Category Archives: Weather

Rain and this weekend’s outings 2018-02-10-11

Update 2018-02-10: And it’s a go for Hagan Bridge on the Withlacoochee River Sunday morning!

Update 2018-02-10: It’s a Go for Five Holes, and probably for Hagan Bridge.

Even the rain likes the weekend. Multiple weather forecasts show chances of rain ranging from 40% to 100% this weekend. Rain is not the best time to be clambering up and down steep slopes at Five Holes, and a thunderstorm is not a good time to be paddling the Withlacoochee River from Hagan Bridge. But we don’t want to call it early, because then both days would for sure be sunny.

FERC requires Sabal Trail report mixing of Randy Dowdy’s subsoil and topsoil

Bad news doubled for the little pipeline that cried wolf: FERC did not file any certificates today for Sabal Trail, and Brooks County farmer Randy Dowdy is vindicated with a letter from FERC demanding a plan from Sabal Trail “within 20 days” (emphasis in the original) for “for investigating the actual extent of the topsoil and subsoil mixing on the Dowdy and Robinson properties and the reported mixing on the Jones property.”

Sabal Trail through Randy Dowdy fields and Little Creek, Google Map
Map: Google, of Sabal Trail pipeline through Randy Dowdy’s soybean fields, next to Little Creek, which runs into Okapilco Creek, into the Withlacoochee River, into the Suwannee, to the Gulf.

That letter refers to an inspection report of November 14, 2017, also filed by FERC today, that documents that “topsoil and subsoil mixing has occurred in agricultural areas during construction of Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC’s (Sabal Trail) Sabal Trail Pipeline Project.”

FERC has thus validated Continue reading →

FERC rubberstamps FSEIS, FPL backstops, GA Rep Debbie Buckner and Sierra Club object 2018-02-05

In less than three hours since I submitted the WWALS motion to deny Sabal Trail’s sketchy request for emergency certificates, four more major filings appeared: FERC rubberstamped a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS), FPL cheered on the so-called emergency request, Georgia State Rep. Debbie Buckner objected, and Sierra Club objected. Sabal Trail said it best:

The Commission should decline the Applicants’ invitation to subvert the Court’s determination that the Project cannot operate pending compliance with NEPA.

Cover page, FSEIS

FERC rubberstamps Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS)

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail to Gulfstream, Martin County, and where? 2018-01-18

Sabal Trail ramped up the last couple of days, to 196 thousand Dekatherms/day (MDTH/day) today. Most of that they’re shipping out to Gulfstream at Osceola. with a bit through FSC to FPL’s Martin County power plant, and the rest somewhere.

Why now? During the last cold spell, they spiked briefly in the first week of January, but dropped back to zero while there was snow on the ground in Florida.

So what are they up to now?

This month (2018-01-01 -- 2018-01-18), TIMELY

From the various pipeline’s FERC-required daily postings, Gulfstream shows Continue reading →

Less than Zero: Sabal Trail Gas 2018-01-10

If Sabal Trail gas isn’t needed continuously when there was snow in Florida during the coldest week of the winter, when is it needed? This week when it’s warm Sabal Trail gas went to less than zero (-2 MDTH/day Nominated Capacity). So apparently it’s needed never. Shut it down.

This month 2018-01-01 to 2018-01-10, Graph

This month 2018-01-01 to 2018-01-10, Graph

To review, Sabal Trail’s gas dropped to zero November 14, 2017, and stayed there for seventeen days, before going up slightly, dropping back to zero, bursting in the first week of January, shipping most of that gas to other pipelines and peaking power plants, then dropping back to almost nothing and then less than nothing. Continue reading →

Sabal Trail gas into Gulfstream, 2018-01-1-6

It’s a shell game: much of Sabal Trail’s early January burst to maximum capacity went back out through the Gulfstream pipeline in Osceola County, which sent it to a Duke Energy Florida peaker plant in Intercession City and to Florida Gas Transmission (FGT). Presumably some of Sabal Trail’s peak went directly to FPL, but some of it apparently went through Gulfstream to get there. Yet apparently none of it was needed, since in the coldest week of the winter so far, Sabal Trail went back down to almost zero.

100% above ave: IN Sabal Trail Osceola, out Duke Intercession City and FGT Hardee, Charts

Using data from the various pipeline’s own FERC-required daily information postings, Gulfstream shows “SABAL TRAIL – OSCEOLA IN MP 60.25” suddenly bumping up Continue reading →

Kayak Snowmageddon 2018-01-03

I-10 is closed in Florida, Georgia has declared a state of emergency, overpasses are closed, and a train derailed in Valdosta. Since nobody is used to it, this very unusual snow storm Grayson in south Georgia and north Florida is actually a big problem. Good thing we don’t have an outing scheduled for today, since the Suwannee Riverkeeper vessel is iced up.

Suwannee Riverkeeper Ice, Boats

Viewed from Gainesville, the storm stops at the state line, nevermind what the maps show: Continue reading →

Halloween Valdosta sewer system upgrades

Valdosta has scheduled sewer main repairs for Halloween (October 30-31) and the Days of the Dead (November 1-2); see WWALS map.

Received via email, Sementha Mathews, Valdosta PR, 26 October 2017, City Schedules Maintenance and Repairs to Sewer System,

City of Valdosta Utilities Department has scheduled two sewer main repairs, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, that will maintain the health of the city’s sewer collection system. Both of these issues were identified through the city’s smoke testing program which has tested all of the city’s 300 miles of sewer lines since 2014.

Map of Sewer Main Repairs, Downtown
Follow this link for the interactive Google Map by WWALS.

Irma sewage spills from Lowndes County 2017-09-12

Received 28 September 2017 from Lowndes County Utilities Director Steve Stalvey:

Google Map by WWALS.net,
See interactive google map.

John,

This is the information I sent to the State concerning the spills related to Irma on Tuesday 9-12-17. Continue reading →

Florida Public Notice of Pollution

While Alabama is thinking about it (actually, Alabama already does it) and Georgia requires an open records request with slow response (since 2018-12-21 Georgia now posts spills),

Florida has already required and is publishing timely notices of spills, and more recently a map of the most recent 30 days of spills!

Among them, surprisingly few in the Suwannee River Basin from Hurricane Irma: three in Baker and Bradford Counties from The Chemours Company, and two from Camp Blanding.

Florida, FDEP
Follow this link for the interactive google map.

Daniel H. Thompson, Lexology, 4 May 2017, Florida Legislature Passes “Public Notice of Pollution Act” Continue reading →