Tag Archives: Gilchrist County

Sabal Trail sinkholes 2015 2017-05-05

Apparently that wet area I saw March 20, 2017 at Sabal Trail’s Suwannee River HDD access in Suwannee County was a “depression” they had just logged the previous day. Two more recent ones show up in Sabal Trail’s latest bi-weekly report, along with a couple of earlier ones they still haven’t even attempted to fix. Why should we expect these sinkholes will stop happening if Sabal Trail finishes and takes all their workers back to Houston, leaving us to deal with the damage?

Hay, berm, lights, workers 30.4061111, -83.1527778 I also wondered what they were up to a bit southeast of that drill site, beyond the dirt berm where I could only see their heads and hats. Apparently that was another sinkhole from January at the Suwannee River HDD in Suwannee County. Or maybe it was in Hamilton County in Suwannee River State Park; their description is so sloppy it’s hard to tell.

They also made a sinkhole a couple of thousand feet east of the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County, and yet another sinkhole near the Santa Fe River HDD. The big winner is Continue reading

Suwannee Riverkeeper at Sparkleberry Florida Native Plant Society in Branford 2017-05-09

Water, Agriculture, Forestry, and WWALS, by WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman, and recent advocacy (BMAPs, Bill Gates, Pilgrim’s Pride, phosphate mines, Wanee, Sabal Trail, and solar power) by Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, at the Florida Native Plant Society Sparkleberry Chapter in Branford, Suwannee County, Florida, on the Suwannee River.

When: 6:30 PM 9 May 2017: 30-45 minutes plus Q & A

Where: Hatch Park, 403 SE Craven St., Branford, FL 32008

Host: Sparkleberry Chapter, Florida Native Plant Society
“Serving Suwannee, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette and Taylor Counties.”

Event: facebook

Vaccinium arboreum
Vaccineum Arboreum, tree huckleberry, sparkleberry

Hatch Park is easy walking distance from Continue reading

Videos: Rivers against Sabal Trail in Live Oak —Suwannee RIVERKEEPER® 2017-01-12

Standing room only last night for two hours of how to oppose Sabal Trail and help the sun rise on Florida and the southeast, 7 PM, Thursday, January 12, 2017 at The Woman’s Club of Live Oak, called by Suwannee Riverkeeper.

Here are links to each of the videos, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. Please share widely, and you can reuse any of these videos; just cite the source, WWALS Watershed Coalition. Continue reading

Rivers against Sabal Trail in Live Oak 7PM Jan 12 2017 —Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

Update 2017-10-13: WWALS Videos of all the speakers.

(PDF flyer)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

No Sabal Trail Spread 4 Live Oak, Florida, January 4, 2017 —Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas is drilling its 36-inch fracked methane pipeline under the Suwannee and Withlacoochee (south) Rivers in Florida right now. It already caused a frac-out of drilling mud into the Withlacoochee River in Georgia and a sinkhole, plus more sinkholes where it drilled under the Santa Fe River in Florida. How did this happen? What can we do to stop this unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous corporate boondoggle?
Suwannee Riverkeeper calls water protectors to rally in Live Oak against the Sabal Trail pipeline and for our property rights, rivers, and the Floridan Aquifer.

When: 7 PM, Thursday, January 12, 2017

Where: The Woman’s Club of Live Oak, 1308 11th Street SW, Live Oak, FL 32064

Event: facebook, meetup

Agenda: Continue reading

Bell, Gilchrist County, FL, Sabal Trail, Santa Fe River 2016-11-23

Bell EMS looks a stone’s throw from the Sabal Trail pipeline corner, in these WWALS aerials from the Santa Fe River to Bell, Florida, in Gilchrist County.


Bell Emergency Management Services (lower right), Sabal Trail bend to the east (top left)
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS, Southwings flight, 23 November 2016

Sabal Trail had a bunch of buses and trucks next between 91st Lane and 94th Street in Gilchrist County. Continue reading

Sabal Trail HDD Santa Fe River 2016-11-23

N to Sabal Trail HDD Suwannee Co., Santa Fe River, 29.9114810, -82.8527740 Sabal Trail’s pipe is still laid out north of the Suwannee County horizontal directional drilling (HDD) site on the Santa Fe River, but it won’t be for long unless something stops it. Pictures by Beth Gammie and John S. Quarterman on Southwings flight for WWALS, 23 November 2016.

N. up Sabal Trail, Santa Fe River,
N. up Sabal Trail across Santa Fe River into Suwannee County, 29.8988570, -82.8495600, by John S. Quarterman for WWALS on Southwings flight 2016-11-23

Continue reading

US 129 HDD Santa Fe River Sabal Trail 2016-10-22

South to North HDD, 29.9122530, -82.8515280 Sabal Trail plans to start drilling here in the next few days. I count three houses within the blast radius just in this picture at the Santa Fe River just east of US 129 in Suwannee and Gilchrist Counties, Florida. See also Jim Tatum’s pictures of this Santa Fe River Sabal Trail HDD location from this flight. Continue reading

Sabal Trail exposed in Jasper News

The closest FERC meeting is actually in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 30 September 2015. And remember, sinkholes don’t matter, says FERC.

Front page Amber Vann, Jasper News, 24 September 2015, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Sabal’s proposed pipeline impact ‘less than significant’ on environment,

According to the EIS, “constructing and operating the Sabal Trail Project in South Georgia/North Florida could induce sinkhole development, alter spring characteristics and impact local groundwater flow and quality.” However, the study finds that Sabal Trail’s proposed impact minimization measures and construction methods would cause the project to not “significantly impact karst terrain, springs or the Floridian aquifer.”

The EIS goes on to state the Floridian aquifer is the “most productive aquifer Continue reading

Environment more important for economy than pipeline –Marihelen Wheeler

Marihelen Wheeler, Gainesville Sun, 9 September 2015, Stop the pipeline,

We must continue to resist the efforts of the Texas-based company, Spectra, to build the Sabal Trail pipeline through Alachua, Gilchrist, Suwannee, Levy and Marion counties.

The proposed pipeline will carry natural gas through a 36-inch pipe over 515 miles to serve 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