Lowndes County Force Main Spill 2017-09-23

Lowndes County (not Valdosta) spilled sewage Saturday that may have reached the Withlacoochee River. The county also had “several” lift station spills during Tropical Storm Irma.

Google Map, Val Tech Road
Google map, Val Tech Road.

After tonight’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, I asked Utilities Director Steve Stalvey whether the county had spilled any sewage this month. He said yes, Saturday (September 23, 2017), about 25,000 gallons from the force main on Val Tech Road. He said it was due to Continue reading

GA DNR responds about Sabal Trail at Okapilco Creek 2017-09-21

Not the answer I was looking for, but GA-EPD is still by far the most responsive agency regarding Sabal Trail.

West to sinkhole, Coffee Road, near Okapilco Creek

Lisa Myler of GA-DNR called back Friday about 7PM saying Tom Fowler had been to the Okapilco Creek Sabal Trail sinkhole site I reported.

I called her back Monday, and after DNR’s web server came back up she forwarded Tom Fowler’s report today: Continue reading

Public meeting, Live Oak, Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) 2017-10-03

When: 1:30PM to 4:30PM, Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Where: SRWMD Office, 9225 County Road 49, Live Oak, Florida

Event: Suwannee River SWIM Plan public meeting

Received this morning:

Suwannee River and Coastal Rivers SWIM Plan interested parties:

In 2016, the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) received funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to develop consolidated updates to the Continue reading

Rescheduled: Rivers Alive Cleanup and Paddle Outing, Alapaha River 2017-10-01

Rescheduled due to Tropical Storm Irma: a combination Rivers Alive and Waterkeeper Alliance Cleanup on the enchanting Alapaha River at Pafford Landing, Lakeland, Georgia, plus optional upstream and back paddle afterwards.

When: 2PM, Sunday, October 1, 2017

Where: Pafford’s Landing, MILE 71.73, east of Lakeland, GA, south side of GA 122, into the woods, west side of Alapaha River, Lanier County

GPS: 31.043011, -83.042564

Purple and blue trash on the beach
More pictures of Pafford’s Landing and trash to be picked up here.

Event: facebook, meetup.

Cleanup: Cleanup materials will be provided, but if you’ve got Continue reading

WWALS at Berrien County Harvest Festival 2017-09-30

Join WWALS for our first time at the eighth annual Berrien County Harvest Festival in downtown Nashville.

When: 9AM – 4PM, Saturday, September 30, 2017

Where: Downtown Courthouse Square, Nashville, GA 31639

Free: No entrance fee.

Event: meetup,
facebook hosted by WWALS
facebook Hosted by Berrien County Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority and Nashville Main Street

“It’s time to get excited for the 8th annual Berrien County Harvest Festival! Come join us in Downtown Nashville for crafts, food, fun, and entertainment by the Peterson Farm Brothers and more!”

Environmental Resources, Greater Berrien County, Environment and Conservation
Environmental Resources in 2015 update to Berrien County Comprehensive Plan.

Berrien County PR, unknown date, Berrien County Harvest Festival set for September 30th,

The Harvest Festival will feature Continue reading

Cow House Branch Lift Station Spill in Tifton, GA 2019 2017-09-11

Tifton spilled 277 times more sewage than Valdosta. Tifton Gazette, 20 September 2017, Power outage cause 250,000 gallon wastewater spill,

Street View, Golden Road Lift Station

TIFTON — There were 250,000 gallons of wastewater spillage due to the power outage cause by Hurricane Irma, according to Thomas Coker, water and wastewater superintendent.

The spillage occurred at Continue reading

Agenda: Solar Rocks for the Equinox –Suwannee Riverkeeper will be speaking

Agenda sent by Chris Mericle, one of the event organizers:

When: Saturday September 23, 2017 9am – 5pm

Where: Rum 138, 270 SW CR 138, Ft. White, FL 32038

Event: facebook

Hosted by: North Florida Working Group, Suwannee-St. Johns Group of Sierra Club Florida

Old-style solar mounts, 2006, Solar on roof
Old-style solar mounts on roof in 2006, by John S. Quarterman.

Solar Rocks for the Equinox Speaker and Music agenda

Continue reading

Sinkhole, Sabal Trail, Okapilco Creek, Brooks County, GA 2017-09-19

Update 2017-09-21: Yes, I reported it to GA-EPD, et al. (PDF), and here are facebook photos of most of the images below.

How close to exposed is Sabal Trail’s pipe? This sinkhole is at least a foot deep, maybe two or more, and Sabal Trail only buried their pipe three feet deep, despite requests by Brooks, Colquitt, and Lowndes Counties to bury it deeper.

At sinkhole, Sinkhole

N of sinkhole, Sinkhole

Is that fill material exposed Continue reading

OSHA to WWALS about odorant leak, Dunnellon Compressor Station 2017-08-28

OSHA said it believed the pipeline company, in a paper letter, two weeks after the WWALS complaint about Sabal Trail at Dunnellon.

We did get more information about the actual odorant out of OSHA than we ever did out of FERC, and it’s not pretty:

Hazard statements: Slgnal word Danger

Hazard statements:
H225 : Highly flammable liquid and vapour.
H302 : Harmful if swallowed.
H317 : May cause an allergic skin reaction,
H400 : Very toxic to aquatic life,
H411 : Tox1c to aquatic life wnh long lasting effects.

Supplemental Hazard Statements:
Objectionable odor may cause nausea, headache or dizziness. May displace oxygen and cause Continue reading

HPS II attorney at Union BOCC

Setbacks, he says.

The Commissioners voted unanimously to table the amendments to the Union County Comprehensive Plan, after attorneys for the opponents submitted many suggested modifications and attorneys for the proposed miners asked for more time.

WWALS videos of most of the numerous speakers will follow.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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