Tag Archives: Aquifer

Suwannee County Commissioners to hike to Suwannee River Sabal Trail crossing

The joint walk to the Suwannee River by Sierra Club, WWALS, and Spectrabusters 16 January 2016 has gotten the mostly-recalcitrant Suwannee County Board of Commissioners to agree to come along next time.

Debra Johnson, SpectraBusters, 2 February 2016, SUWANNEE COUNTY SBOCC TO HIKE SABAL TRAIL RIVER CROSSING,

After hiking the pipeline route, Commissioner Clyde Fleming became very concerned as he saw the sinkholes in and all around the route. He stated “Sabal Trail has lied to us” and expressed concerns about the integrity of ANY of the environmental studies Suwannee county has received from them.

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High voltage DC evidence that solar and wind can make coal go away with no need for natural gas –WWALS to Suwannee BOCC 2016-02-01

Sent today to the Suwannee Board of County Commissioners (PDF):

Dear Commissioners,

It’s good to see you have a workshop about Sabal Trail’s proposed river crossings on the agenda for tonight. WWALS, including its members in Suwannee County, continues to oppose any such crossings of the Suwannee River or the Santa Fe River, or anywhere in the fragile karst terrain of central Florida and south Georgia containing our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer.

Here’s more evidence that solar and wind can make coal go away with no need for natural gas. A new study shows adding interstate high-voltage DC electric power lines to load-balance across the U.S. would enable a very rapid shift to solar and wind power, dropping CO2 emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2030, five years from now. Florida needs to do its part by deploying solar power for local production during sunny days, rather than wasting $3 billion on yet another natural gas pipeline.

“Better power lines would help U.S. supercharge renewable energy, study suggests,” by Continue reading →

On Columbia County agenda 2016-02-04? Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge

Why is the SRWMD Executive Director on the Columbia County agenda a few days before the SRWMD board meeting with the Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge project?

Under “Presentation of Ministerial Matters Not Requiring Public Comment”, on the February 4th agenda for the Columbia Board of County Commissioners:

Noah Valenstein, Executive Director, Suwannee River Water Management District

   (1) Introduction

Introduction of what? Of the Continue reading →

Audubon speaks for the Florida legislature now?

Even as Our Santa Fe River and others held a demonstration in Gainesville yesterday against fracking bills in the Florida legislature, especially Senate Bill 318 now that House Bill 191 passed, Audubon Florida published a letter concluding:

“So my request to you right now: hold off of the emails to the committee, they know you are paying attention.”

This has not sit well with many opponents of fracking in Florida. WWALS is among the members of Floridians Against Fracking that call for Floridians to call their state legislators.

WWALS remembers when Continue reading →

Reject Sabal Trail easement payment tonight –WWALS to Lowndes County Commission 2016-01-26

The Lowndes County Commission is voting tonight on an easement for the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline through a mercury-contaminated closed landfill. STA. 12818+00 TO STA. 12871+00, Clyatt Mill Creek, Railroad Ave. They only gave one day’s notice, and they didn’t mention the landfill. Here is the letter (PDF) I just sent them asking them to reject that easement, to support their own previous unanimous resolution against Sabal Trail, and to contact state and federal elected and appointed officials and ask them also to reject Sabal Trail. You can write them, too, to commissioner@lowndescounty.com.

To: Lowndes County Board of County Commissioners, Continue reading →

Aquifer Storage and Recharge at SRWMD 2016-02-09

Update 2023-01-31: Fixed image links that broke when the reference documents vanished from the web.

Public Hearing about the $48 million Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge project and its 48-inch 11-mile pipeline, and several others also involving the upper Suwannee River, 9AM Tuesday, February 9th, 2016, at SRWMD headquarters in Live Oak. Wouldn’t limiting withdrawals make more sense? And why is this the only project listed that’s joint with the St Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), and why is drawdown from Jacksonville prominently featured in slides about why this project?

[Project Location and Potential Pipeline Alignment]
Project Location and Potential Pipeline Alignment

On the SRWMD front page under CALENDAR, Continue reading →

Florida Petition against Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline

Update 2016-02-02: Dropoff locations and other updates.

It’s time to get local, state, and federal elected officials to put a stop to the Sabal Trail boondoggle that risks our property rights, rivers, aquifer, and air. You can sign a petition to Florida (or Georgia or Alabama) elected officials by printing out the PDF for you and your neighbors. See below for where to send them.

Or, to sign online, Gulf Restoration Network has put up a handy online form that will send your signature and personalized message directly to your members of Congress.

Here’s the text of the PDF: Continue reading →

Sabal Trail risks drinking water –Gordon Rogers in Georgia Sierran

Apparently fracked methane is Sierra Club Georgia’s next fight now that Keystone XL is dead, since almost its entire January/February/March issue of Georgia Sierran is about opposing natural gas: PDF.

See for example “Why Natural Gas Is Not a Climate Solution”, by Joshua Hanthorn. And “LNG Puts Savannah at Risk”, by Karen Grainey and Stacey Kronquest. Karen is chair of the Coastal Group of Sierra Club Georgia. Pretty much everything in that article also applies to Jacksonville, and quite likely to Palm Beach and other locations in Florida very soon.

Mentioning WWALS is “Pipeline in Southwest Georgia and Central Florida Risks Drinking Water,” by Gordon Rogers, Flint Riverkeeper,

001 The Sabal Pipeline, a joint venture of Spectra Energy, Duke Energy, and NextEra Energy, poses threats to Georgia and Florida communities on multiple fronts. For southwest Georgia and north Florida residents it’s all risks and no rewards. However, so far federal and state authorities have thus far been unmoved by arguments against it.

During the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) public comment period, the agency received more than 1,000 written comments, mostly opposing the project, including resolutions against it from seven counties in Georgia and Florida, and three of the largest cities in its path (Albany, Moultrie and Valdosta).

The article talks about FERC’s FEIS, EPA, GA-EPD, and other matters, before turning to WWALS and Florida. Continue reading →

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality -MLK

Our rivers, creeks, swamps, lakes, and the Floridan Aquifer are part of that web of mutuality described on the north wall of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in DC:


Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,
tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.

It was the Alabama River they sought to cross on the Edmund Pettus Bridge when John Lewis, Continue reading →

Video: WWALS outings on Chris Beckham drive-time radio WVGA 105.9 FM 7:30 AM 2016-01-15

Here’s WWALS video of the radio interview this morning on WVGA 105.9 FM. It’s an invitation to tomorrow morning’s events, both at 10AM:

Chris also got me to say a few words about why WWALS formed in the first place, and why you should all join WWALS; it has to do with the 700-year flood in 2009.

Plus some plugs for Valdosta’s wastewater fixes and their recent LiDAR flight.

The one thing I realized on the way out I forgot to mention, the one item that caused me to schedule this interview, was the workshop at VSU February 27th about the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, featuring the visual beauty of all WWALS’ rivers in an art exhibit and silent auction, the geology on display by Dennis Price, and the remains of past people and cultures still visible along the river by Tom Baird.

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning on the Little River, or other WWALS members look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning on the Suwannee River. If not tomorrow, there’s plenty more to do on our beautiful south Georgia and north Florida blackwater rivers!

Here’s the video:

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