Tag Archives: Hamilton County

Hamilton County legislative delegation in Jasper 5:30 PM today 2015-09-03

Tonight Hamilton County, FL residents (or others) have an opportunity to express their concerns to their Florida statehouse delegation, for example about FL-DEP’s dismissal with prejudice and refusal to consider the real issues in WWALS’ amended petition against Sabal Trail drilling under the Suwannee River.

Bill Montford, FL Senate District 3 According to the Jasper News last week,

The Hamilton County Legislative Delegation consisting of Senator Bill Montford and Representative Elizabeth Porter will be holding a public hearing in Jasper on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 5:30 p.m. in the Hamilton County Courthouse, 207 Northeast First St., Jasper.

All residents and elected officials are invited to attend. This hearing will allow residents of Hamilton County the opportunity to meet their legislators, discuss concerns, ask questions and offer comments for the 2016 legislative session, which convenes Jan. 12.

Continue reading →

Valdosta rains sewage down Sugar Creek into Withlacoochee River 2015-08-28

Valdosta can’t blame this one on rain upstream: it fell directly on Valdosta, and once again the same Meadowbrook Drive neighborhood that’s been getting doused in sewage since 2009 saw it surging out of a manhole, after three other streets got it. Valdosta says it reported all this to GA-EPD, but good luck finding it (or anything else) on EPD’s website. Once again Valdosta on its own website didn’t even say which river Sugar Creek dumps into, US 41 (North Valdosta Road), Withlacoochee River but Florida figured it out, and ain’t happy. The Florida Department of Health advisory is findable, and news media and SRWMD picked that up. Maybe Valdosta’s ongoing force main project will fix these overflows: bids were requested earlier that same month for more parts of that project. Maybe Valdosta could try to explain itself better in its own press releases?

Valdosta News, 29 August 2015, Update: Overflows Stopped, Continue reading →

Filing petition with Florida Friday against Sabal Trail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 27th, 2015, Hahira — Continuing to oppose the unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous invading Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline, WWALS Watershed Coalition will file Friday an amended petition with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL-DEP) opposing that agency’s intent to issue a permit for Sabal Trail Transmission to bore its 36-inch pipeline from Hamilton County to Suwannee County under the Suwannee River in Florida.

Update 2015-08-28: Here is the amended petition filed today.

WWALS originally filed a petition on August 7th. FL-DEP denied that petition on August 14th, giving a list of reasons and fourteen days to amend. WWALS will file an amended petition at the end of that fortnight, on Friday August 28th. Numerous residents of Florida have become WWALS members, and some will be named in the new filing.

Deanna Mericle, of Hamilton County, Florida, notes, Continue reading →

Pictures and videos from Alapaha Rise, Sabal Trail pipeline, Five Holes, and Alapaha and Withlacoochee Confluences on the Suwannee River 2015-08-15

From Douglas and Tifton, Georgia through Florida to South America and South Africa, WWALS banner at Five Holes 30.4181843, -83.1553879 they ate bon-bons and floated and climbed to see springs, caves at Five Holes, and said what they thought about the Sabal Trail pipeline proposing to gouge across the Suwannee River, on the WWALS Outing Saturday August 15th 2015.

Update 2018-02-12: 5 Holes (also known as Hamilton Seven Sisters Spring) is on Suwannee River State Park (SRSP) land, and is normally closed to the public. We did have permission for this outing, thanks to Park Manager Craig Liney, as well as for the later Five Holes Cleanup and Site Exploration.

Preparing at Gibson Park 30.4374065, -83.0932236

Bill Gates land purchases, Florida Springs Council, and Adams Spring

The Florida Springs Council (FSC) is concerned about Bill Gates, 300x200 Still, in Adams Spring and Bill Gates, by Chris Mericle, for WWALS.net, 13 August 2015 Lakeland Sands and others investing in Florida and south Georgia Land for industrial farming operations, reports Chris Mericle, WWALS delegate to FSC. FSC, like WWALS, would like to know more, and is trying to contact Bill Gates to start a dialog about sustainable farming practices.

