Category Archives: Law

Alapaha River Wildlife Management Area

Update 2017-04-28: Sandhills and wildlife at Alapaha WMA
WWALS is gratified that people are contacting us about the WMA, but we’re just reporting on it, we do not run it.
Contact information for the Alapaha WMA:
Greg Nelms, Wildlife Biologist, Game Management, Wildlife Resources Division, GA-DNR
(229) 426-5267 | M: (404) 985-6424

Update 2016-10-20: WMA check-in hunt does not count towards Georgia bag limit.

Update 2016-10-18: Video of Deserter Lake in the Alapaha WMA and hunting dates and bag limits.

Halfway between Tifton and Ocilla on the Alapaha River in Irwin County, apparently announced only by a public hearing in July about hunting reglations: Line Map: Alapaha River WMA the new 7,000-acre Alapaha River Wildlife Management Area (WMA). There’s an information kiosk off of US 319. , with the sign-in kiosk and campground across the WMA: from Ocilla take US 319 S, left onto Hawthorn Ln, right onto Palm Rd, right onto Farm Rd.

Update 2016-08-30: According to Greg Nelms, Wildlife Biologist, DNR, the main entrance will be off of US 319; there is already a WMA sign there. It’s not quite open yet; they’re still working on roads. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for September 30th. The first hunting season will be an archery hunt on October 1st; hunters can go in at noon the previous day to set up stands.

Here’s the announcement of the public hearing: GA DNR/Wildlife Resources Division/Game Management, 6 July 2016, Proposed Regulations for Alapaha River WMA; Public Hearing Scheduled,

The new regulations, probably adopted unchanged, and which seem to consist of dates and conditions for hunting seasons for various game animals, are online here.

Several maps are linked in for Continue reading →

FERC Authorization for Sabal Trail to Commence Drilling under Georgia Rivers 2016-08-25

Update 2016-10-10: Going beyond the ones named in FERC’s commence order, this blog post includes maps for ALL RIVER CROSSINGS IN ALL THREE STATES!

Update 2016-10-10: All 527 of Sabal Trail’s April 2016 alignment maps are now available in small, big, huge, and PDF formats, courtesy of Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE): follow this link to the LAKE website.

Nevermind that historic 128 to 34 Georgia House vote against river-drilling easements. Chattahoochee River HDD, Russell Co. AL, Stewart Co., GA The Georgia Attorney General’s office declined to defend lawsuits in county Superior Courts (including Lowndes County, GA), and judges gave Sabal Trail the easements. Then the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued its permit. So Thursday John Peconom of FERC told Sabal Trail to start drilling under Georgia’s Chattahoochee, Flint, Ochlockonee, and Withlacoochee Rivers, as well as Hannahatchee Creek. They avoided Okapilco Creek by Continue reading →

WWALS and Sierra Club

WWALS and Suwannee-St Johns Group of Sierra Club Florida are cooperating on outings now, and Sierra Club Florida is holding a Rural Office opening in October.

Continue reading →

What WWALS Does: watershed advocacy from outings and water trails to wastewater and pipelines

Water trails, wastewater, corporate agriculture, solar power, fracking, and pipelines: WWALS works with many issues in many ways, as part of our advocacy for conservation and stewardship through education, awareness, environmental monitoring and activities such as our monthly paddle outings. McIntyre Spring snorkel 30.6416626, -83.3660889

Here’s an introduction to WWALS for the many new members and even more people following WWALS on facebook and twitter.

WWALS Watershed Coalition, or WWALS for short, is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation about everything related to water in the watersheds Continue reading →

Judge Gives Sabal Trail Withlacoochee River Easement 2016-07-29

0.03 acres under the Withlacoochee River sold by the State of Georgia to Sabal Trail, operated by Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas, for $5,000, or $166666.66/acre. Map: Location That easement must be very valuable to Sabal Trail. But it’s more valuable to us who live here and swim, fish, and boat on that river and drink from the Floridan Aquifer. If we’d known this was going on, some of us might have filed other documents in this case.

Also, I would have thought 666 once would have been enough.

Here are some things you can do to help stop this boondoggle, and background about why this pipeline is a bad idea when there are already more solar jobs than in oil and gas extraction, and Georgia is the fastest-growing U.S. solar market.

