Winners, BIG Little River Paddle Race 2017-04-29

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Adel, Georgia, June 4, 2017 — Dwight Griner of Berrien County, Georgia won for the fifth time. A dozen other boats received prizes, as a record number of people paddled in the Fifth Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, April 29, 2017. Tifton and Tift County had the most paddlers, but the awards show more boats from Moultrie and Colquitt County. Lowndes had the second most paddlers, and there were two people each from Cook and from far-away Houston and Harris Counties, and one from Thomas County.

[Dwight Griner winner closeup]
Dwight Griner winner closeup

This year’s BLRPR included three popular new attractions: Continue reading →

U.S. Chamber wants FERC nominees approved 2017-05-31

The key phrase is actually exactly why FERC nominees should not be approved: 170531 FERCNominations-PowellChatterjee Murkowski Cantwell-0001

“…but of increasingly vital importance, also oversees the permitting and construction of natural gas pipelines, gas storage projects, and liquefied natural gas terminals.”

Funny how the Chamber didn’t mention fracking or LNG export. We don’t need more pipelines taking people’s property and risking our water and lives for the profit of a few fossil fuel executives cashing out before their industry goes belly-up.

WWALS recommends a swift vote to deny these FERC nominees and any others who do not vow to “to develop the new energy infrastructure necessary to ensure future domestic energy security” by rapidly deploying sun and wind power with no more new pipelines. Please call your Senators or members of that Committee to recommend they get on with real renewable energy, not 20th century fossil fuel stranded assets.

U.S. Chamber letter to U.S. Senate Energy Committee

Continue reading →

Coal Ash movie and panel discussion, Live Oak, FL 2017-06-09

Come to Live Oak, Florida next Friday to see a movie and a panel discussion about Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, which was instrumental in promoting solar power in Georgia, in closing coal plants, and now in dealing with coal ash. WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman will be on the panel. Thanks to SSJSCNFWG for organizing this.

When: June 9, 2017 Doors open 6:00 pm Film starts at 7:00 pm

Where: Live Oak Woman’s Club
1308 11th Street SW, Live Oak, Fl 32064
Free Admission and Refreshments

What: An advanced screening of the new documentary film “From The Ashes” followed by a panel discussion

From-the-Ashes-flyer-0001

Organized By: Continue reading →

Videos: Suwannee Riverkeeper at Sparkleberry Florida Native Plant Society in Branford 2017-05-09

Here’s WWALS video of the WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper presentation at the Sparkleberry Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society in Branford, Florida, May 9, 2017. Acting Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman explained WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman led an animated discussion about recent advocacy with the several dozen attendees, many of whom had not heard about one or more of humic substances at the Suwannee River Sill, NFRWSP, BMAPs, Pilgrim’s Pride, coal ash, or Bill Gates’ and other recent corporate agricultural land purchases. While they all had heard of Sabal Trail, we had some updates on that, too.

Here’s the video:

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail, Withlacoochee River, Lowndes and Brooks Counties, GA 2017-05-21-22

How long until it leaks?

WARNING WARNING So if it’s not a safety problem, why does the sign say “Above All … Safe”?

Sign and bridge. Continue reading →

GA 122 @ Withlacoochee River 2017-05-17

A clearcut near the Withlacoochee River at GA 122 in Lowndes County, Georgia, led to some visual observations.

School bus heading west
School bus westbound on Hagan Bridge over the Withlacoochee River.

The clearcut starts east of the river and west of Hambrick Road. Here you can see the entrance to it from GA 122: Continue reading →

Call U.S. Senate Energy Committee about Sabal Trail and FERC violations

Update 2017-08-03: The Senate already confirmed those two nominees. But there are more nominations to oppose and other things you can do.

Update 2017-06-15: On 6 June 2017 the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee forwarded two FERC nominees, but the full Senate has not voted on them, so you can lobby your Senators to vote no.

