Tag Archives: Aquifer

Water and family farms more precious than Sabal Trail Sinkhole Pipeline: citizens to FERC in Moultrie 2015-09-29

“Water is our most precious commodity, not pipelines, not Sabal Trail,”, said WWALS member Alton Burns, and both he and WWALS president John S. Quarterman spoke twice, about safety, water, conflicts of interest, the Floridan Aquifer, lack of transparency, Okapilco Creek, the Withlacoochee River, and the Suwannee River, all of which Sabal Trail is trying to drill under. Local landowners were the most blunt: the FERC process is a farce and a hoax, they said. See for yourself in these LAKE videos from Moultrie last night.

But it’s still important for you to come speak up, to be on the record, so the news media will hear, and so your neighbors will hear. The FERC meetings continue tonight in Valdosta and Continue reading →

Florida Well Salinity Study

Update 2017-05-18: Salt water intrusion inland is worse than you think, including the “Apalachicola salinity feature” up to the GA-FL line and east through Lowndes County, with a special additional brackish Valdosta feature. See Revised Hydrogeologic Framework of the Floridan Aquifer System 2016-03.

Update 2016-02-22: Fixed URLs for DEP files.

Salt water and other solids are coming up in Florida wells far inland from the sea, Sulfate in Status Network Wells (All Aquifers) Modeled Using Inverse Distance Weighting right up to the state line, and it probably doesn’t stop there. The problem is worse on the coasts and in south Florida, but north central Florida is not immune, judging by these preliminary maps by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Likely culprits would seem to include overpumping. Continue reading →

WWALS in Albany, GA newspaper

Sabal Trail opposition aware across Georgia and Florida.

Carlton Fletcher, Albany Herald, 13 September 2015, FERC Sabal Trail ruling comes amidst protest: Group holds fasting vigil outside federal agency’s offices,


Photo: TONY CASSADY, 31 May 2015, in Arkansas River pipeline blowout occurred on Sunday morning, cause still unknown, by Benjamin Hardy, Arkansas Blog, 3 June 2015

Meanwhile, in Florida an environmental group has filed a petition with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to stop development of the pipeline over concerns about the safety record of Spectra Energy, the Houston-based company that will build the pipeline. The group points to a May pipeline rupture under the Arkansas River that forced two miles of the river to be shut down after an estimated 3.9 million cubic feet of natural gas was released.

Nope, WWALS doesn’t want that Arkansas River rupture to be repeated under the Suwannee River in Florida, the Withlacoochee River in Georgia, or any other river. The reporter seems to have heard about WWALS via Continue reading →

GA-EPD plans to certify Sabal Trail within 30 days unless public comments; ditto USACE

People can request a hearing by the state of Georgia or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop GA-EPD or the USACE from rubberstamping Southeast Market Pipelines Project Overview Sabal Trail’s use of wetlands within 30 days from Friday. USACE explicitly asks for public comments on “cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest”, unlike FL-DEP’s attempts to narrow the issue. Presumably this includes crossings of the Chattahoochee, Flint, Ochlockonee, and Withlacoochee Rivers in Georgia (and the Suwannee, Santa Fe, and Withlacoochee (south) Rivers in Florida and other rivers in Alabama), although this USACE Jacksonville office public notice about the Clean Waters Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act doesn’t specify. It was released Friday September 11th just like the one USACE Mobile District released that same day on Proposed Discharge of Sabal Trail Fill Material. Apparently you can ask for a public hearing by USACE in Alabama or Florida as well as in Georgia.

Here’s the Jacksonville USACE public notice: Continue reading →

Sabal Trail right in the middle of the most vulnerable area of the Floridan Aquifer –John S. Quarterman for WWALS on Chris Beckham radio show 2015-08-31

The main point:

“I’ve got an independent route: let’s cancel this pipeline, and the Sunshine State should go directly to solar power.”