Here’s the judge’s final order (PDF), followed by the other court documents in this case: Continue reading →

Sierra Club protest at Lake City today 2016-08-18

Sierra Club Campaign Organizer Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson has taken the Lake City pipe yard ball and run with it. Monday she got TV coverage at that illicit Sabal Trail storage yard for 36-inch fracked gas pipe, and today she’s called a press conference and protest there. Plus Sierra Club has filed two legal actions. Here’s how you can help.

Haley Wade, WCJB-TV, Gainesville, Florida, 15 August 2016, New pipeline has protestors,

There is something you can do: you can say no.

The sun is shining.

Continue reading →

Federal permits inflame opposition to Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline boondoggle WWALS PR 2016-08-16

PDF FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hahira, Georgia, August 16th 2016 — There is no excuse for $3 billion down this rathole of a 20th century dying fossil fuel industry now that there are more solar power jobs than in all of oil and gas extraction. One federal permit Friday and another federal go-ahead impending for the Sabal Trail invasion of private property and wetlands in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama stiffens the resolve of the rapidly expanding opposition. WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) has revealed apparent wetlands violations and federal rule violations by Spectra Energy, the Houston, Texas pipeline company that wants to gouge under our Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers, risking our water supply for its profit. Sierra Club has vowed to use “all legal means necessary to stop this fracked gas pipeline.” Opposition across Georgia continues as dozens of new groups joined the fight a week ago in Gainesville, Florida. News Friday of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) wetlands permit has inflamed opposition across the country to this latest fossil fuel land and water grab.

Last month WWALS reported to USACE and to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that Sabal Trail already has Continue reading →

USACE refuses Madison County’s request for a Sabal Trail SEIS 2016-07-29

They didn’t even bother to fill in the year on the date, and “File with original letter”. Here’s what the Corps wrote (PDF) in response to Madison County’s request for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) about Sabal Trail.

File with
original letter

DEPARTMENT or THE ARMY
JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT CORPS 0F ENGINEERS
POST OFFICE BOX 4970
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32232-0019

July 29, 201

USACE Response to Madison County re Sabal Trail Reply to attention of
Regulatory Division
North Permits Branch
Jacksonville Permits Section
SAJ-2013-03030

Madison Board of County Commissioners
Attn: Mr. Brian Kauffman, County Coordinator
Post Office Box 539
Madison, Florida 32341

Dear Mr. Kauffman:

Please accept this correspondence as Continue reading →

Madison County, FL asks USACE for a SEIS 2016-07-18

This request for a Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), mentioning Madison Blue Spring in particular, was sent July 18th or 19th 2016, one copy to each of the Corps addresses. (PDF). That’s the fourth Florida county to make such a request, after Hamilton, Suwanee, and Marion Counties. The Corps already responded to Madison County.

Board of County Commissioners
Madison County, Florida

to express our concerns

Jacksonville Permits Section
U.S.A.C.E. Regulatory Division
Attn: Mark R. Evans,
  Senior Project Manager,
Post Office Box 4970
Jacksonville, Florida 32232

Commander, U.S.A.C.E.,
Savannah District
Attn: Mr. Terry C. Kobs
1104 N. Westover Boulevard, Unit 9
Albany, GA 31707

U.S.A.C.E.
Mobile District Reg. Div.
Montgomery Field Office
Attn: Mr. James S. Cherry II
605 Maple Street
Building 1429 Room 105
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6017

 

Norman C. Bay, Chairman Continue reading →

Lake City Sabal Trail pipe yard in cleared wetlands

Update 2016-08-10: Videos of all the speakers.

You are invited to come ask SRWMD why it hasn’t responded to WWALS’ request about the unregistered Sabal Trail Lake City apparently on fill in wetlands. Figure 12: Pipe Yard on top of former forested wetlands You can speak in person Tuesday morning, or write them a letter saying how Sabal Trail would affect you, no matter where you are elsewhere on the pipeline path, in the Floridan Aquifer, or for other reasons.

When: 9AM Tuesday August 9th 2016

Where: SRWMD District Headquarters,
9225 CR 49, Live Oak, FL 32060

Or write to: Noah Valenstein, Executive Director, SRWMD, NDV@srwmd.org.

Update 2016-08-07: You may also send a letter to all Board members of the SRWMD by writing to their senior Board assistant:
Lisa Cheshire, LMC@srwmd.org
Robin Lamm, Coordinator, rrl@srwmd.org

In the subject header to Lisa include the following info:
SRWMD Board Members:

Then cc here, too:
Noah Valenstein, NDV@srwmd.org

Sabal Trail is not on the agenda, but people can speak in Continue reading →