Stop Sabal Trail fracked gas pipeline; invest in solar –John S. Quarterman in Citrus County Chronicle 2016-12-25

Here’s a Christmas present for pipeline opponents and solar power proponents.

John S. Quarterman John S. Quarterman, Citrus County Chronicle, other voices, 25 December 2016, Stop gas pipeline; invest in solar,

Sabal Trail and FDEP assured us there would be no problems drilling a 36-inch natural gas pipeline through the fragile karst limestone under the Suwannee River and the Withlacoochee (south) River in Florida, yet already Sabal Trail’s pilot hole under the Withlacoochee (north) River in Georgia caused a frac-out of drilling mud into the river and a sinkhole. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should halt construction and do a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

When I happened to fly over the Withlacoochee (north) River frac-out, I also saw Continue reading →

Fargo to Roline, Suwannee River, 2017-03-18

Update 2017-03-17: Yes, there’s plenty of water and the weather forecast is fine.

A long downstream paddle on the historic Suwannee River from Georgia into Florida. Fargo Launch @ US 441, Suwannee River In the winter-spring rainy season the water should be high and fast.

Bring the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. There is no good place to take out before the end point, so be prepared to paddle all day. With lunch, swim stops, and bon-bons, of course.

When: 7AM Saturday, March 18th, 2017

Put In: Fargo Ramp

GPS: 30.68297, -82.56105

Take Out: Roline Launch

Duration: 10 hours

Event: facebook, meetup

Free: This outing is Free! And we recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail HDD and Compressor sites 2016-12-22

South Suwannee River HDD, 30.4065670, -83.1543950 An anonymous informant sent these aerial pictures of what appear to be the Sabal Trail drill sites at the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers, plus the Hildreth Compressor Station near O’Brien, apparently taken Thursday 22 December 2016.

The GPS coordinates were Continue reading →

GA 168 (Berrien Beach) to GA 122 (Lakeland) Alapaha River Outing 2017-02-11

Long, but if the water is high, should be fast: 16 1/2 miles from Berrien Beach Landing to Lakeland Boat Ramp on the lovely wild Alapaha River Water Trail. As long as the rains keep coming, the river should be high and it should take less time than the usual estimate of eight hours. Bring the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. There is no good place to take out before the end point, so be prepared to paddle all day.

When: 7:00AM, Saturday, February 11th, 2017

Put In: Berrien Beach Ramp, on GA 168 east of Nashville, Berrien County, Georgia, at 31.159076, -83.045554. Continue reading →

Sabal Trail is overbuilt Florida gas infrastructure

Even FPL admits Florida needs no new electricity until 2024, so what is Sabal Trail really for? Could it corporate profit and LNG export? Meanwhile, solar power prices keep going down as deployments rocket up.

Larry Buhl, DeSmogBlog, 9 December 2016, Sabal Trail Opponents Say Pipeline Is Part of Florida’s ‘Overbuilt’ Gas Infrastructure,

John Quarterman, president of [… WWALS] Watershed Coalition, recalled that Sabal Trail representatives, when pressed at public hearings, maintained that, as a pipeline company they had no idea where gas going through their pipes might end up, a claim that he and other activists find hard to believe.

Chris Pedersen, writing for the industry publication OilPrice.com in October 2014, wrote that Transco and Sabal Trail pipelines could be used to explore new overseas markets for Utica and Marcellus Shale gas.

Sabal Trail opponents say gas flowing through the Sabal Trail pipeline could easily end up at export terminals on the Florida coast. For example, Continue reading →

No sign of sinkhole with equipment in it 2016-12-18

There’s a rumor that Sabal Trail has some equipment stuck in a sinkhole at the Suwannee River. Multiple people have gone and videoed and seen nothing like that there, on either side of the Suwannee River. We’ve also checked the Withlacoochee River at US84: nothing like that is visible at the visible HDD site in Georgia (it could be at the Brooks County, GA site that we can’t see).

The drilling equipment formerly at the Martin Lane Withlacoochee HDD site in Lowndes County, Georgia is gone, and the drill truck photographed recently at the Suwannee south bank HDD site looks like the same Southeast Directional Drilling truck with the Arizona address on its side.

Southeast Directional Drilling, 3117 North Cessna Ave., Casa Grande, AZ 85122, 520-423-2131, www.southeastdrilling.com,

Incidentally, unlike some other Sabal Trail contractors, Continue reading →

Why #NoSabalTrail #NoDAPL #WaterIsLife

Update 17 Dec 2016: What would you add? Comment here or send email to wwalswatershed@gmail.com. There will be a longer second version of this post.

Many new people and organizations are joining the opposition to the Sabal “Sinkhole” Trail fracked methane pipeline. Many of them ask me: why are we opposing this pipeline? It’s simple: our water, land, and air are more important than profit for a few utility executives and a few fossil fuel companies from Houston, Texas and Alberta, Canada. Solar power is now cheaper, faster to install, and far less destructive than any other power source, so the Sunshine State should turn directly to the sun.

Three years ago FPL said Sabal Trail was needed for new Florida electricity. FPL’s 2016 Ten Year Plan says Florida needs no new electricity until 2024 at the earliest. So why should we accept any destruction or risk for an unnecessary pipeline?

We were assured by Sabal Trail and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s one witness testified under oath in WWALS v Sabal Trail & FDEP: Continue reading →

It’s that most wonderful time of the year — Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Yuletide Greetings!

Are you looking for a non-profit for your year end giving, or a gift for that hard to buy for person? WWALS is a 501(c)(3) and your donations are tax deductible as allowable by law. I invite you to become a member today or make an additional year end gift. Your gift helps us achieve our mission:

/donations/
PO Box 88, Hahira, GA 31632

Organizations can donate to WWALS, too, as many have.

In this very busy year of 2016 WWALS has: Continue reading →