Tag Archives: Alapaha River

Videos: More WWALS witnesses, rebuttal, Spectra speaks, and WWALS counsel summation in Day 3, WWALS v. Sabal Trail & FDEP 2015-10-21

Willard Randall, expert welder Sabal Trail didn’t want to hear that Sierra Club is funding part of WWALS’ legal expenses and they really didn’t want to hear about Spectra’s speckled history of safety and compliance. The Respondents also didn’t expect the WWALS pipeline welder expert witness in this third and last day of the final hearing.

DEP tried to argue their own key applicant process substance person couldn’t qualify as an expert witness for WWALS. A sitting Suwannee County Commissioner testified. A fireman who lives near the proposed compressor station said a few words about Sabal Trail saying one thing and doing another. A string of WWALS witnesses talked about generations of use and enjoyment, joining WWALS because WWALS took in the upper Suwannee as territory, more new WWALS members, WWALS as a Waterkeeper® Alliance Affiliate.

The Respondents rebuttal witnesses were Continue reading →

Videos: WWALS witnesses in Day 2, WWALS v. Sabal Trail & FDEP 2015-10-20

Dennis Price cross-examination DEP’s only witness yesterday, today also a witness for WWALS, couldn’t find a document she needed in the Respondents’ cartload (literally) of documents, not even with the help of five Respondent attorneys, yet everyone could find items in the two WWALS exhibit books quite readily.

We also learned that concerns were irrelevant, only actual effects on WWALS members count, which made it too difficult for Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson to get qualified as an expert witness, even though she has assisted DEP and SRWMD in environmental issues. And we couldn’t talk about air quality issues, since DEP already issued an air quality permit for the Sabal Trail Hildreth compressor station in Suwannee County, so what David Shields could talk about was very limited, even though he and his family with their organic farm live downwind of that compressor station. However, WWALS expert witness Dennis Price hit geological questions out of the ballpark. And a cow did fall into a sinkhole.

Here are WWALS videos of each witness, followed by a video playlist. See also much more about this case, including videos of the other two days, and how you can help WWALS defend our members, the Suwannee River, and the Floridan Aquifer.

Videos: Sabal Trail’s case in WWALS v. Sabal Trail & FDEP 2015-10-19

Surprise WWALS attorneys and mounds of Sabal Trail and FDEP documents, yet missing documents, overlooked gopher tortoises, and springs that apparently none of the respondents went to see, all in these WWALS videos of the first day of the case WWALS brought to defend its members, the Suwannee River, and the Floridan Aquifer against the invading Sabal Trail pipeline and the Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) and Easement to Use Sovereign Submerged Lands (Easement) the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) intends to issue to Sabal Trail.

Petitioner WWALS presented a surprise: two attorneys. Respondents Sabal Trail and FDEP presented a mound of documents. That was all in preliminary matters.

Then Sabal Trail presented its prima facie case, through its witnesses David Shammo and David Dickson.

Per previous agreement among the parties, WWALS presented out of order two witnesses, Tom Edwards and Joe “Britt” McClung.

Then Sabal Trail continued with witness Jim Ambrosino

Towards the end of the day, FDEP’s sole witness Lisa Prather testified.

Here’s a link to much more information including vidoes of the other two days of the hearing, and how you can continue to contribute to the IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign for legal expenses (there will almost certainly be an appeal) or join WWALS.

Below are WWALS videos of Day 1, followed by a video playlist.

The ant testifies against the dinosaur: WWALS v. Sabal Trail & FDEP continues 2015-10-21

It’s hard to qualify as an expert, but WWALS members count, too, Chris Mericle testifying as we defend the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers and the Floridan Aquifer against the Sabal Trail pipeline invader. Continuing this morning at 10AM in Jasper, Florida!

When: 10 AM Wednesday 21 October 2015

Where: Hamilton County Board of Commissioners Chambers,
207 NE First Street
Jasper, Florida 32052

What: WWALS v. Sabal Trail & FDEP
Defending the Suwannee River and our water, land, and air against the invading Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline Continue reading →

WWALS on Chris Beckham radio show 105.9 FM Wednesday 2015-09-30

The FERC circus in Valdosta Wednesday, Kayaktivism on the Withlacoochee River Saturday, reprinting Alapaha River Water Trail brochures, the new Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, and WWALS v. Sabal Trail & FL-DEP in Jasper (or Live Oak) 19-22 October 2015:

these are some of the topics WWALS president John S. Quarterman will talk about on the air.

When: 8AM Wednesday October 30th 2015

Where: Continue reading →

Picture: Alapaha Cleanup @ GA 135 2015-09-26

A cleanup and a new WWALS banner! Thanks to Bret Wagenhorst for both, at the Alapaha River at GA 135 on the Atkinson County side today.

Last one is here

-jsq

Reminder: GA 135 Alapaha River Cleanup 2015-09-26

Bret Wagenhorst invites you:

Cleanup at GA 135 south of Willacoochee For anyone who likes to paddle the pristine waters of our region’s lovely Alapaha River, I’d like to encourage you to come out for an hour this coming Saturday and help make a noticeable difference by picking up trash along the bank at one of the put in sites for the Alapaha River Water Trail. 9 a.m. at the Hwy 135 bridge south of Willacoochee.

It’s the annual WWALS Adopt-A-Stream cleanup, Continue reading →

Valdosta wastewater fixes schedule update

Thanks, Emily and Henry, and to the City of Valdosta for all your efforts. But could somebody please update the schedule on Valdosta’s website?

Subject: COV Sanitary Sewer System Improvement Update

Good afternoon Chris,

Force-Main-Project-Map--August-2015-001 Thank you for reaching out to me today for an update on the sewer improvements that the City has underway. We have continued to make substantial progress since our meeting back in March that you attended. As discussed then, the city has two major projects underway. One is a $36 million dollar Force Main project and the other is a $23 million dollar Plant Relocation. As of today, the Force Main project is 5 months ahead of the July 2016 schedule and the Plant Relocation is 16 months ahead of schedule. Both projects are tracking a timeline to be complete and online around February 2016. Please note that we have not had any overflow or major permit violations at the wastewater treatment plant since making the emergency repairs in February 2014.

Below is a quick summary of an update I recently received in reference to the sewer manhole overflows: Continue reading →

Rescheduled: WWALS Water Trails at Southern Georgia Regional Commission Council 2015-09-24

Rescheduled from July, Paulk Vineyards WWALS Ambassador Dave Hetzel will speak about the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT), which is now looking to place signs and reprint brochures, and the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WRWT), whose Committee is looking for more members, at the Southern Georgia Regional Commission Council meeting September 24th in Pearson, Georgia.

When: 11AM Thursday September 24th, 2015

Where: Continue reading →