Tag Archives: New River

Ockolocoochee, Little River 1889-01-29

Update 2023-12-28: Revised version..

Who knows the Ockolocoochee River? No, not the Ochlockonee River; that’s a bit to the west. You do know the Ockolocoochee River as the Little River, of the Withlacoochee, of the Suwannee. Here is news from 1889 that also includes the boat that didn’t survive from Troupville to Ellaville, which was apparently not a paddlewheel steamer.


Irwin County, 1885a, GeorgiaInfo, Rand McNally Map of Georgia, 1885

Atlanta Constitution, January 29, 1889, Pg 12., quoted in Ray City History Blog, 18 October 2010, More About Troupville, GA and the Withlacoochee River,

THE WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER.

VALDOSTA, Ga., January 19. -[Special.]- Away up near the northern limit of the great wiregrass section there is a big cypress swamp. They call them bays there. From this bay emerges Continue reading →

Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council Meeting 2018-03-22

Received today. -jsq

PUBLIC NOTICE:

SUWANNEE-SATILLA
REGIONAL WATER PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING

Announcement Date: March 5, 2018

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES:
The Suwannee – Satilla Regional Water Planning Council is holding its
next council meeting
at the following date, time, and location:

Thursday, March 22, 2018
Registration: 10:00 A.M. — 10:30 A.M.
Meeting: 10:30 A.M. — 2:00 P.M.

Flyin’ Cowboy
1645 South Peterson Avenue (Hwy. 441 S)
Douglas, GA 31535

Map of SSRWPC

For additional information Continue reading →

Pictures: PCS Phosphate mine permit Public Hearings, Jasper, FL 2018-01-23

See also: Nutrien (PCS Phosphate mine) 5-year permit renewal 2018-03-16.

Update 2018-01-25: Fixed Attorney Scott Shirley’s attribution.

Hamilton County did due diligence by hiring a consultant to review the PCS phosphate mine’s record and permit applications. The Mericles and me were the only non-county non-PCS people who spoke, but the Planning and Zoning Board interacted quite a bit last night at the public hearings. Both the motions they passed recommended approval of the permits, but the second motion included taking into account the points raised by the public, such as better public access to permit materials and review of the mining company’s water quality data.

Some of the cast; Cliff Adams took notes throughout, Public Comment
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS, Left to right: Deanna Mericle, Consultant Gregory M. Hitz, County Attorney Cliff Adams, Planning and Zoning Board: A.L. Milner(?), Eddie Wynn, Megan Carter, Jim Tompkins, Harrell Tyree, Riley L. Anderson, for PCS: Attorney Scott Shirley, Danny Johnson.

County Attorney Cliff Adams took notes throughout, and there was a sound recording.

The public consisted of Continue reading →

PCS Phosphate Mine Special and Renewal Permits, Jasper, FL 2018-01-23

See also: Pictures: PCS Phosphate mine permit Public Hearings, Jasper, FL 2018-01-23.

While residents of Union and Bradford Counties, Florida try to fight off the proposed HPS II phosphate mine on the New and Santa Fe Rivers, Hamilton County faces renewal and modification of permits for the PCS Phosphate mine, near White Springs and the Suwannee River.

When: 6PM, Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Where: County Commission Meeting Room, County Courthouse,
207 Northeast First Street, Jasper, Florida

What: North Florida Public Notices, search for PCS Phosphate finds notices for two public hearings the same evening:

Closeup, PCS Plant,
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS on Southwings flight 2016-10-22.

1. 1/11/2018

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR MODIFICATION TO MASTER MINING PLAN AND SPECIAL PERMIT BY THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD OF HAMILTON COUNTY, FLORIDA, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, Continue reading →

HPS II phosphate mine in Union and Bradford BOCC meetings

Steve Pieczenik called the Union County Commissioners brave, honest, respectful, efficient, and transparent public servants. Jim Tatum said they had foresight and had taken appropriate steps. Both complimented the many mine opponents who showed up and spoke their piece briefly and effectively. Here are a couple of reports from Union BOCC’s Monday workshop about the HPS II phosphate mine.

Aerial: From the New River across the HPS II mine site to Lake Butler
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS on Southwings flight, 17 Sep. 2017, N from New River across mine site: l. New River P. r. Beasley; left center prison; top left Lake Butler, 09:55:21, 29.9550800, -82.3183000

The next one is coming up 5PM Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at which Union BOCC is scheduled to vote on extending its moratorium against phosphate mining, as well as reviewing their proposed Comprehensive Plan changes.

