I still see EPA’s new Clean Water Rule
as a good thing, since it protects drinking water,
paddling, and fishing, while opponents remain quite vague about
what might be wrong with it.
After last year’s comment period, U.S. EPA has posted a prepublication version of its final Clean Water Rule.
Katie Shepherd, L.A. Times, 27 May 2015, Under new EPA rule, Clean Water Act protections will cover all active tributaries, Continue reading
Like Kinder Morgan and its Palmetto Project through southeast Georgia, Spectra Energy, also of Houston, acts entitled to gouge its Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline through southwest Georgia, taking local lands, causing widespread environmental destruction, and risking leaks and explosions local and state taxes would have to pay for. Come hear about the fight so far against this invader and some ideas on what to do next, 7PM Thursday May 21st in Savannah. WWALS President John S. Quarterman and an affected landowner will speak.
State and local taxes will end up paying to clean up any leaks or explosions
from either pipeline: both Spectra Energy from Houston, half owner of Sabal Trail,
and Kinder Morgan from Houston, behind the Palmetto Project,
tell the SEC every year they don’t have enough insurance to cover
major incidents.
Push Back the Pipeline,
recently convinced Georgia Governor Nathan Deal
to oppose the Palmetto pipeline,
and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, too.
Maybe they can help persuade both to oppose Sabal Trail.
Connect Savannah, today, (also on Push Back the Pipeline), Georgia’s Other Unwanted and Unneeded Pipeline,
When: Thu., May 21, 7 p.m.
Phone: 912-961-6190
Price: Free
Where: First Presbyterian Church
520 Washington Ave Savannah-Eastside
912-354-7615
www.fpc.presbychurch.netThe Palmetto Pipeline is not the only pipeline project in Georgia Continue reading
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF LEE COUNTY
STATE OF GEORGIA
|
SABAL TRAIL TRANSMISSION, LLC,
Plaintiff,
vs.
JAMES E. BELL, II and ROBERT A. BELL,
Defendants. |
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : |
Civil Action No. 14-CV-208RS
|
AMICUS CURIAE OF WWALS WATERSHED COALITION, Inc.
IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS THE BELLS
COMES NOW WWALS WATERSHED COALITION, INC. (WWALS), as friends of the court and concerned citizens in the above-entitled action in support of the Defendants and file this their brief with the court in the above referenced case and states as follows and provides in support thereof the following:
Continue readingUpdate 2017-09-13: The Lowndes County Commissioners surprisingly agreed to rezone “backwards” to Estate A gricultural (E-A) at their Regular Session of 14 April 2015.
A historic dairy farm wants to go back to the most agricultural zoning,
upstream on Cherry Creek from the
Cherry Creek Sink that leaks into the
Floridan Aquifer.
Vallotton Farms (both the part outlined in red
that appears to be the subject of the rezoning and the bigger part west of Bemiss Road) includes quite a bit of Cherry Creek itself.
Agriculture is probably better than other likely uses in such a location. Continue reading
Sabal Trail seems to have a very constrained idea of the Floridan Aquifer
that doesn’t include areas in for example Colquitt, Brooks, and Lowndes County
that USGS says are in the Floridan Aquifer.
But at least Sabal Trail is admitting its fracked methane pipeline would
cross numerous aquifer systems.
Filed with FERC 2015-02-20 as Accession Number: 20150220-5131, “Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC submits supplemental information on adopted alternatives and information on other reroutes and modifications under CP15-17.” PDF. Continue reading
Someone referred to the mid-February Old Statenville Road spill in asking:
What’s happening in your watershed? This is the most recent of several sewage overflow issues I’ve been reading about.
Brief answer: this flooding issue is one of many reasons WWALS Watershed Coalition was formed; we’ve been on it since then; the City of Valdosta is being fixed the immediate problem; however there’s a much bigger problem throughout the entire Suwannee River Basin that the Army Corps of Engineers is studying.
Long answer:
This has been going on for years, especially starting with the
700-year flood in 2009, which overflowed the City of Valdosta’s
Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and backed up sewage
out of manholes, in addition to rivers and streams running over
roads and bridges; see this
USGS two-pager on that.
Larry Hanson, Valdosta City Manager, presented to Continue reading
Yesterday Prof. Don Thieme, WWALS member Dan Coleman, and I showed
a reporter around some sinkholes near the Withlacoochee River,
including one that’s been there for decades, leaking into the
Floridan Aquifer, and one that opened up within a couple of months
only a few years ago.
Dan Coleman says Shadrick Sinkhole has been there probably at least Continue reading
A surprising number of the Board’s nine goals for 2014 have been accomplished, and some new ones have already been added. What goals should WWALS have for 2015?
Goals accomplished include
becoming an
IRS 501(c)(3)
and raising money for and purchasing
insurance.
Some we’ve been doing right along:
cleanups, including Rivers Alive.
Some are so much the core of what WWALS does that we
didn’t even list them as goals, but we’ve been doing them anyway:
monthly outings
and
indoor events.
The later-added goal of the Alapaha River Water Trail is Continue reading
A Suwannee County, Florida landowner points to
newly-discovered connections between springs under rivers
and to
other well-known springs
Sabal Trail ignored, adding:
Note that the undersigned is a lay person attorney and NOT a karst expert. Basic research revealed the information contained herein and the omission of this infonnation by Sabal’s purported karst experts should raise serious questions as to the credibility of Sabal’s filings.
Filed with FERC 29 January 2015 as Accession Number: 20150129-5192, “Supplemental Information / Request of Edwards & Ragatz, P.A. under CP15-17. Supplemental Comments of Proposed Intervener, Thomas S. Edwards, Manager, TSE Plantation, LLC Opposing Portion of Sabal Trail Route and Related Motion to Accept Late Comments”, Continue reading
The Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline route went through
this area, and the new route is only slightly to the north.
There are springs all over this area.
The same karst limestone underlies the Withlacoochee River
in Georgia, where the river already leaks into the aquifer north
of Valdosta.
A pipeline anywhere in the karst limestone containing the
Floridan Aquifer is a very bad idea.
Profit for Sabal Trail, FPL, or Spectra Energy is no excuse for
risking our drinking water.
SRWMD PR 4 December 2014, Falmouth dye trace reveals unknown connectivity,
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LIVE OAK, FL, December 4, 2014 — The District and Florida Geological Survey introduced dye into Falmouth Spring On September 4th, in hopes of learning which other springs were connected to the known Falmouth Cathedral Cave System. Two days after the dye was release the dye appeared in two springs previously not known to be connected, Ellaville and Suwannacoochee.
Continue reading
