Tag Archives: Floridan Aquifer

FL Gov. Scott’s blind trust isn’t opaque

Federal disclosure laws require revealing some information Florida’s blind trust law supposedly hides, and there are other cracks in that state law that let a reporter see some of what’s in Florida Governor Rick Scott’s blind trust, including last year that he owned stock in Spectra Energy and its subsidiary DCP Midstream Partners LP, as well as in Williams Co. and a flock of other pipeline and fossil fuel companies.

Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org, 19 August 2015, You don’t need X-ray vision to see through Gov. Rick Scott’s blind trust, Continue reading →

WWALS petition to FL DEP vs. Sabal Trail

This is the petition (PDF) WWALS filed Friday 7 Aug 2015 against FL-DEP’s intent to isue a permit for Sabal Trail to drill under the Suwannee River and otherwise destroy wetlands and add hazards for no benefit.

Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas also wants to drill the Sabal Trail pipeline under the Santa Fe River and the Withlacoochee south River (the one that flows from the Green Swamp to the Gulf). Sabal Trail also wants to drill under WWALS’ Withlacoochee River that flows into the Suwannee, but in Georgia, so that is not a topic of this petition.

Remember there are still plenty of things you can do to help stop this pipeline invader from destroying forests, fields, and streams, adding hazards for no benefit.

And you can come see where Sabal Trail proposes to cross the Suwannee this Saturday, August 15th, as we paddle down the river!

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

STATE OF FLORIDA

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail wants to drill under the Withlacoochee south River

It’s not just the Suwannee and the Santa Fe: 300x388 Vicinity Map, Sovereign Lands of the State of Florida, in Withlacoochee (Green Swamp) River Crossing, by Sabal Trail Transmission, for WWALS.net, 10 July 2015 Sabal Trail wants to drill into the fragile karst limestone under Florida’s Withlacoochee south River, too, above our Floridan Aquifer, and FL DEP proposes to permit them to do that. This is the other Withlacoochee River; the one from the Green Swamp to the Gulf. Sabal Trail wants a 24″ spur to Citrus County under this river. Watch out, Dunnelon, Marion County, and Citrus County!

(Sabal Trail does still want to drill under WWALS’ Withlacoochee River, known in Florida as the Withlacoochee north, but in Georgia, not Florida.)

Here are the Withlacoochee south River maps and related items from the Drawings Sabal Trail submitted with the FL-DEP Permit application.

Remember there are still plenty of things you can do to help stop this pipeline invader from destroying forests, fields, and streams, adding hazards for no benefit.

Proposed 24″ Citrus County Lateral, Site Plan and Profile, HDD

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail wants to drill under the Santa Fe River

It’s not just the Suwannee: Sabal Trail wants to drill into 300x388 Crossing Easement Location, Sovereign Lands of the State of Florida, in Santa Fe River Crossing, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 10 July 2015 the fragile karst limestone under the Santa Fe River, too, above our Floridan Aquifer, and FL DEP proposes to permit them to do that. Watch out Branford, Suwannee County, and Gilchrist County!

Here are the Santa Fe River maps and related items from the Drawings Sabal Trail submitted with the FL-DEP Permit application.

Remember there are still plenty of things you can do to help stop this pipeline invader from destroying forests, fields, and streams, adding hazards for no benefit.

Proposed 36″ Pipeline, Site Plan and Profile, HDD

Continue reading →

FL DEP to issue permit trusting Sabal Trail to prevent leaks into the Floridan Aquifer

Canada’s National Energy Board just ordered Spectra Energy to fix chronic corrosion and leak problems after numerous fines, as did U.S. PHMSA before, yet 300x194 Horizontal Directional Drilling, in Suwannee River crossing, by Sabal Trail Transmission, for WWALS.net, 10 July 2015 Florida’s DEP plans to trust Spectra to build the Sabal Trail pipeline on top of our Floridan Aquifer, drilling under the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers.

This in the Notice of Intent to Issue Sabal Trail Transmission of 10 July 2015 sounds good without that context: Continue reading →

Spectra hires new lobbying firm in Atlanta for Sabal Trail

A Spectra is haunting Atlanta!

Apparently Spectra is feeling the heat about its proposed Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline and has pushed the revolving door to get some lobbyists in Atlanta. We tried to warn you that you are surrounded, Atlanta!

So much for FERC being the only deciding body. Don’t forget to sign the Petition to GA Gov. Deal to oppose Sabal Trail pipeline.

Greg Bluestein, AJC Insider, 7 July 2015, Trio of bipartisan Atlanta lobbyists opening up new shop, Continue reading →

WWALS signs on to Global Frackdown

Ban fracking before it spreads, and ban it quickly enough to stop new pipelines! WWALS signed the Global Frackdown organized by Food and Water Watch:

Fracking threatens the air we breathe, the water we drink, the communities we love and the climate on which we depend.

The specific message WWALS added when signing 29 June 2015 was:

Fracking is driving a company from Houston, Texas to try to gouge a pipeline across our fragile watersheds and drinking water aquifer. Georgia is already the fastest-growing U.S. market for solar power, and just passed a solar financing law that will make it grow even faster. Meanwhile, a shale gas basin has been discovered under south Georgia and north Florida. Ban fracking before it spreads, and ban it quickly enough to stop new pipelines!

Remember, WWALS supports a fracking ban in Floirida, and Continue reading →

Agricultural land bought by west coast investors

Investment firms owned by Bill Gates have bought thousands of acress of agricultural land in counties in or near WWALS watersheds in south Georgia and north Florida, all above the Floridan Aquifer, near the Alapaha, Alapahoochee, Withlacoochee, and Suwannee Rivers, as part of a nationwide buying spree of a quarter million acres.

Here’s a summary of what we’ve found thus far. Any more recent posts should be found through this search.

These purchases of hundreds and thousands of contiguous acres are all after Bill Gates announced in 2012 he was going to “fix” agriculture in conjunction with Monsanto and Syngenta.

And it’s not just Bill Gates. Continue reading →

WWALS becomes a Waterkeeper Affiliate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WWALS Watershed Coalition becomes a Waterkeeper Affiliate to Patrol and Protect the Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers and all their tributaries.

WATERKEEPER(r) ALLIANCE logo Adel, (June 12, 2015) — The Waterkeeper Alliance Board of Directors approved WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. as a Waterkeeper Affiliate on June 4th, 2015. WWALS Watershed Coalition, a Waterkeeper Affiliate, will work to conserve our central south Georgia and north Florida watersheds by combining firsthand knowledge of the watersheds with an unwavering commitment to the rights of the community and to the rule of law.

“Waterkeeper Alliance is thrilled to have WWALS as the eyes, ears, and voice for this vital watershed and community,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Waterkeeper Alliance President. “Every Continue reading →

EPA Clean Water Rule finalized

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 →