Meanwhile, across the New River, Bradford BOCC Continue reading →

A Resolution Against Phosphate Mines in Florida –Florida Waterkeepers 2017-12-18

Update 2018-12-30: The new organization WATERKEEPERS Florida, as one of its first acts, on December 19, 2018, signed the Resolution Against Phosphate Mines in Florida, thus committing all thirteen of its member organizations.

Update 2018-11-13: Miami Waterkeeper has signed, bringing it to a round dozen Florida Waterkeepers.

Signers, Resolution

Update 2018-08-18: Calusa Waterkeeper has also signed, bringing it to 11 of the 14 Waterkeepers in Florida. (See also PDF.)

Update 2018-08-01: Five additional signers: Suncoast Waterkeeper, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Indian Riverkeeper, St. Marys Riverkeeper, and Collier County Waterkeeper. Seven of us delivered this resolution in person to FDEP Secretary Noah Valenstein.

Delivered via email as PDF to the Union BOCC before their phosphate mine workshop of Monday, December 18, 2017.

A Resolution
Against Phosphate Mines in Florida

WHEREAS, Waterkeeper Alliance Members are obligated and dedicated to protect the water resources, citizens’ interests, and related benefits in their jurisdictions; and

WHEREAS, Resolution WHEREAS, phosphate mines have been shown to threaten and cause actual harm to these resources, interest, and related benefits; and

WHEREAS, there are several phosphate mine projects in various stages of permitting in local, state, and federal agencies including county and city governments, Water Management Districts (WMDs), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); and

WHEREAS, there seems to be no public list of current phosphate mines and related facitlities, which include at least

Continue reading →

Suwannee River Basin Maps

Update 2019-02-13: And a version with Landings. See also Water Trails, with more detailed maps and access points.

Nobody seems to have done this, so we did: a map of the Suwannee River Basin, with the major watersheds and the Estuary shaded, and all the major rivers, plus many of the creeks. Bonus: springs! Narrow, Suwannee River Basin Click on this link for an interactive google map of the Suwannee River Basin.

The river traces come from USGS and Chris Graham. The watershed boundaries are from USGS. The springs are from the Florida Springs Institute, plus four Georgia springs collected by WWALS.

The eight-digit hydrologic unit codes (HUC8) for the Suwannee River Basin are: Continue reading →

Rubio should do solar panels for jobs and resilience, not LNG

Senator Rubio’s small-scale LNG export bill risks more Florida sewage spills in the next hurricane while getting in the way of good solar jobs and reduced power bills for Floridians.

It seems like they never intended to listen. Two days after WWALS submitted comments at the deadline for the Department of Energy’s small-scale LNG exports, Florida Senator Marco Rubio introduced legislation to implement that rule.

Crowley Maritime truck

Solar power for the Sunshine State will generate jobs right where they’re needed, in rural planning, delivery, and installation. That will also reduce everybody’s power bills, while making Florida much more resilient to hurricanes.

Crowley Maritime is already exporting LNG from Jacksonville to Continue reading →

WWALS Against Small-Scale Natural Gas Exports

Submitted by WWALS in Public Comment Concerning Unregulated Small Scale LNG Processing Facilities.

Duke and two canals to the Gulf, Crystal River, FL,
Duke and two canals to the Gulf, Crystal River, FL, 28.9420800, -82.7818000

From: Wwals Watershed Coalition <wwalswatershed@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Oct 16, 2017 at 4:21 PM
Subject: RIN 1901-AB43 and FE Docket No. 17-86-R
To: fergas@hq.doe.gov
Cc: WWALS Watershed Coalition <wwalswatershed@gmail.com>

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. Against Small-Scale Natural Gas Exports

The path to U.S. energy independence is to finish the conversion of energy production from obsolete fossil fuels and nuclear power to clean, safe, renewable, solar, wind, and water power. Any resources spent on LNG would be better spent on getting on with real renewable power.

Proponents of pipelines often claim new pipelines will reduce the amount of natural gas shipped by road or rail. The Sabal Trail pipeline through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, under the Withlacoochee, Suwannee, and Santa Fe Rivers, demonstrates that is not the case.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has already authorized: Continue reading →

Florida Public Notice of Pollution

While Alabama is thinking about it (actually, Alabama already does it) and Georgia requires an open records request with slow response (since 2018-12-21 Georgia now posts spills),

Florida has already required and is publishing timely notices of spills, and more recently a map of the most recent 30 days of spills!

Among them, surprisingly few in the Suwannee River Basin from Hurricane Irma: three in Baker and Bradford Counties from The Chemours Company, and two from Camp Blanding.

Florida, FDEP
Follow this link for the interactive google map.

Daniel H. Thompson, Lexology, 4 May 2017, Florida Legislature Passes “Public Notice of Pollution Act” Continue reading →