Is that pipe supposed to be wallowing in water?
Is that end supposed to be in the water?
What about the obvious erosion?
Remember Sabal Trail is only burying its 36-inch pipe 36-inches deep most places.
Erosion could expose it and make it even more likely to corrode.
WWALS video playlist and more pictures below. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Live Oak, FL, January 20, 2017 —
You are invited to the Historic Florida State Capitol steps Tuesday January 23rd
noon to 3:30 PM to hear principal guest speaker Karenna Gore and others
Hold Regulatory Agencies Accountable.
John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®, will talk about
how we all fought the invading Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline
and its extension Florida Southeast Connection for the past three years.
Deanna Mericle will talk about what her personal experiences
of moving Sabal Trail off the Withlacoochee River in Florida and continuing
the fight with WWALS Watershed Coalition through a legal case, WWALS vs. Sabal Trail & FDEP.
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, Sierra Club Campaign Organizer, will present
an extensive list of complaints and violations.
The festivities will include #FLEXIT, the Florida Statewide Bank Exit, and delivery of a statement to Governor Scott.
When: 12 Noon- 3:30 pm, Monday, January 23, 2017
Where:
Florida State Historic Capital Steps
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida
Event: facebook
Below is Continue reading
Adam Dubbin, World Waters Weekly, 30 December 2016, about 4 minutes into his facebook video:
…breaking news, if you will. John S. Quarterman has been selected as the Suwannee Riverkeeper. If you’re not familiar with the Riverkeeper role, it’s part of a bigger organization called the Waterkeeper Alliance. It’s a sort of, it’s a way to formalize the care of these rivers, and also these people are river warriors, out there documenting things and providing the type of information we need to know if somebody is not in compliance or if something is not right. They basically are Continue reading
Update 2023-03-31: Suwannee River Basin is bigger than several states, less populous than any: Suwannee Riverkeeper and WWALS work for fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in all 10,000 square miles of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WWALS becomes Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
Hahira, Georgia; December 30, 2016 — The Waterkeeper Alliance Board of Directors has approved its Affiliate WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. to become a Member. The newly appointed Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®, John S. Quarterman, will work to protect and preserve the Suwannee River Basin by combining his firsthand knowledge of the waterways with an unwavering commitment to the rights of the community and to the rule of law.
![[Detail with creeks]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2017-11-13--suwannee-watersheds/big/basin-creeks-detail.jpg)
Suwannee River Basin and Estuary including Santa Fe River HUC, added 2019-09-26.
“Waterkeeper Alliance is thrilled to have Suwannee RIVERKEEPER® to be the eyes, ears, and voice for this vital watershed and community,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President of Waterkeeper Alliance. “Every community deserves to have swimmable, drinkable and fishable water, and John S. Quarterman is the right leader to fight for clean water in the region.”
The Suwannee RIVERKEEPER® will be a full-time advocate for the Suwannee River and its tributaries, including the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, and Suwannee Rivers in Georgia and Florida, protecting and restoring water quality through community action and enforcement. Quarterman stated, “Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®’s aim is to provide strong advocacy that will result in an improved quality of life for all citizens, whether they rely on it for drinking water or recreation or whether they simply value the Suwannee River Basin’s continued well-being.” Continue reading
Here’s a Christmas present for pipeline opponents and solar power proponents.
John S. Quarterman, Citrus County Chronicle, other voices, 25 December 2016,
Stop gas pipeline; invest in solar,
Sabal Trail and FDEP assured us there would be no problems drilling a 36-inch natural gas pipeline through the fragile karst limestone under the Suwannee River and the Withlacoochee (south) River in Florida, yet already Sabal Trail’s pilot hole under the Withlacoochee (north) 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 (north) River frac-out, I also saw Continue reading
Some national coverage! Now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has backed off letting the Dakota Access Pipeline drill under the Missouri River in North Dakota because of concerns of local water users, the Corps, FERC, and FDEP should do the same: stop Sabal Trail from drilling under the Suwannee River.
