Received May 27, 2018 from WWALS member Chris Mericle:
The Hamilton County BOCC finally at its last meeting (May 15) voted on the Nutrien 5 year permit renewal.
The BOCC voted to approve the permit with the modifications recommended by the environmental consultant and attorney.
![[2,3,4,5 Draglines]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2018-05-15--hamco-nutrien-report/Hamilton-County-Annual-Report-2017-Submittal-0007.jpg)
I consider this a win for us because it requires Nutrien to: Continue reading
Rain stayed away, on a fine day, Florida Folk, Saturday. Teri and Eileen were there Friday, I was there Saturday, and Gretchen is there this Sunday morning, at the Florida Folk Festival, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, 11016 Lillian Sanders Dr, White Springs, FL 32096.
Children played the froggy toss, bigger children liked the Enviroscape (thanks Nature Coast Biological Station!), and adults talked about everything from the Wild & Scenic Film Festival to outings (next: Suwannee River, weekend after next), to Continue reading
Teri and Eileen welcome you to the Suwannee Riverkeeper booth at the Fla. Folk Festival. Come by this weekend for chance to win a kayak or support the Suwannee River!
Photo: Eileen Sims Box for WWALS
Come on down and hear about the Wild & Scenic Film Festival coming up this Thursday, May 31, at Mathis Auditorium in Valdosta.
Send in your song for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, deadline Friday June 1, or get a ticket to listen to the contest, Saturday, June 23, at The Salty Snapper, Valdosta, GA.
We will also have the froggy toss game (can’t believe Gretchen forgot that yesterday), kayak raffle tickets, information about WWALS outings, and of course advocacy.
I’ll also be at the Florida Folk Festival today, Saturday, May 26, 2018, and Gretchen will be there tomorrow.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Join us this weekend in Live Oak at the Florida Folk Festival.
When:
Fri, May 25, 10am — 5pm
Sat, May 26, 10am — 5pm
Sun, May 27, 9am — 5pm
Where:
Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park,
11016 Lillian Sanders Dr, White Springs, FL 32096
Come see us about writing a song for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest; you’ve got until Friday June 1st.
And everyone is invited to the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, 7PM, Thursday, May 31, 2018, at Mathis Auditorium, Valdosta, GA.
Folk Fest Details: Continue reading
Seen southbound on I-75: a truck carrying Methane Refrigerated Liquid, highly flammable, evacuate up to 1/2 mile downwind if broken. Wait, wasn’t Sabal Trail supposed to eliminate the need for such trucks?
The truck said Kenan Advantage Group, but I’d bet it was carrying Continue reading
See also: Nutrien (PCS) mining phosphate and water in Hamilton County and soon in Columbia County? 2018-07-11.
Hamilton County citizen and WWALS member Chris Mericle sent this Friday, with permission to post.
Hey John,
I just wanted to relate to you the status of the 5 year mining permit renewal for Nutrien (formerly PCS).
I was in a long teleconference yesterday afternoon where we were trying to negotiate for several modifications to the mining permit.
Figure 4. Location of existing and proposed Phosphogypsum Stack Systems (PGSS), in
FINAL REPORT: Review of PCS Phosphate — White Springs;
Activities and Operations Related to
Five-Year Renewal of Special Permit 03-1.
Review Period: January 2013 through December 2017
Prepared tor:
Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners.
February 23, 2018.
Prepared by:
Lampl-Herbert
In attendance: Continue reading
Cold and foggy to warm and bright, a fine spring morning on the Suwannee River from Florida to Georgia. Plus Canadians!
Here are pictures by John S. Quarterman and Gretchen Quarterman and a Google map.
Ninety-nine pictures are on the WWALS website.
Under the US 441 bridge.
See also: Nutrien (PCS Phosphate mine) 5-year permit renewal 2018-03-16.
Update 2018-01-25: Fixed Attorney Scott Shirley’s attribution.
Hamilton County did due diligence by hiring a consultant to review the PCS phosphate mine’s record and permit applications. The Mericles and me were the only non-county non-PCS people who spoke, but the Planning and Zoning Board interacted quite a bit last night at the public hearings. Both the motions they passed recommended approval of the permits, but the second motion included taking into account the points raised by the public, such as better public access to permit materials and review of the mining company’s water quality data.
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS,
Left to right:
Deanna Mericle,
Consultant Gregory M. Hitz,
County Attorney Cliff Adams,
Planning and Zoning Board:
A.L. Milner(?),
Eddie Wynn,
Megan Carter,
Jim Tompkins,
Harrell Tyree,
Riley L. Anderson,
for PCS: Attorney Scott Shirley, Danny Johnson.
County Attorney Cliff Adams took notes throughout, and there was a sound recording.
The public consisted of Continue reading
Update 2018-11-21: Pictures.
Rescheduled due to low water, this time moved and mutated into a hike to the Dead River Sink, starting in the middle of the Alapaha Quest.
Practicing Geologist and WWALS member Dennis James Price will once again lead us through this impressive geological phenomenon. It is an eye opener that will perfectly illustrate the karst topography that is typical for quite a bit of the area where many of our rivers flow. When you see the exposed limestone along the river banks you see the porous rock. However when you see a hole that is capable of swallowing the entire Alapaha for most of the year…. it’s impressive.
When: High noon, Saturday, January 27, 2018
Put In: Meet at Jennings Bluff Launch. From Jennings, Hamilton County, FL, travel south on US 41 to NW 25 Lane; turn left; travel east to NW 82 Court and the entrance into the Suwannee River Water Management District’s Jennings Bluff tract; turn left and follow road to canoe launch.
GPS: 30.567172, -83.039189 (for the entrance to Jennings Bluff Tract)
Take Out: Same.
Bring: Cold weather gear, hiking shoes, and clothes resistant to thorny bushes. No boat needed. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Join: This outing is Free to WWALS members. Non-members: $10/person. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Picture by John S. Quarterman for WWALS,
Into the Dead River Sink, June 14, 2015.
Shuttle: None.
Once you get to Suwannee River Water management District (SRWMD)’s Jennings Bluff Tract, Continue reading
See also: Pictures: PCS Phosphate mine permit Public Hearings, Jasper, FL 2018-01-23.
While residents of Union and Bradford Counties, Florida try to fight off the proposed HPS II phosphate mine on the New and Santa Fe Rivers, Hamilton County faces renewal and modification of permits for the PCS Phosphate mine, near White Springs and the Suwannee River.
When: 6PM, Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Where:
County Commission Meeting Room, County Courthouse,
207 Northeast First Street, Jasper, Florida
What: North Florida Public Notices, search for PCS Phosphate finds notices for two public hearings the same evening:
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS on
Southwings flight 2016-10-22.
1. 1/11/2018
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR MODIFICATION TO MASTER MINING PLAN AND SPECIAL PERMIT BY THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD OF HAMILTON COUNTY, FLORIDA, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, Continue reading