Lime Run Spring is a 1st magnitude spring located in Suwannee River State Park. The Spring is the end point of the Falmouth Cathedral Cave System, one of the longest known underwater cave systems in the world. The Sabal Trail pipeline is proposed to cross over the cave and under U. S. 90 and CSX railroad all at the same point. Collapse of the cave roof is a distinct possibility at this point. We cannot allow Sabal to jeopardize this natural wonder.
Chris Mericle
See also: Continue reading
Despite being on FDEP’s permit announcement list,
I never got anything about a Sabal Trail permit.
After much digging, the other day I found that
FDEP went ahead and issued the Sabal Trail permit 22 January 2016
(PDF),
conveniently before
FERC issued certificates 2 February 2016.
That FDEP permit was also before the appeal deadline of 15 February 2016 in WWALS v Sabal Trail & FDEP. They did not copy the petitioner in that case, namely WWALS. They did copy Audubon Florida, which, as you may recall back in October sent FERC a letter supporting Sabal Trail (and then tried to walk back part of it). A letter that EPA chose to mention by name to the Army Corps of Engineers, while not naming Sierra Club or WWALS in opposition. Apparently if you go along with FDEP you get preferential notification.
And that, that’s nothing. FDEP issued Continue reading
Fireworks at last Monday’s Suwannee BOCC,
although after they had already voted to
hike to the Suwannee River soon<.
WWALS board member Chris Mericle, who will be their guide, also spoke in the meeting.
The recent issuance of certificates by FERC called out the Suwannee River and Suwannee and Hamilton Counties by name, so action by those counties is now even more important.
Paulo Salazar, WTXL, 3 February 2016, Sabal Trail Pipeline Causing Concern for Suwannee County Residents, Continue reading
Is less than 50 cents per person in Lowndes County enough to risk drinking water for all?
Noelani Mathews, 27 January 2016, Lowndes County Leaders Vote 4-1 for Sabal Trail,
A 4-1 vote Tuesday night has paved the way for the pipeline to run through part of Lowndes County, but some are upset about the Board’s decision.
“They’re suppose[d] to represent the people of the County, not the salesman for a pipeline company from Houston, Texas”, says John Quarterman, president of WWALS Watershed Coalition.
Continue reading
The Commissioners for the one county on every Sabal Trail fracked methane path ever proposed, Suwannee County, Florida, meet tonight at 6PM in Live Oak. I can’t go, so I sent them this letter (PDF). If you can go, please do, or you can send them a letter, too.
To: Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners,
Dear Commissioners,
Thanks again for your hospitality at your meeting of December 15th.
Solar and wind can make coal go away with no need for natural gas.
The FPL representative who spoke didn’t seem aware of what Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning said about solar power last June: “If somebody wants to buy distributed generation, I want to sell it to 'em." See Herman K. Trabish, UtilityDive, June 11, 2015, “Inside Georgia Power's move into the residential solar market: The utility says it will offer solar through an unregulated business, but installers fear possible anticompetitive impacts”:
http://www.utilitydive.com/news/inside-georgia-powers-move-into-the-residential-solar-market/400562/That meeting gave me deja vu about a few years ago when Georgia Power and Southern Company were claiming Continue reading
Several Suwannee County Commissioners are studying the difficult and constantly-changing subject of energy, although the Chairman said he had already made up his mind,
Carl McKinney’s droll legend refers on his picture refers to Chris Mericle
as “Jasper man”.
The map shows sinkholes near the proposed pipeline path across the Suwannee River
and the Falmouth Cathedral Cave System.
at the Suwannee County Board of Commissioners meeting last night.
They did nothing about a further resolution against Sabal Trail,
although numerous citizens (many of them WWALS members)
from Suwannee County and nearby counties helped discuss the situation.
Carl McKinney, Suwannee Democrat, 16 December 2015, The future of energy: Debate takes over Suwannee commission meeting,
Following the Suwannee County Commission’s decision last week not to formally oppose the Sabal Trail pipeline entering its jurisdiction, the public engaged commissioners in a debate over the future of energy.
At Tuesday evening’s commission meeting, several members of the public discussed with commissioners the advantages of solar power, Florida’s energy needs and environmental stewardship.
During public comment, local resident Debra Johnson asked Continue reading
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.
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
FL-DEP is reading the news about the WWALS petition, we know because DEP sent a copy of yesterday’s FL-DEP request for an administrative law judge directly to the Palm Beach Post. The Post had already published a story saying the WWALS petition had been dismissed, and changed it to say WWALS has been granted a hearing. (See also WWALS press release.)
Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 3 September 2015,
Florida DEP says anti-pipeline group’s case to be heard,
A conservation group seeking to stop the proposed 465-mile Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline from boring under the iconic Suwannee River has now been granted its request for a hearing.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said late Thursday Continue reading
An Orlando TV station investigates the pipeline pushers
and finds both them and Sabal Trail wanting,
digging up some new evidence of apparent back-room collusion.
Christopher Heath, WFTV, 1 September 2015, 9 Investigates new Florida natural gas pipeline,
A third natural gas pipeline is in the works for Florida. But, even as the power companies pushing the plan tout the need for increased natural gas in the state, questions are being raised about the company actually building the pipeline.
The web version goes into PHMSA fines and Continue reading
The evidence stacks up against the three-part pipeline, Sabal Trail, Florida Southeast Connection, and Hillabee Expansion Project, despite rote denials by FPL and Sabal Trail. And this article ties the WWALS petition against drilling under the Suwannee River with the Georgia opposition to a compressor station in Albany.
Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 31 August 2015, Gas pipeline slated to supply FPL’s plants faces opposition,
A proposed $3.5 billion natural gas pipeline is either essential to Florida’s energy future or a looming disaster that has the potential to damage the iconic Suwannee River and the state’s fragile limestone Floridan Aquifer on its way to Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast….
In recent months, concerns have been raised Continue reading