From Florida Bulldog to a daily with more than 140,000 circulation.
Dan Christensen, Miami Herald, 16 August 2015,
Pipeline company with tie to Gov. Scott and state backing, has history of accidents,
Spectra Energy, the company that state environmental regulators say should be allowed to construct a 267-mile-long natural gas pipeline in North Florida, has a checkered history of accidents and violations of federal safety rules in the U.S. and Canada dating back decades.
From Douglas and Tifton, Georgia through Florida to South America and South Africa,
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.
Bring bon-bons, lights, and boats to
Banks Lake, just west of Lakeland, Georgia,
7PM Saturday
August 29th 2015
for the first WWALS Moonlight Paddle and Bon-Bon Eating Contest. Your host, Chris Mericle, has arranged a special after-hours permit for this outing. Join us at
Banks Lake Outdoors,
1099 W Main St.,
Lakeland, GA 31635.
This is part of our continuing exploration of the Alapaha River Water Trail. Printable PDF flyer. facebook event.
Strictly speaking, a bon-bon is Continue reading
Expedition leader Chris Mericle reports he’s gotten the Suwannee River State Park vehicle entrance fees waived for this weekend’s outing, plus a permit
…to view a unique closed area of the park called “5 Holes”. 5 Holes is a series of karst windows leading to a spring. When the water level is right you can walk through a semi-cavern from the river up the spring run to the spring.
So meet us 8AM tomorrow morning, Saturday, August 15h, 2015 at Gibson Park!
James Garrett posted some Continue reading
Drilling down in Brooks County, under the Withlacoochee River,
the CSX Railroad,
and Old Quitman Highway, surfacing in Lowndes County, Sabal Trail has moved its proposed Withlacoochee HDD crossing upstream.
The actual river crossing appears to be at about
30.795273, -83.452722.
This is all according to Continue reading
The
Florida Springs Council (FSC) is concerned about Bill Gates,
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:
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
Do we want to risk Sabal Trail’s fracked methane pipeline blowing out
under the Suwannee or Withlacoochee Rivers like
Spectra’s Texas Eastern Pipeline blew out under the Arkansas River in May?
WWALS doesn’t, which is why we filed the
petition to Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection
asking them not to issue a permit for Sabal Trail.
The Little Rock blowout is one of several recent Spectra incidents Dan Christensen finds today in FloridaBulldog.org, Pipeline company with tie to Gov. Scott, and state backing, has history of accidents, Continue reading
This is the petition
(PDF)
WWALS filed Friday 7 Aug 2015 against FL-DEP’s
intent to isue a permit for Sabal Trail
to drill under the Suwannee River and otherwise destroy wetlands
and add hazards for no benefit.
Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas also wants to drill the Sabal Trail pipeline under the Santa Fe River and the Withlacoochee south River (the one that flows from the Green Swamp to the Gulf). Sabal Trail also wants to drill under WWALS’ Withlacoochee River that flows into the Suwannee, but in Georgia, so that is not a topic of this petition.
Remember there are still plenty of things you can do to help stop this pipeline invader from destroying forests, fields, and streams, adding hazards for no benefit.
And you can come see where Sabal Trail proposes to cross the Suwannee this Saturday, August 15th, as we paddle down the river!
-jsq
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
STATE OF FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Continue reading
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,
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
What if a sinkhole develops years later under the proposed pipeline
in south Georgia or north Florida,
and Sabal Trail declares force majeure and doesn’t pay, like FGT
did in Louisiana in 2013?
Numerous news stories are linked in the LAKE blog post, but let’s pick just one.
Winnie Wright, WCTV, 5 August 2015, 150-Foot Sinkhole Opens in Lowndes County Residential Area, Continue reading