Sabal Trail pipeline route discussion, Suwannee Board of County Commissioners, 2015-12-01

Beyond asking to move the Sabal Trail compressor station, the Suwannee County Board of Commissioners (SBOCC) will consider what else it wants.

218 Parshley St. SW, Live Oak, FL 32064 SBOCC Meeting — Sabal Trail pipeline route discussion by SBOCC tonight — I was told — 6 pm Parshley Street in Live Oak — right behind Post Office off Ohio Ave (MLK BLVD).

Please attend if able. —Debra Johnson

Will Sabal Trail continue to hide behind the federal Pipeline Safety Act even after two more whistleblowers have come forward about Spectra Energy?

Will Sabal Trail again Continue reading →

Suwannee County, FL sends resolution against Sabal Trail to FERC 2015-11-30

The one county targetted by every path proposed by Spectra Energy Resolution: move it for its Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, Suwannee County, Florida, has told FERC it passed a resolution wanting the Hildreth compressor station moved.

Filed with FERC 30 November 2015, Accession Number: 20151130-0023, “A Resolution of the Board of County Commissioners of Suwannee County, Florida etc re Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC under CP15-17.” (PDF on WWALS website.)

For the text, see the previous post. Below are images. Continue reading →

Sea level gage reports: all USGS gages in WWALS territory in Georgia

All the Suwannee River Basin USGS gages in Georgia just got a new flood level reporting system (except they missed one). Locator Map: Central South Georgia USGS Gages They’ve added a level measurement from sea level, probably not coincidentally about the same as the Florida gages added a level measurement from dry riverbed, so both Georgia and Florida gages now have both measurements. This actually does not affect the WWALS level charts for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail nor for the Alapaha River Water Trail, because those continue to display water levels from dry riverbed. To see this change at all, you have to drill down to the USGS detail pages, for example on the Withlacoochee River at Skipper Bridge Road in Georgia, or near Pinetta, Florida.

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Tallahassee, FL, unknown date, Suwannee River Basin Datum Changes in South Central Georgia,

Starting on October 14, 2015, the National Weather Service in Tallahassee and Jacksonville will make adjustments to the reporting method for water level in the Suwannee River System. This includes river gages in the following rivers or creeks: Continue reading →

Industrial Wastewater Permit application for Suwannee River Plant by Duke Energy

Why does Duke Energy now want to dispose of industrial wastewater from its Suwannee River power plant in Suwannee County? Why did Duke apply for a water permit for the same plant the same day that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asked for comments about Sabal Trail? Why does Sabal Trail want the same type of permit?

Profile Name: Suwannee Air

Permit: Water – Industrial Wastewater Facility Permit
Project Name: DUKE ENERGY – SUWANNEE RIVER
Location Id: FL0000183
Location Name: Duke Energy Florida – Suwannee River Generating Plant
County: Suwannee
Application Number: FL0000183-007

For further information, please contact the Tallahassee Headquarters permitting office in Tallahassee at (850) 245-8589

Why is a wastewater permit labeled “Suwannee Air”? And more questions…. Continue reading →

Suwannee County landowners v. Sabal Trail surveying 2015-12-07

Suwannee County resident Debra Johnson tells us:

Suwannee County landowners vs Sabal Trail’s right to survey at Suwannee County courthouse Dec 7 at 3:30, Live Oak, FL. Landowners have lawyers.

A bit more information on Suwannee County Says “NO” To Toxic Waste 27 November 2015: Continue reading →

DEP neither acknowledged nor addressed the EPA concerns raised by WWALS –Politico

National news notes Florida doesn’t want DOAH to listen to EPA about Sabal Trail, after WWALS asked DOAH to do so.

DEP over EPA Bruce Ritchie, POLITICO Florida, 25 November 2015, Scott administration helped keep scathing EPA pipeline report out of legal challenge,

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott’s top environmental agency helped block a scathing federal report outlining environmental concerns from being submitted as part of a challenge to a controversial natural gas pipeline that would run across some of Florida’s most “environmentally sensitive areas.”

The Sabal Trail pipeline, a joint venture of Spectra Energy, Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light Co.’s parent company, would extend 515 miles from central Alabama to Osceola County. The project, which covers more than 260 miles in Florida, faces a legal challenge to a state permit in Florida from an environmental group named the WWALS Watershed Coalition.

On Oct. 26, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, saying it had “very significant concerns” about Continue reading →

Thanks to WWALS members!

Thanks to all WWALS members on this Thanksgiving Day!

Thanks for coming on outings, for helping build the water trails, for following the Valdosta wastewater situation, for tracking down recent corporate agricultural land purchases, and for helping fight an unnecessary pipeline and promote clean energy!

Lots of outings are coming up, starting with a hike that needs no boats, at Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area between Valdosta and Lakeland. Then a brief paddle on the Little River and a much longer one on the Alapaha River, plus the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail logo contest Continue reading →