For example, Chris reports:

300x225 Land farmed all the way around the clump of trees and spring., in Adams Spring and Bill Gates, by Chris Mericle, for WWALS.net, 13 August 2015 There is a 300 acre parcel of Lakeland Sands property here in Hamilton Co. that has been cleared of the forest that was there except for a small island of trees in the center. Within this island of trees is a true hydrogeological wonder. A beautiful spring boils from the ground, the spring pool is Continue reading →

Hamilton Co. FL and Lowndes Co. GA asked to oppose Sabal Trail

Two WWALS board members asked their county commissions in two states to oppose Sabal Trail. The Hamilton County, FL Commission answered about the Suwannee River; the Lowndes County, GA Commission sat silently about the Withlacoochee River. Neither did anything, which is why WWALS filed a petition Friday to oppose FL-DEP’s proposed permit for Sabal Trail to drill under the Suwannee River; more on that later. You can help by calling Georgia Gov. Deal and commenting to GA-EDP and FERC. And by becoming a WWALS member today!

On July 21st, Chris Mericle spoke about the Suwannee River. LAKE Video, Hamilton County, FL Commission considers opposing FL-DEP Sabal Trail permit 2015-07-21,

Chris Mericle, Hamilton Co. FL Local resident Chris Mericle asked his county commission to once again oppose the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, this time by opposing a permit Continue reading →

Please Act Now against the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline proposal

This went out yesterday to WWALS members.

TELL GOVERNOR DEAL THAT THE SABAL TRAIL GAS PIPELINE THREATENS PRIVATE PROPERTY, CLEAN WATER, AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Please take immediate action, today, to tell Governor Nathan Deal’s office that you oppose the siting of Spectra Energy’s Sabal Trail “natural” gas pipeline through the Withlacoochee River watershed. Call 404-656-1776 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and tell the staffer that answers, “I am opposed to routing the Sabal Trail pipeline through the Withlacoochee River watershed; I urge Governor Deal to do everything in his power to stop this project”.

Also please sign this petition Continue reading →

WWALS joins Floridians Against Fracking

Per unanimous vote of the WWALS Board, WWALS has joined Floridians Against Fracking:

The goal of the coalition is a ban on fracking in Florida. To that end, we support state, and local efforts to ban fracking.

Why?

Fracking and drilling associated with fracking for oil and natural gas poses a direct and immediate threat to the drinking water, air, food, health, wildlife, climate, and economy of communities across Florida….

What are the tenets of the coalition?

Continue reading →

FL DEP boosting FL Gov. Scott’s pipeline investments –FloridaBulldog

The reporter who broke the FL Gov. Rick Scott conflict of interest story a year ago now finds even more conflicts, some related to FL-DEP’s intent to issue a permit to Sabal Trail for its fracked methane pipeline. As he mentions, WWALS will be filing a petition to FL-DEP Friday.

Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog, 4 August 2015, Gov. Scott’s pipeline investment gets a boost from Florida environmental regulators,

State regulators are quietly backing the award of a crucial environmental permit to a company that wants to build a controversial $3-billion natural gas pipeline in North Florida. The company’s investors have included Gov. Rick Scott.

Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), overseen by the governor, published Continue reading →

Tonight: Hamilton County Commission and FL DEP Sabal Trail permit

TONIGHT in Hamilton County, 6 pm:

FYI….pipelines are a direct result of fracking in our country. The Suwannee and Santa Fe River is faced with this destructive transport system.

Hamilton County already wrote and voted in favor of supporting a statewide ban on fracking. I do not see them being in favor of a pipeline cutting through their community for gas infrastructure. BUT, we’ll see after tonight. If you can attend this meeting or share this with others who may, that would be good to be a part of the discussion.

Please share this: FL DEP to issue permit trusting Sabal Trail to prevent leaks into the Floridan Aquifer.

Hamilton Co. BOCC is taking up this issue tonight at their regular meeting. The meeting starts at 6pm at the courthouse. This is not on the agenda, so it will be discussed at the end of the meeting and public comment may not be allowed.

Chris Mericle