Third newspaper and still counting,
28 August 2014, Gainesville Sun,
John S. Quarterman: Water and property rights should trump pipeline profits.
The WWALS op-ed also appeared in the Moutrie Observer 1 August 2014 and the Ocala StarBanner 3 August 2014.
This comes after the 18 August 2014 OSFR v. FPL: head to head in the Gainesville Sun.
-jsq
Chris Mericle got the appended letter from Sabal Trail through
Congressman Yoho’s office (FL-03). -jsq
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Norfleet, Jessica
Date: Thu, Aug 28, 2014 at 10:41 AM
Subject: FW: Comment on Filing submitted in FERC PF14-1-000 by Individual No Affiliation,et al.
Here is the context of the information I just spoke to you about,
Jessica and Clay, I want to provide you a quick heads up regarding the Withlacoochee River crossing. Continue reading
Other Florida, Georgia, and Alabama counties could do what Hamilton County,
Florida just did in this
this resolution.
Even before it got this resolution, FERC yesterday
directed Sabal Trail to deal with what Chris Mericle had been saying,
including proposing routes to minimize crossing the Withlacoochee River
or to avoid crossing it entirely.
Chris Mericle sent a PDF copy of the resolution with its attached hydrogeological report. I’ve added links to the other referenced documents.
Chris is the local host for the
September WWALS Outing on the Withalacoochee and Suwannee Rivers,
where you can come float past that same area
Sunday 21 September,
and see many local springs, sinkholes and shoals
that need to be protected from that pipeline.
RESOLUTION NO. 14-10
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
HAMILTON COUNTY, FLORIDA Continue reading
Last Friday a resolution to FERC saying the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline
should avoid sensitive karst limeston regions affecting water resources
passed the Hamilton County, Florida Commission.
Joyce Marie Taylor has added the following to her article in the Suwannee Democrat 25 August 2014, Hamilton fights back against Sabal Trail pipeline,
A special meeting was called on Friday, Aug. 22, and the board voted to pass Resolution 14-10 that expressed their concerns about the proposed pipeline route across the Withlacoochee River that forms the western boundary of Hamilton County.
A portion of the resolution states, Continue reading
Chris Mericle, local host for the
September WWALS Outing,
spoke to the Hamilton County Commission last Tuesday
about the same section of the Withlacoochee River,
where the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline is proposed to cross.
You can come float past it yourself
Sunday 21 September,
and see many local springs, sinkholes and shoals
that need to be protected from that pipeline,
continuing on to where the pipeline would cross the Suwannee River.
Joyce Marie Taylor wrote for the Suwannee Democrat 25 August 2014, Hamilton fights back against Sabal Trail pipeline, Continue reading
Fracked methane would come from Pennsylvania across our Withlacoochee River twice to LNG export in Florida, and many other rivers and aquifers would have the same problem throughout North America, as would domestic natural gas users as LNG export drives prices up, and local and state taxpayers having to clean up after insufficiently-insured pipeline companies. All the named coastal arrows on this map from Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise project in Pennsylvania branch off from Williams Transco to LNG export operations:
Update 5 September 2014: Join us on the rivers even if you’re not yet a member, and many things have happened in the past few weeks: see new post.
Update 25 August 2014: Chris Mericle, our local host for this outing, spoke to the Hamilton County Commission Tuesday 19 August 2014 about what he’s trying to protect from the pipeline.
Paddle past springs, shoals, sinkholes, and where Sabal Trail proposes a fracked methane pipeline to cross the
Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers in Florida:
the WWALS September Outing.
Spend five Sunday hours on about ten miles of two of our fabulous southern blackwater rivers.
Meet 10AM Sunday September 21st at the CR 143 Ramp at mile 8 on the Withlacoochee River, 30.449111, -83.221352 or 30° 26′ 56.796″ N 83° 13′ 16.8666″ W. Take out at Anderson Spring, just past I-10, 30° 21′ 10.6806″ N 83° 11′ 21.7314″ S
This event is FREE! All we ask is that you are a current member of WWALS Watershed Coalition. If not, its easy to join online today at /donations/. Continue reading
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
This is an op-ed submission sent to many newspapers in WWALS’ watersheds and beyond. There is also a longer version. -jsq
Protesters drove
up to nine hours to
Leesburg, GA July 10th, where Spectra Energy
lost an 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 property,
and bound to haunt south Georgia again for a trespass jury trial.
Spectra
bragged in op-eds about 50 public meetings,
never mentioning overwhelming public opposition
in
Moultrie,
Valdosta,
Clyattville,
Madison and elsewhere to
that gash through our fields, forests, and wetlands,
and
under our Withlacoochee River twice.
Sabal Trail’s air quality permit application with Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division met immediate Continue reading
Related to
population centers in the Suwannee River watershed,
someone asked,
“Do we need an interstate Suwannee Bioregion Coalition to guard the waters that feed into the Suwannee River?”
We’ve got pieces of it already cooperating to some extent in opposing
the Sabal Trail pipeline.
There are many other even larger issues that everyone in the Suwannee River
basin faces.
In south Georgia and north Florida we have Continue reading