Category Archives: Quality

The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas –Ichetucknee Alliance to FERC

Filed with FERC 17 December 2013 and on the Ichetucknee Alliance facebook group:

Lucinda F Merritt, Fort White, FL.

The Ichetucknee Alliance (http:// ichetucknee alliance.org) opposes placement of any new natural gas pipelines under, over or through the 5.5-mile long Ichetucknee River, including the area of Ichetucknee Springs State Park, the area of Columbia County that is included in the historic riverbed (the Ichetucknee Trace), and any part of the Ichetucknee Springshed.

The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas for the following reasons.

The river and springs, including Ichetucknee Springs State Park, are Continue reading →

WWALS in Waycross at EPA Seven Out Superfund meeting

It’s a serious situation in Waycross, with people getting sick and dying. The contamination, whatever it is, may have crossed into WWALS watersheds, as well. Good interactions between WWALS, Satilla Riverkeeper, and silentdisaster.org, plus EPA, GA EPD, and GA Health Dept.


Matthew J. Huyser, EPA (l. standing blue shirt), Jim Brown, GA EPD (c. standing white shirt), Ashby Nix, Satilla Riverkeeper (facing Brown, paper in hand), Joan Martin McNeal, silentdisaster.org (r. in group)

For details, see these posts on Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE): Continue reading →

Entering the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone –Kristofer Graham

Written as a newspaper letter to the editor and posted here with permission. -jsq

Dear Residents

Did you know Lanier County doesn’t have zoning laws. Which that mean they can development on wetlands and on our Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and build resident houses, subdivided, commercial building etc., cut timber on wetlands, on our watersheds and a Natural Gas Company want to put a pipeline through on these precious lands they can. It will destroy the land environment like our Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone (aka our drinking water) and our wetlands and our watersheds. Because it not protected like it should.

Lanier County Groundwater Recharge Areas Well it time to protect it before it all destroy and gone. It is up to our local government to protect these precious lands and preserve it in the original state. Yes it’s time for our local government to do there job to protect it. So it can be there forever.

I notices they got those lands zone as Ag and V5 zone. Which those zone doesn’t protect it and in fact it can destroy those lands Eco system because they spray pesticide for there farm crops near the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and wetlands, our watersheds. It will Continue reading →

Ichetucknee Alliance thinks it got the pipeline to move

According to their facebook page today, a conservation group in Florida convinced Sabal Trail to steer clear of their springs. Or did they? The “written assurances” they they got from Spectra’s Andrea Grover say “preferred” and “currently”. In any case, some of Ichetucknee Alliance’s positions are just as valid in WWALS’ watersheds.

Here’s an excerpt from their position, Ichetucknee Alliance Pipeline Position Paper, 21 August 2013, Continue reading →

Pipeline would cross Withlacoochee River twice

The detail maps in the General Project Description in the 15 November 2013 update to FERC by Sabal Trail Transmission reveal that the proposed path would cross the Withlacoochee River both where the river is the border of Brooks and Lowndes County and where it is the border between Hamilton and Madison County near Ellaville. In between, the pipeline would run through many wetlands near the river and through quite a few recharge zones for our drinking water source, the Floridan Aquifer. Then it crosses our downstream river, the Suwannee, into Suwannee County, Florida.

Continue reading →

WWALS files as intervenor to oppose the Sabal Trail Transmission gas pipeline

Approved by the WWALS Board 13 November 2013. PDF.

From:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
www.wwals.net
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
18 October 2013

To:
Secretary Sarah McKinley
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street N.E
Washington, DC 20426

Re: Pre-filing Docket PF14-1 Sabal Trail Transmission

Cc:
Georgia Public Service Commission
Florida Public Service Commission

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. opposes the proposed Sabal Trail Transmission gas pipeline that would cut a 100 foot wide gash across our Withlacoochee River and through many wetlands in south Georgia and north Florida, including recharge zones for the Floridan Aquifer that provides our drinking water.

Sabal’s parent company, Spectra Energy, has a safety record that gives no comfort Continue reading →

Waycross Superfund site in Georgia’s Dirty Dozen

EPA will be in Waycross 24 November 2013 to meet about this contamination, which has also been shipped over into WWALS watersheds. -jsq

Satilla River: Toxic Legacy in Waycross Needs Further Investigations, Cleanups, in Georgia Water Coalition’s Dirty Dozen 2013,

Satilla River

Toxic legacy in Waycross Needs Further Investigations, Cleanups

Introduction:

Lurking within Mary Street Park, a tree-lined neighborhood park in Waycross, is a silent killer—toxic pollutants from a defunct industrial wastewater treatment facility known as Seven Out Tank. Opened in 2002, the industrial waste handler operated only two years before multiple environmental violations led to the facility’s closure. Now, after Continue reading →

Videos: Aquifers, sinkholes, and groundscans –Prof. Don Thieme

We had to move to a larger room, so many attended this groundwater talk at VSU (about 90). Plus a guest appearance by SAVE.

