They passed a Resolution and wrote a Letter.
Thanks to Eric Musgrove, Clerk, Suwannee BOCC, for the PDF.
RESOLUTION NO. 2017-16
A Resolution in Support of National Water Trail Designation of I
The Suwannee River in Suwannee County
WHEREAS, the benefits of designation of the Suwannee River in Suwannee County as a National Water Trail include Continue reading
After
Trump bumped LaFleur over his head today,
former FERC Chairman Norman Bay resigned from the Commission this same day.
That leaves FERC with only 2 out of five Commission slots occupied.
I would guess that means no quorum, although what does it matter?
The FERC Commissioners only ever rejected one pipeline in thirty years.
His resignation letter is a six-page pat on his own back that never once mentions solar power, eminent domain, landowners, water, river, aquifer, or environment. His biggest brag is: Continue reading
President Trump just brushed aside FERC Chairman Norman Bay,
one of the few FERC Commissioners to show any reservations about
FERC’s rubberstamping of pipelines, and put Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur
back once again as Acting Chairman.
This while FERC has only three Commissions, when it’s supposed to have five,
probably indicates FERC is going to be pushing ahead all pipeline projects.
Of course, that’s not much different from what we’ve seen for years with
Sabal Trail.
Johnathan Crawford and Jennifer A. Diouhy, Bloomberg Politics, 19 January 2017, Trump Picks LaFleur as Chairman of U.S. Energy Regulator, Sources Say, Continue reading
For once a news story gives the last word to local water protectors, and it plays up our land and our water.
Richard Luscombe, The Guardian, 24 January 2017,
Why a protest camp in Florida is being called the next Standing Rock:
At first glance the quiet town of Live Oak seems an unlikely venue for a stand against Big Energy. But in recent weeks it’s become a centre of opposition,
A north Florida river that attracted the state’s first tourists a century before Walt Disney’s famous cartoon mouse is emerging at the centre of a fight against a contentious 515-mile natural gas pipeline that many are calling America’s next Standing Rock.
One section of the so-called Sabal Trail pipeline is being laid beneath the crystal waters of the Suwannee river, whose pure mineral springs were once fabled to cure anything from marital strife to gout.
The story quotes Continue reading
We all drink from straws into the same Floridan Aquifer,
so we need to keep it clean and full,
said
WWALS acting Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman
at the
Hahira Historical Society, a very influential institution between
the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers in Lowndes County, Georgia.
You can see in this video that she also explained we paddle upstream in the rainy season and downstream in summer, how WWALS added Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®, and what WWALS does and where, including Continue reading
Monday WWALS acting Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman will talk about
agriculture and the recent
Mott regrant to WWALS for conservation outreach, about
the
Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail,
and about
Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®,
at the
Hahira Historical Society, a very influential institution between
the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers in Lowndes County, Georgia.
Come on down and hear how you can be a steward for our waters as a WWALS member,
a committee member, or even as a board member.
When: 7PM Monday, Januar 9th, 2017
Where: 102 South Church, Street, Hahira, GA 31632
Event: facebook
I used to go see Dr. Parrott and then Dr. Acree in that building, which is Continue reading
Op-ed, Valdosta Daily Times, today, January 8th 2017:
Sabal Trail and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection assured us there would be no problems drilling a 36-inch natural gas pipeline through the fragile karst limestone under the Suwannee River in Florida, yet already Sabal Trail’s pilot hole under the Withlacoochee River in Georgia caused a frac-out of drilling mud into the river and a sinkhole.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should halt construction and do a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.
When I happened to fly over the Withlacoochee River frac-out, I also saw Continue reading
It seems to miss one of the main points, but thanks to Mary G. Morris, CEO, VA529, for a thoughtful reply to the WWALS request to divest from Spectra Energy.
It seems to me that investing in a highly risky pipeline company such as
Spectra Energy would be “contrary to [VA529’s] overall investment goals and mission”, at least if those goals include reliable investments for college,
and not stranded investments.
It might be worth looking into the Parnassus Core Equity Fund she mentions. Perhaps college savers who want reliable investments would want to consider moving their investments there.
Suwannee Riverkeeper may continue correspondence with VA529.
Meanwhile, VA529 has a handy VA529 contact form or you can call or write: Continue reading
WWALS members Deanna and Chris Mericle won an award for their activism against the Sabal Trail pipeline at the December 1st 2016 meeting of the Suwannee-St Johns Sierra Club Group.
Photo:
Maryvonne Devensky, Vice Chair/Outings/ICO, Suwannee-St Johns Group Sierra Club
The Pelican, Sierra Club Florida, Fall 2016, Chapter Announces 2016 Award Recipients,
Congratulations to the following individuals who are being recognized with Chapter awards:Cypress Award, Chris and Deanna Mericle, Suwannee St. Johns Group The couple is being honored for their diligent work to expose the faulty documentation of the Sabal Trail Pipeline LLC. Through their efforts, much information on the dangerous pipeline was brought to the attention of elected officials and the public.
The Mericles were the prime movers in getting Sabal Trail to move off the Withlacoochee River in Florida. In August 2014 Chris Mericle told the Hamilton BOCC he was trying not to be emotional. Continue reading
Even FPL admits Florida needs no new electricity until 2024,
so what is Sabal Trail really for?
Could it corporate profit and LNG export?
Meanwhile, solar power prices keep going down as deployments rocket up.
Larry Buhl, DeSmogBlog, 9 December 2016, Sabal Trail Opponents Say Pipeline Is Part of Florida’s ‘Overbuilt’ Gas Infrastructure,
John Quarterman, president of [… WWALS] Watershed Coalition, recalled that Sabal Trail representatives, when pressed at public hearings, maintained that, as a pipeline company they had no idea where gas going through their pipes might end up, a claim that he and other activists find hard to believe.
Chris Pedersen, writing for the industry publication OilPrice.com in October 2014, wrote that Transco and Sabal Trail pipelines could be used to explore new overseas markets for Utica and Marcellus Shale gas.
Sabal Trail opponents say gas flowing through the Sabal Trail pipeline could easily end up at export terminals on the Florida coast. For example, Continue reading