Larry Buhl, DeSmogBlog, 4 December 2016,
Critics Call $3 Billion Sabal Trail Pipeline
Florida’s Dakota Access Pipeline,
As opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline swells at home and abroad, another pipeline project at the other end of the U.S. is quietly being installed as fast as possible, critics say, displacing residents, threatening water supplies, and racking up alleged construction violations.
And most people in the region — even those in the pipeline’s path — haven’t even heard about it.
Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC, known as Sabal Trail, is using $3 billion of Florida Power and Light (FPL) ratepayer money to build a 515-mile pipeline to transport natural gas obtained via fracking from eastern Alabama to central Florida.
…
Activists Document Construction Violations
Continue reading
Wanee, Hulaween, Suwannee River Roots Revival,
and right now Suwannee Lights; where music lives: Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, seen from the air.
FERC reform as an initiative was one result of this year’s meeting, this time where Georgia Water Coalition usually meets, of the Riverkeepers and other Waterkeeper members and affiliates from Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and beyond as far as Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
Front row by himself: Pete Harrison (Waterkeeper Alliance attorney).
Kneeling: Rick Frey (St Marys),
Dan Tonsmeire (Apalachicola),
Laura Jackson (Mobile),
Rachael Thompson (Satilla),
Dale Caldwell (Chattahoochee),
Kemp Burdette (Cape Fear),
Gordon Rogers (Flint)
Standing: Jason Ulseth (Chattahoochee),
Bill Strangler (Congaree),
Casi Callaway (Mobile),
Susan Wendel (Altamaha)
Earl Hatley (Grand),
Elena Fodera Richards (Savannah),
Emily Markesteyn (Ogeechee),
John S. Quarterman (WWALS),
Bart Mihailovich (Waterkeeper),
Bruce Bodson (Galveston),
Krissy Kasserman (Youghiogheny, wearing the blue and gray plaid shirt)
Henry Jacobs (Chattachoochee, wearing the beanie cap leaning against the wall),
Jacob Oblander (Lower Savannah River Alliance Affiliate, right behind Krissy),
Michael Mullen (Choctawhatchee, right next to Jacob),
Rebecca Jim (Tar Creek, right next to Krissy),
Tonya Bonitatibus (Savannah),
Matt Starr (Upper Neuse, right behind Gordon),
Cade Kistler (Mobile, against wall),
Sam Perkins (Catawba),
Lisa Rinaman (St Johns).
Not pictured: Kaitlin Warren, Seth Clark, and Jen Hilburn (Altamaha), Rachel Sliverstein (Miami), Kelly Cox (Miami), Neil Armingeon (Matanzas), Gretchen Quarterman (WWALS), Anna Alsobrook (French Broad), Bill D’Antuono and Harrison Langley (Collier), Misha Mitchell (Atchaflaya), Myra Crawford (Cahaba), John Paul (Caloosahatchee), Kevin Jeselnik (Chattahoochee), Frank Chitwood (Coosa), Hartwell Carson (French Broad), Rob Walters (Three Rivers).
That group picture was taken late after many people had left, and some never arrived, due to hurricane or other reasons. Some of the missing are below in pictures Gretchen took, including one of Altamaha Riverkeeper Jen Hilburn, in whose extensive watersheds we met. And of course FERC reform wasn’t the only initiative: trash, biological contamination, CAFOs, and others are on the agenda.
Bart Mihailovich, Waterkeeper Alliance, 3 November 2016, 2016 Gulf and South Atlantic Regional Retreat Recap, Continue reading
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
Music and advocacy on the banks of the iconic Suwannee River!
WWALS outings, rivers, Valdosta wastewater, agricultural runoff, and
the issue
half the people wanted
to talk about was the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline: nobody wants it.
Thanks to Leeann Drabenstott Culbreath for the great picture of WWALS Treasurer Gretchen Quarterman and Ambassador Dave Hetzel, who engages everybody who walks past. Thanks to WWALS member Bret Huntley for camping overnight last night and setting up this morning. Gretchen took the other pictures of Dave and Bret. WWALS president John S. Quarterman took the one of the Shook Twins on the Amphitheater Stage in Spirit of Suwannee Music Park at Suwannee River Roots Revival on the banks of the Suwannee River.
Come on down to these upcoming WWALS events and outings: Continue reading