Here’s the video: Continue reading →

Sabal Trail in most vulnerable area of the Floridan Aquifer –Orlando Sentinel

Orlando is just as affected as the Suwannee River by risks of the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline proposed by Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas. You can protest to FL-DEP, FERC, and your local, state, and federal elected and appointed officials, and to the news media.

Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel, 9 September 2015, Natural-gas pipeline to Florida draws environmental concerns,

The Sabal Trail Pipeline has drawn opposition from a Florida group affiliated with WWALS Watershed Coalition Inc., which is based in Georgia. A chief concern is that the pipeline could impact Florida waterways and the drinking-water supply, said John S. Quarterman, director of the Florida and Georgia WWALS groups.

This is according to evidence FL-DEP itself sent to FERC in March 2014, showing the proposed pipeline path going through the most vulnerable area of the Floridan Aquifer, which as you can see on the map they included continues down to Orlando. Continue reading →

WWALS cites dangers to environment and conflict of interest against Sabal Trail –Miami Herald via Florida Bulldog

A major Miami newspaper picked up a Florida Bulldog story after a week. Meanwhile, CBS Miami covered FL-DEP asking for an administrative law judge. And see previous post for what’s safer than any pipeline: solar power, ready now for the Sunshine State.

Dan Christensen, Miami Herald, 6 September 2015, Pipeline foes ask DEP to deny key permit, cite ‘conflict of interest’ by Gov. Rick Scott,

Opponents of a proposed natural gas pipeline in North Florida are asking Florida regulators to reject the project, citing both dangers to the environment and a “conflict of interest” by the regulators’ boss, Gov. Rick Scott.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced in July its intention to award a crucial environmental permit and rights to drill beneath riverbeds that would allow Houston-based Spectra Energy to construct the controversial, $3 billion Sabal Trail Transmission.

State records show Spectra Energy’s investors have included Scott.

Continue reading →

Pipeline dispute to judge for WWALS v Sabal Trail –CBS Miami

New news venues are covering WWALS v. Sabal Trail.

CBS Miami, 4 September 2015, Judge To Consider Florida Pipeline Permit Dispute,

A judge is set to consider an environmental group’s efforts to block construction of a pipeline mean to transport gas into Florida from Alabama.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protectionin July gave notice that it plans to issue a key permit for the Sabal Trail pipeline, which is planned, at least in part, to help deliver natural gas to power plants operated by Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy Florida.

A Georgia-based environmental group, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., has fought the permit, pointing to potential impacts of the pipeline on North Florida waterways.

The group last month added an affiliated organization, WWALS Watershed Coalition Florida, Inc., to the case, though Continue reading →

Florida state regulators grant hearing at unknown data for WWALS v. Sabal Trail –Palm Beach Post

You’ve mostly been hearing about WWALS v. Sabal Trail lately because of all the news coverage related to the petition to FL-DEP, which is great. STA. 13083+00 TO STA. 13136+00, GA-FL Line, Hamilton Co., FL, Jumping Gulley Creek But of course WWALS does a lot more than that and WWALS has been around before anybody ever heard of Sabal Trail.

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 4 September 2015, State regulators grant hearing to anti-pipeline group,

WWALS Watershed coalition and WWALS-Florida which advocate for conservation of Suwannee River and other rivers in south Georgia and North Florida believe the proposed pipeline is not in the public interest and could have severe adverse effects on fish, wildlife, public recreation and navigation.

The pipeline would also go through the fragile karst limestone containing Continue reading →

WWALS to get hearing against Sabal Trail after all –Gainesville Sun

WWALS is about environmental issues such as those FL-DEP said could proceed. However, environmental issues extend far beyond FL-DEP’s narrow view. A pipeline sinkhole could affect springs or wells miles away, and that could affect property values, insurance rates, and of course eco-tourism. Tourism brings in $67 billion a year to Florida. Why would any Florida state agency want to risk that for a pipeline when the Sunshine State can go straight to solar power?

Christopher Curry, Gainesville Sun, 4 September 2015, Part of Sabal Trail challenge will proceed, Continue reading →