Deanna Mericle posted on facebook 11 November 2014,
Chris and I hiked the riverbed of the Alapaha River and found the other sink!
Other as in different from the Dead River Sink. Continue reading
Tag Archives: limestone
Avoid karst and water and demonstrate need for the Sabal Trail pipelne –Dougherty County Commission to FERC
A county commission is representing its people and the waters of Georgia in a resolution Dougherty County sent to FERC which says in part:
Continue reading
SECTION II Thus, we are in opposition to the construction of the proposed pipeline in Dougherty County and request that FERC give serious consideration and analysis to alternative routes (1) that avoid unstable geologic areas such as karst and sink-hole prone areas, (2) that minimize impacts to drinking water and agricultural water supplies, (3) that minimize impacts to wildlife habitat, forest, wetlands, streams and rivers and (4) that do not compromise socio-economic and cultural issues.
Dead River Sink, Alapaha River, WWALS Outing, 2PM 26 Oct 2014
This Sunday afternoon, Oct 26th at 2PM:
where the Dead River meets the Alapaha River and goes underground
at the Dead River Sink, aka the Alapaha Sink.
Park on SRWMD’s Jennings Bluff Tract and walk in with WWALS
to see what Samuel Taylor Coleridge dreamed as
“Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.”
No boat required: this is a walking outing.
It’s an adventure, as Deanna Mericle reported recently:
…the hike to the sink does have some steep parts, especially if you go the scenic route, which I recommend. The area around the sink itself is kind of steep with slick mud/clay. So wear good shoes for hiking. There were only a few Mosquitos. The area is beautiful and worth the effort.
This event is FREE! All we ask is Continue reading
Alapaha Sink: WWALS Outing 2PM 26 Oct 2014
Update 24 October 2014: Map, directions, and how to join WWALS.
Come see where the Alapaha River goes underground, near Jennings, in Hamilton County, Florida, 2PM, Sunday, October 26th, 2014. This is a walking outing; no boats required.
Directions to the parking area:
Take I-75 south to State Road 6 in Florida. Go east (left) to US 41.
Go north (left) about one mile. Turn right on NW 76th Terrace and go
a mile. Turn right on NW 25th Lane and go about a mile.
Turn left at
the Jennings Bluff Tract sign and go .9 mile. It dead ends at the
parking area. That road is gravel and dirt and kinda bumpy. The
parking area can probably hold ten vehicles at least.
The location for the Sink on the draft Alapaha River Water Trail map apparently Continue reading
Sabal Trail to move pipeline off Withlacoochee River in Florida?
Will Sabal Trail actually move off the Withlacoochee River in Florida?
That depends on how you interpret which version of what Sabal Trail has said
about its seven (7) different proposed fracked methane pipeline
routes through Suwannee County, Florida.
And all but one of the five proposed Georgia routes still would
cross the Withlacoochee River in Lowndes County, Georgia.
Beware that no matter what Sabal Trail says, FERC could pick any of these
routes or some other.
And no matter what FERC says, other agencies, including state and local,
also have to approve permits and other evaluatios of any route,
plus both Spectra Energy and Williams Company have recently “suspended”
or cancelled pipelines as uneconomic.
There is something you and your local elected bodies can do.
Amber Vann wrote for the Suwannee Democrat 19 September 2014, Gas pipeline concerns continue, Continue reading
FERC and Sabal Trail at the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County, FL
Filed with FERC 16 September 2014 as Report of Christopher J Mericle , On site meeting with local property owners, FERC and Sabal Trail at the proposed Withlacoochee river crossing Hamilton Co. Florida under PF14-1. Chris and Deanna Mericle are our local hosts for the WWALS outing at that same affected location 10 AM this Sunday, September 21st 2014. -jsq
9-10-14
Local property owners met with FERC and Sabal Trail to voice concerns with the proposed Natural Gas pipeline route where it crosses the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County, Florida. We had a great turnout of local support. Also in attendance, supporting our cause, was David Brown, Florida Certified Geologist, Jessica Norfleet, Constituent Advocate representing U.S. Congressman Ted Yoho, and Louie Goodin, Hamilton Co. Coordinator representing Hamilton Co. Board of Commissioners.
Attendees for FERC included John Peconom, Project manager, James Martin, Chief-Gas Branch3 and at least 4 other people.
Sabal had over 10 people attending from all areas of expertise including Andrea Glover, public relations, and Greg Jones, Geologist.
There was discussion of Continue reading
FL State Rep. Elizabeth Porter objects to FERC about Sabal Trail pipeline in karst limestone
Chris Mericle’s Florida state rep.,
Elizabeth Porter,
who also attended the recent
GA EPD briefing to SRWMD about Valdosta’s plans to fix
its wastewater overflowes into the Withlacoochee River, just objected to FERC about Sabal Trail’s fracked methane pipeline (PDF).
Chris and Deanna Mericle are our local hosts for the
WWALS Withlacoochee and Suwannee River
paddle past the pipeline 21 September 2014.
FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Continue reading
Representative Elizabeth Porter
District 10
Elizabeth.Porter@myfloridahouse.gov
Withlacoochee and Suwannee paddle: springs, shoals, and pipeline 21 Sept 2014
Update 20 September 2014: Now with a lunch stop at Chris and Deanna’s house! Bring your own lunch or snacks, but the Mericles have picnic tables and bathrooms. Chris reports the Withlacoochee is high enough that the shoals are no problem, and the weather report says clear all day tomorrow. See also his report on FERC and Sabal Trail’s recent visit to this same area and what Sabal Trail wrote to FERC the next day.
Sabal Trail may be thinking of moving their pipeline, but WWALS is
still padding past the original location 10AM Sunday September 21st.
All are invited to come see for themselves the springs, shoals, and sinkholes
that we value more highly than pipeline profit for a company from Houston.
Join us for a fine day on two of our fabulous southern blackwater rivers:
the Withlacoochee River and the Suwannee River, in Hamilton and Suwannee
Counties, Florida.
The meeting place is the CR 143 Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River near Jennings, Florida. For directions, please see the earlier post about this outing.
This event is FREE! All we ask is Continue reading
Video: Withlacoochee River and springs where Sabal Trail pipeline would cross
Chris Mericle’s introducation says this video:
shows some of the springs, sinkholes, and other karst features that lie in close proximity to the proposed Sabal Trail gas pipeline where it crosses the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton and Madison County, Florida.
Including active sinkholes right next to the proposed pipeline route. And a karst window a couple of hundred feet from the pipeline.
Here’s the video:
The video is about the part of the Withlacoochee River where Continue reading
Water and property rights more important than methane pipeline profits
This is a long version of the op-ed sent to many newspapers in WWALS’ watersheds; there is also a short version. -jsq
Protesters drove
as far as nine hours to
Leesburg, GA July 10th, where Spectra Energy
lost its eminent domain demand for its Sabal Trail
36-inch, hundred-foot right-of-way natural gas pipeline,
and local landowners countersued.
Spectra hobbled back to Houston, Texas bound by strict conditions for
surveying that one Mitchell County property,
and bound to haunt south Georgia again for a trespass jury trial.
The ensuing flurry of newspaper op-eds by Spectra’s Andrea Grover plus a page-long Sabal Trail interview in the Valdosta Daily Times (VDT), didn’t mention numerous Sabal Trail downsides. Continue reading