Crowded small room Larger Magnolia Room

Coastal Plain Surficial Deposits, Groundwater Resources, and Recent Subsidence in south Georgia by Prof. Donald M. Thieme @ VSU for WWALS 2013-10-09 Here are Dr. Donald M. Thieme‘s slides in PDF, with his longer title:

Coastal Plain Surficial Deposits, Groundwater Resources, and Recent Subsidence in south Georgia

While we are lucky to have abundant groundwater, both from the Upper Floridan Aquifer 100 feet below us trapped in Eocene limestones and from shallow groundwater with its karst features, nonetheless overpumping has caused falls in the level of the aquifer (about 0.6 feet a year at Valdosta), resulting in rapid loss of shallow groundwater, plus surface water that enters and often contaminates the aquifer through those karst features.

Summary: abundant groundwater from Upper Floridan aquifer and shallow groundwater Summary: Fall in level of upper Floridan aquifer is primary cause for....

Sometimes those karst features subside and manifest as sinkholes like the one that ate Snake Nation Road in Lowndes County and others that can develop slow (many years) or fast (weeks or minutes).

Subsidence Problems in south Georgia and north Florida Snake Nation Road sinkhole

There were also many questions, starting with what water do personal wells reach? Also including a brief history of Valdosta well drilling from artesian to hundreds of feet down, and a sinkhole in a garage in Lowndes County, should local governments require sinkhole insurance (including mention of Moody AFB subsidence and Florida citrus growers pumping so much water it causes sinkholes). I also introduced the WWALS board members present: Gretchen Quarterman (Treasurer and videoing), Bret Wagenhorst (Outings), Heather Brasell (Secretary), Dave Hetzel (President), April Huntley (Director), me (Vice President), and Chris Graham (Member); plus a brief summary of WWALS events and outings. Here’s a video playlist:

Continue reading →

WWALS supports S.A.V.E.’s fossil fuel divestment request to VSU

Approved by the WWALS Board by email 17 October 2013.

From:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
www.wwals.net
wwalswatershed@gmail.com
18 October 2013

To:
Mr. John Crawford
Vice President for Advancement
   and Trustee
jdcrawford@valdosta.edu
VSU Foundation
   and Board of Trustees
1500 N. Patterson Street
Valdosta, GA 31698

WWALS Watershed Coalition, a nonprofit group working for conservation of the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, and Little River Systems, supports the fossil fuel divestment request of Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.).

In addition to the points made by S.A.V.E., WWALS would like to add that oil and gas leaks run downhill in our watersheds, fracking for natural gas pollutes groundwater, and fossil fuel energy plants use massive amounts of water that could go for agriculture or drinking. Divestment from fossil fuels by VSU by itself won’t stop leaks or end fracking or shut down coal plants. But it will send a clear signal that our regional state university is leading the shift from fossil fuels to renewable solar and wind power with efficiency and conservation.

Fracking may seem distant, but right now there is a proposed natural gas pipeline from Alabama to Florida that threatens Georgia’s environment and Georgians’ property rights. We don’t want an exploding pipeline like just happened in Oklahoma.

Perhaps like Harvard President Drew Faust some don’t want to get academic VSU involved in politics. But all our investments are political, and there’s nothing neutral about funding climate wreckage. As S.A.V.E. put it in their letter:

Continue reading →

Now at VSU: Aquifers, sinkholes, and ground scans –Don Thieme @ WWALS

Update 2019-04-02: Videos.

Moved to VSU, University Center, Dogwood Room! Prof. Don Thieme of VSU will speak about underground water issues at the October WWALS board meeting in Wednesday October 9th at 7:30 PM in Valdosta. Join the facebook event or come as you are.

Here’s the letter Prof. Thieme and two other VSU professors wrote to the Air Force about sinkholes and subsidence on the proposed Moody Family Housing in Lowndes County, which also turns out to be in an aquifer recharge zone.

Here’s VSU’s campus map and here’s a google map: Continue reading →