Tag Archives: quality

Local recharge through sinkholes and drainage wells moves underground

With the artesian level as much as 100 feet above sea level and the land surface is seldom more than 200 feet, a Sabal Trail pipeline drilling frac-out wouldn’t have to go far to get into the Floridan Aquifer groundwater used by wells around here. We already saw such water contamination would go underground is hard to predict. This is not news: here’s a paper from 1966 with the main points.

Artesian Water in Tertiary Limestone in the Southeastern States, By V. T. Stringfield, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 517, 1966. Continue reading →

Petition GA Gov. Deal to oppose Sabal Trail pipeline

Please sign this petition to Please Ban The Sabal Trail Fracked Gas Pipeline.

Congratulations to Push Back the Pipeline for convincing GA Gov. Deal and Lt. Gov. Cagle to oppose Kinder Morgan’s Palmetto Project and the Georgia Dept. of Transportation to deny KMI a permit.

Now it’s time for the same for the Sabal Trail Pipeline. The permitting process is different, but opposition from the state of Georgia could stop this invader, too.

While Sabal Trail has moved off our Withlacoochee River in Florida, it still wants to cross the Withlacoochee in Georgia at the Continue reading →

WWALS Goals for 2015

Boating on our rivers and water trails for them, issues and education: you can help with the fun and work of WWALS! Here’s much of what can be done laid out in a list of a dozen WWALS Goals for 2015. The board has at least one opening right now, and the committees always could use more members. You can apply through the online form.

See also the monthly newsletter, the news about WWALS, and of course the website with blog, facebook the page and group, and WWALS on twitter, Youtube, and the membership google group. You can become a member or corporate sponsor of WWALS online right now.

The WWALS Executive Committee 11 March 2015 recommended Continue reading →

For development, or not needed? US 84 widening from Homerville to Waycross

This paragraph sums it up:

300x388 Wetlands 29 and 31, in RE: SAS-2014-00862, Proposed U.S. Highway 84 Widening, by Gilbert B. Rogers, for WWALS.net, 28 May 2015 The project’s stated purpose in the EA is “economic development,” as part of the Governor’s Road Improvement Program created in the 1980s. See EA at 4. The NEPA regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) require agencies to examine the indirect impacts of projects — those growth-inducing impacts caused by a project, such as changes in land use and development patterns. 40 C.F.R. § 1508.8(b). Yet over and over, when purporting to examine the project’s potential for indirect impacts on various natural resources, the EA repeats, “The proposed project is not expected to precipitate substantial development along the corridor.”

Other questions include, why not use a narrower median? Why not leave trees on the median?

Below is the full text of the letter Continue reading →

Douglas meeting of Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council 2015-06-15

WWALS Ambassador Dave Hetzel will be speaking at this meeting (PDF). 300x194 Douglas and Coffee County, Satilla and Willacoochee Rivers, in Douglas meeting of Water Council, by Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council, for WWALS.net, 15 June 2015

Douglas is in the Satilla River watershed, but WWALS’ Willacoochee River forms the border between Coffee County and Berrien County.

NOTICE:

SUWANNEE-SATILLA
REGIONAL WATER PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING

Announcement Date: May 28, 2015

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

EPA Clean Water Rule finalized

I still see EPA’s new Clean Water Rule as a good thing, since it protects drinking water, paddling, and fishing, while opponents remain quite vague about what might be wrong with it.

After last year’s comment period, U.S. EPA has posted a prepublication version of its final Clean Water Rule.

Katie Shepherd, L.A. Times, 27 May 2015, Under new EPA rule, Clean Water Act protections will cover all active tributaries, Continue reading →

Landowner in county in WWALS watersheds sued by Sabal Trail; hearing May 28th in Moultrie

WWALS has long opposed the unnecessary, environmentally destructive, and hazardous Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, see for example the 3 April 2015 front page Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. Now Sabal Trail has sued a landowner in a WWALS watershed county. Everyone who can, please attend the hearing or send letters.

When: 9:30 AM 28 May 2015 Continue reading →

WWALS at Earth Day by S.A.V.E. at Drexel Park near VSU today

Update 2014-04-25 11:AM: Unfortunately the whole event has been cancelled.

300x225 Earth Day 2015, in Earth Day by S.A.V.E., by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 25 April 2015 Come hear from Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.) about fossil fuel divestment and other environmental issues, 1-4PM today in Drexel Park, NE corner of Patterson Street and Brookwood Avenue; Facebook event. Rain location: University Center, just south of Brookwood.

WWALS will have Alapaha River Water Trail brochures, flyers for the Third Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race 2015-05-16 and other WWALS events, plus news about opposition to the Sabal Trail pipeline.

WWALS and S.A.V.E. have long been allied in opposing the Sabal Trail pipeline, and in proposing fossil fuel divestment. WWALS sent a letter to the VSU Foundation 18 October 2013 quoting S.A.V.E.: Continue reading →

Floridan Aquifer more important than Sabal Trail pipeline –WWALS Amicus Brief to Leesburg

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF LEE COUNTY

STATE OF GEORGIA




SABAL TRAIL TRANSMISSION, LLC,


Plaintiff,


vs.


JAMES E. BELL, II and ROBERT A. BELL,

Defendants.

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Civil Action No.

14-CV-208RS


300x413 Cover, in Wwals leesburg, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 13 April 2015 AMICUS CURIAE OF WWALS WATERSHED COALITION, Inc.

IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS THE BELLS

PDF

COMES NOW WWALS WATERSHED COALITION, INC. (WWALS), as friends of the court and concerned citizens in the above-entitled action in support of the Defendants and file this their brief with the court in the above referenced case and states as follows and provides in support thereof the following:

Continue reading →

Hamilton and Madison: both WWALS Florida Counties passed anti-fracking resolutions

We’ve already seen Hamilton County’s RESOLUTION 2015-02 of 3 March 2015. Madison County followed 11 March 2015, as reported by Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson for Our Santa Fe River, The Commissioners of Madison County—THEY ROCK!!

This morning the Commissioners of Madison County concluded their business by unanimously signing a resolution to ban fracking and to support the bills in Tallahassee which do that. County Attorney Tommy Reeves was johnny-on-the-spot ready with the resolution so there was no delay there.

Continue reading →