You can follow up after five people were arrested Thursday protesting confirmation hearings for FERC nominees in the U.S. Senate Energy Committee. The committee hasn’t made any decisions yet, so there’s still time to tell your Senator or members of that committee what FERC or its rubberstamped pipelines have done, so they can refuse to confirm any nominee who does not vow to turn FERC away from more pipelines and towards sun, wind, and a smart grid.


Photo: Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee considered the nominations of (left to right) Dan Brouillette to be deputy Energy secretary and Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson to fill vacancies on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

They’re also considering a nominee for deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy, which department’s Office of Fossil Energy rubberstamped half a dozen LNG export operations in Florida. You can tell the Senators that you don’t want him, either, unless he will turn to the sun.

You can ask the Senate Energy Committee to go beyond that: it can Continue reading →

Wade Spring 2017-05-21

The ghostly remains of the spring pool in what was once a famous resort. Aaron Sirmons says the owner told him when her father bought the place in the 1960s, the spring was already destroyed. The Brooks County Manager told me somebody tried to enlarge it and destroyed it. It looks like maybe they used dynamite.

Wade Spring with Aaron Sirmans as reference human

Wade Spring is actually easily visible from Blue Springs Road in Brooks County, Georgia, if you know just where to peer through the bushes. That’s at Continue reading →

Sabal Trail slips its in-service request to June; FERC classifies WWALS shutdown request as motion 2017-05-26

They finally admit to FERC the Sabal Trail boondoggle is a month late! And FERC reclassifies the WWALS filing as a motion for all three SMPP pipelines.

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 26 May 2017, Sabal Trail seeks new pipeline start date; group wants shutdown,

Sabal Trail Transmission on Friday asked federal regulators for an early June in-service date for its portion of the Alabama-to-Florida natural gas pipeline, a later date than it had requested earlier this month.

With segmented KMI FGT JEP to Jacksonville to Eagle LNG export:

On May 17 Houston-based Sabal Trail had asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to start sending gas through the pipeline by today — May 26.

Also Friday, the Georgia-based WWALS Watershed Coalition asked FERC to deny all requests to place the pipeline into service, and said FERC should revoke the permit and shut it down.

The Sierra Club recently asked FERC to delay the pipeline’s operation until after pending litigation is resolved.

FERC has yet to act on either of Sabal Trail’s start-up date requests or on The Sierra Club’s request.

Maybe FERC staff have noticed Continue reading →

WWALS asks FERC to deny Sabal Trail’s in-service request and to revoke its permit

Update: 2017-06-05: WWALS files with FERC against Sabal Trail again, about sea change from fossil fuels to sun and wind power.

Update 2017-05-27: Sabal Trail slips its in-service request to June; FERC classifies WWALS shutdown request as motion 2017-05-26.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hahira, GA, May 26, 2017 — WWALS Watershed Coalition today asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to “stay, stop, or deny all requests to place any project facilities into service” for the Southeast Markets Pipeline Project (SMPP) including Sabal Trail. Further “WWALS as an intervenor formally requests FERC to revoke its Certificate of Convenience and Necessity for SMPP.”

In its thirteen-page filing (available online and in PDF), WWALS listed six reasons, each with its own attachment of details:

  1. The alleged need for this pipeline project, which has been refuted by its funding organization in FPL’s 2016 Ten Year Plan and by other evidence; and
  2. FERC has taken jurisdiction of at least one LNG export chain from Sabal Trail, despite FERC’s own assertion in its February 2016 Certificate; and

    3. Major Gas Pipelines Serving Jacksonville, Florida
    See Sabal Trail to export through Jacksonville, FL.

  3. Failure to assess risks to Floridan Aquifer, the primary water supply for the region; and
  4. Numerous permit violations during construction; and
  5. Failure to address especially egregious violations such as the destruction of Randy Dowdy’s world-record soybean fields; and
  6. The legal challenges recited in the Sierra Club letter of May 18, 2017, FERC Accession Number 20170519-5018, are all completely litigated.

WWALS president and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman said, “It’s not too late for FERC to do its job and actually evaluate all the new evidence that has come to light. Even more, FERC should look at how the world has changed Continue reading →