Category Archives: Pipeline

WWALS petition to FL DEP vs. Sabal Trail

This is the petition (PDF) WWALS filed Friday 7 Aug 2015 against FL-DEP’s intent to isue a permit for Sabal Trail to drill under the Suwannee River and otherwise destroy wetlands and add hazards for no benefit.

Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas also wants to drill the Sabal Trail pipeline under the Santa Fe River and the Withlacoochee south River (the one that flows from the Green Swamp to the Gulf). Sabal Trail also wants to drill under WWALS’ Withlacoochee River that flows into the Suwannee, but in Georgia, so that is not a topic of this petition.

Remember there are still plenty of things you can do to help stop this pipeline invader from destroying forests, fields, and streams, adding hazards for no benefit.

And you can come see where Sabal Trail proposes to cross the Suwannee this Saturday, August 15th, as we paddle down the river!

-jsq

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

STATE OF FLORIDA

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail wants to drill under the Withlacoochee south River

It’s not just the Suwannee and the Santa Fe: 300x388 Vicinity Map, Sovereign Lands of the State of Florida, in Withlacoochee (Green Swamp) River Crossing, by Sabal Trail Transmission, for WWALS.net, 10 July 2015 Sabal Trail wants to drill into the fragile karst limestone under Florida’s Withlacoochee south River, too, above our Floridan Aquifer, and FL DEP proposes to permit them to do that. This is the other Withlacoochee River; the one from the Green Swamp to the Gulf. Sabal Trail wants a 24″ spur to Citrus County under this river. Watch out, Dunnelon, Marion County, and Citrus County!

(Sabal Trail does still want to drill under WWALS’ Withlacoochee River, known in Florida as the Withlacoochee north, but in Georgia, not Florida.)

Here are the Withlacoochee south River maps and related items from the Drawings Sabal Trail submitted with the FL-DEP Permit application.

Remember there are still plenty of things you can do to help stop this pipeline invader from destroying forests, fields, and streams, adding hazards for no benefit.

Proposed 24″ Citrus County Lateral, Site Plan and Profile, HDD

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Sabal Trail wants to drill under the Santa Fe River

It’s not just the Suwannee: Sabal Trail wants to drill into 300x388 Crossing Easement Location, Sovereign Lands of the State of Florida, in Santa Fe River Crossing, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 10 July 2015 the fragile karst limestone under the Santa Fe River, too, above our Floridan Aquifer, and FL DEP proposes to permit them to do that. Watch out Branford, Suwannee County, and Gilchrist County!

Here are the Santa Fe River maps and related items from the Drawings Sabal Trail submitted with the FL-DEP Permit application.

Remember there are still plenty of things you can do to help stop this pipeline invader from destroying forests, fields, and streams, adding hazards for no benefit.

Proposed 36″ Pipeline, Site Plan and Profile, HDD

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Hamilton Co. FL and Lowndes Co. GA asked to oppose Sabal Trail

Two WWALS board members asked their county commissions in two states to oppose Sabal Trail. The Hamilton County, FL Commission answered about the Suwannee River; the Lowndes County, GA Commission sat silently about the Withlacoochee River. Neither did anything, which is why WWALS filed a petition Friday to oppose FL-DEP’s proposed permit for Sabal Trail to drill under the Suwannee River; more on that later. You can help by calling Georgia Gov. Deal and commenting to GA-EDP and FERC. And by becoming a WWALS member today!

On July 21st, Chris Mericle spoke about the Suwannee River. LAKE Video, Hamilton County, FL Commission considers opposing FL-DEP Sabal Trail permit 2015-07-21,

Chris Mericle, Hamilton Co. FL Local resident Chris Mericle asked his county commission to once again oppose the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, this time by opposing a permit Continue reading →

Another sinkhole near where Sabal Trail proposes to gouge its pipeline

What if a sinkhole develops years later under the proposed pipeline in south Georgia or north Florida, and Sabal Trail declares force majeure and doesn’t pay, like FGT did in Louisiana in 2013?

Numerous news stories are linked in the LAKE blog post, but let’s pick just one.

Winnie Wright, WCTV, 5 August 2015, 150-Foot Sinkhole Opens in Lowndes County Residential Area, Continue reading →

Please Act Now against the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline proposal

This went out yesterday to WWALS members.

TELL GOVERNOR DEAL THAT THE SABAL TRAIL GAS PIPELINE THREATENS PRIVATE PROPERTY, CLEAN WATER, AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Please take immediate action, today, to tell Governor Nathan Deal’s office that you oppose the siting of Spectra Energy’s Sabal Trail “natural” gas pipeline through the Withlacoochee River watershed. Call 404-656-1776 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and tell the staffer that answers, “I am opposed to routing the Sabal Trail pipeline through the Withlacoochee River watershed; I urge Governor Deal to do everything in his power to stop this project”.

Also please sign this petition Continue reading →

WWALS joins Floridians Against Fracking

Per unanimous vote of the WWALS Board, WWALS has joined Floridians Against Fracking:

The goal of the coalition is a ban on fracking in Florida. To that end, we support state, and local efforts to ban fracking.

Why?

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 →

FL DEP boosting FL Gov. Scott’s pipeline investments –FloridaBulldog

The reporter who broke the FL Gov. Rick Scott conflict of interest story a year ago now finds even more conflicts, some related to FL-DEP’s intent to issue a permit to Sabal Trail for its fracked methane pipeline. As he mentions, WWALS will be filing a petition to FL-DEP Friday.

Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog, 4 August 2015, Gov. Scott’s pipeline investment gets a boost from Florida environmental regulators,

State regulators are quietly backing the award of a crucial environmental permit to a company that wants to build a controversial $3-billion natural gas pipeline in North Florida. The company’s investors have included Gov. Rick Scott.

Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), overseen by the governor, published Continue reading →

Update: Sabal Trail Pipeline, Alapaha, Suwannee, and Withlacoochee Rivers, WWALS Outing 2015-08-15

Update 2015-08-14: Now plus Five Holes caves at Suwannee River State Park!

This flag marks where Sabal Trail plans to drill under the Suwannee River, pictured today by Chris Mericle, who also pictured a number spraypainted on a tree and remarked:

I know it is a small thing but, it is this lack of respect for nature that we will be forced to endure if this pipeline is permitted.

With FL DEP proposing to issue a permit for Sabal Trail, let’s go investigate, and have some fun at the same time.

First we’ll look at the Alapaha Rise, which is where some of the water that disappears from the Alapaha River at its sinks comes back up out of the Floridan Aquifer. To get to the Rise we paddle upstream on the Suwannee River, then Continue reading →

AJC video: Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline Through 9 Counties

Most people are opposed to the Sabal Trail pipeline, as the Colquitt County landowner says. Drilling in our fragile karst limestone “could potentially carry any contamination down into our groundwater source”, as VSU Geology Prof. Don Thieme says. Why should we risk that for profit for companies from somewhere else and no benefit for here?

Atlanta Journal Constitution, Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline Through 9 Counties, Continue reading →