The Dunnellon City Council and staff also seemed to want to know what was going on with the powerful natural gas smell at the Dunnellon Compressor Station site.
As promised, I sent questions to FERC, USACE, FDEP, etc.. Here is video of what Suwannee Riverkeeper asked the Dunnellon City Council: Continue reading
The regular attendees said there would be no fireworks this time. Yet it was a very interesting meeting, especially once the County Attorney asked for scheduling a date to select the consulting engineer about the phosphate mine. The Commissioners and staff discussed August 8 in the morning or August 17 in the evening. Public comment preferred the latter. The County Attorney strongly advised they go ahead and decide when so there will be plenty of time to advertise it. The decision: Thursday evening, August 17, 2017.
Below are links to each WWALS video, followed by a video playlist. See also the agenda.
Update 2017-08-31: More maps and other information in the Phosphate Mining page.
The proposed HPSII phosphate mine on the New River in Bradford and Union Counties, Florida, features in Dave Wilson’s talk from April. HPSII would be upstream from the Santa Fe River, and thus upstream from the Suwannee River.
WWALS Watershed Coalition opposes the HPSII phosphate mine. We see no benefit in Union and Bradford Counties suffering effects such as those outlined in Dave Wilson’s slides, and looking like Hamilton County in these aerials: Continue reading
The moonscape that seems to go on forever while flying over Hamilton County, Florida in a small plane is the PCS phosphate mine, as seen in some WWALS aerials in these slides that David Wilson presented at a Santa Fe River Springs Protection Forum April 13, 2017 at Otter Springs, Florida. Dave is Treasurer of the Board of Florida Springs Institute, and a WWALS member. His slides are published on the WWALS website with his permission.
According to the slides, perhaps JEA is responsible for the low water levels at White Sulfur Springs, formerly a famous resort, now bone dry: Continue reading
Here’s WWALS video of the
WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper presentation at the
Sparkleberry Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society
in Branford, Florida, May 9, 2017.
Acting Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman explained WWALS
and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman led
an animated discussion about recent advocacy with the several dozen attendees,
many of whom had not heard about one or more of
humic substances
at the Suwannee River Sill,
NFRWSP,
BMAPs,
Pilgrim’s Pride, coal ash, or Bill Gates’ and other recent corporate agricultural land purchases.
While they all had heard of Sabal Trail,
we had some updates on that, too.
Here’s the video:
Continue readingWWALS was this year’s Watershed Group of the Year at Georgia River Network’s annual River Celebration Awards, presented at Little Ocmulgee State Park, 28 April 2017.
Photo: Joe Cook for GRN
On hand to receive the award were Gretchen Quarterman, WWALS Executive Director, John S. Quarterman, WWALS President and Suwannee Riverkeeper, and Dave Hetzel, WWALS Ambassador. Presenting the award were Dana Skelton, GRN Executive Director and Gwyneth Moody, Director of Programs & Outreach. Continue reading
You can still comment by tomorrow, Monday, May 8, 2017
on
Georgia Power’s NIMBY plan for the coal ash it generated,
to send it away from Plant Mitchell to local landfills, maybe yours.
Here are WWALS videos of the GA-EPD public hearing Thursday May 4, 2017 in Albany, GA, which we attended at the invitation of our neighbor Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers, who said at the hearing he is lawyered up, and his attorney Chris Bowers of SELC also spoke.
You don’t have to hire an attorney; you can send in written comments by tomorrow, May 8, 2017, according to the the GA-EPD announcement of March 31, 2017: Continue reading
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
Update 2017-10-04: Pictures from all four days of Wanee.
Morgan Murray, Collier County Waterkeeper Harrison Langley, WWALS Science Committee Chair Tom Potter, Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman
We’ll be at Wanee through Saturday.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Is this what you want Bradford, Union, and other counties in Florida to look like?
I wonder what effect this phosphate mine had on the much lowered water level of White Springs, or the Suwannee River?
The PCS Phosphate mine in Hamilton County near White Springs and Jasper spread under our Southwings plane while surveying the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline 22 October 2016. On board were Southwings pilot Roy Zimmer, photographer Dominick Gheesling, Jim Tatum of Our Santa Fe River, and John S. Quarterman of WWALS. Here are pictures by Jim Tatum, a few videos by John S. Quarterman, and a Google map showing the locations. Continue reading
