints and questions, including some from FERC, and some archaeological discoveries which Sabal Trail and FERC hid under “Privileged and Confidential information”.

The Sabal Trail responses labeled “WWALS Letter 10/24/2016 to FERC” (see that WWALS letter with aerial photographs) are from page 11 in the PDF, numbered Page 9 of 10, of Accession Number: 20161104-5117, “Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC submits its Biweekly Status Report for the Sabal Trail Project under CP15-17”. Sabal Trail in its response did not quote any of the introductory material in the WWALS letter; only the questions.

The report says two of three archaeological reports are in this other Accession Number: 20161104-5118, which Sabal Trail filed the same day with the same title, of which this is all the public can see:

You don’t have permission to access this document.
This document (eLibrary accession no. 20161104-5118) is Privileged.
The public may file a FOIA request under 18 C.F.R. 388.108.

So back to page 11 of the first document:

Withlacoochee River

Question: What is the object in the river?

Response: The object in the river is a turbidity curtain. A turbidity curtain was installed to contain any drilling mud released and to facilitate clean up in accordance with project permits and plans.

Question: Is Sabal Trail using water from the Withlacoochee River?

Response: Sabal Trail is permitted to use water from the Withlacoochee River for HDD hydrostatic testing and drilling operation activities but is currently using only municipal water sources.

Question: Is Sabal Trail dumping wastewater into the Withlacoochee River?

Response: No wastewater has been or will be dumped into the Withlacoochee River.

Question: By what authorization is Sabal Trail making any intrusion into the Withlacoochee River when FERC permitted them to drill under it, not in it?

Response: There is no construction activity taking place within the river. Sabal Trail has authorization from both the State of Georgia Environmental Protection Division and FERC to use the Withlacoochee as an HDD water source, but a municipal water source is currently being used.

Possible sinkhole at Lowndes County Withlacoochee River HDD site:

Questions: Is that marked circular area a sinkhole? If it is not a sinkhole, what is it? Why is it marked? Has Sabal Trail reported a sinkhole or other anomaly at the location to FERC or to other relevant agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, or Lowndes County?

Response: No, this is not a sinkhole so there is nothing to report to the agencies. This is an area with multiple power poles where safety fence has been installed around it in a circular shape to ensure a safe working distance from the power poles.

Is blue pipe thinner than red pipe?

Questions: What is the difference between the blue pipe and the red pipe? Is the blue pipe the thinner pipe for less populated areas promised in WWALS v Sabal Trail & FDEP by Alan Lambeth, director of engineering design for Spectra Energy?

Response: The difference between the “blue” pipe and the “red” pipe has to do with the color of the coating applied to the pipe. The “blue” (actually green) pipe is coated with Fusion Bond Epoxy (“FBE”) coating (corrosion coating) used for conventional construction methods while the “red” pipe is coated with FBE and an Abrasion Resistant Overlay coating that protects the pipe during trenchless installation methods, such as horizontal direction drilling. The color of the pipe has no correlation to the wall thickness of the pipe.

-jsq

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