Tag Archives: quality

Regional Water Council Meeting Wednesday AM in Valdosta

Meeting notice: -jsq

NOTICE:

SUWANNEE-SATILLA
REGIONAL WATER PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING
FOR
REGIONAL ASSESSMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION STATUS

Announcement Date: May 6, 2014

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:
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Registration: 9:30 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
Meeting: 10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.


Valdosta City Hall Annex
Multipurpose Room
300 N. Lee Street
Valdosta, GA

For additional information about the Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning
Council please contact:
Cliff Lewis, Assistant Branch Chief – EPD Watershed Protection Branch
229-391-2400 or Cliff.Lewis@dnr.state.ga.us

Grants to clean up two creeks in south Georgia

Funds are available for farmers, ranchers, and forest owners to help clean up two creeks in WWALS watersheds: Deep Creek in Turner County, a tributary of the Alapaha River, and Piscola Creek in Thomas and Brooks Counties, a tributary of the Withlacoochee River. The deadline for applications is May 16th.

WCTV via AP 5 April 2104, Georgia to Clean Up Waterways, Continue reading →

Avoid our area –Florida’s Suwannee River Water Management District to FERC

What they told FERC today was more subtle than just “avoid our area”, but after the Sabal Trail methane pipeline avoid karst limestone, any unconfined areas of our Floridan aquifer, caves, springs, wetlands, drilling under rivers, blasting, or using groundwater for testing pipes or disposing of it afterwards, where can that pipeline go?

The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) covers the Florida parts of WWALS’ watersheds, and our Withlacoochee River is named in the SRWMD comments. Unlike Georgia’s Suwannee-Satilla Water management District, SRWMD has state funding and staff that produced some very interesting comments.

This is the first I’ve heard of this point about source and disposal of testing water: Continue reading →

Moody AFB Installation Complex Encroachment Management Action Plan (ICEMAP)

On 19 February 2014 WWALS Watershed Coalition received the appended letter from the United States Air Force about a study regarding encroachment around Moody Air Force Base, between Valdosta and Lakeland in Lowndes and Lanier Counties, in the watershed of the Alapaha River. Several documents were attached:

From: Mike Lynch <ml@marstel-day.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 10:32 AM
Subject: Moody Air Force Base Installation Complex Encroachment Management Action Plan (ICEMAP)
To:
Cc: "NICHOLS, DIONDRA R GS-11 USAF ACC 23 CES/CENPP" <diondra.nichols@us.af.mil>


On behalf of Headquarters Air Force and the 23d Wing, Marstel-Day, LLC is developing an "Installation Complex Encroachment Management Action Plan" (ICEMAP) for Moody Air Force Base (AFB), Georgia and its associated installations and facilities. Attached is a memo Continue reading →

Valdosta famous into Florida again for wastewater spill

As two of the Suwannee Democrat’s commentors ask:

Why does Valdosta keep having these spills?
Hasn’t this happened like 3 times now?

Why yes, yes it has. For example, Valdosta became famous for this all the way to the Gulf 3 March 2013, and there were two more spills in 2013 to add to the big one in 2009. However, the City of Valdosta has promised to use SPLOST and other funding to fix it within a few years. As AP reported Friday:

The city of Valdosta says it is making improvements to the Withlacoochee Water Pollution Control Plant to prevent future problems.

Staff, Suwannee Democrat, 28 February 2014, Florida Department of Health advises of possible wastewater contamination: Wastewater overflow from Valdosta, Ga. may impact Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers

Live Oak — The Florida Department of Health (DOH) today issued an advisory to residents in counties surrounding the Withlacoochee and Suwannee rivers. The City of Valdosta has reported a spill, made up of a combination of storm water and partially treated sewage, that has overflowed into the Withlacoochee River. The Withlacoochee flows south and connects with the Suwannee River.

Until further information Continue reading →

Two bad water bills and six good ones in the Georgia legislature today

Flint Riverkeeper has a handy legislative update about water bills in the Georgia legislature, one bad one before committee today: SB 299.

SB 299 Natural Resources; provide flexibility for establishing watershed protection standards

This bill would actually do away with the riparian buffers that currently keep mud and sewage out of rivers and streams. It’s up for a vote today in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment. At least one Senator on that committee is in WWALS watersheds: Tyler Harper, (404) 463-5263, (404) 463-4161 fax, Ocilla, District 7, (229) 425-4840. You can contact him or your state Senator. Here are many reasons SB 299 is a bad bill.

More reasons, by Camo Coalition, of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, starting with:

Siltation kills streams. Siltation can fill lakes making boat access difficult or impossible. Silt destroys the habitat of aquatic invertebrates—caddis flies, mayflies, stone flies, and such. Pollutants can kill fish and these aquatic animals directly. Destroy the food chain; destroy the fishery.

SB 213 Flint River Drought Protection Act

This bill is not anything like its name. It’s actually a water grab that would stuff Flint River water into our fragile Floridan Aquifer and during droughts take it back out, but not for downstream use, rather for shipping to Atlanta. Even though it’s a Senate bill, it’s currently in the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, which has not yet convened this session, so now is a good time to contact your state rep. Those in WWALS watersheds include at least:
  1. Ellis Black, Valdosta, R-174, 404.656.0287, ellis.black@house.ga.gov
  2. Amy Carter, Valdosta, R-175, 229.245.2733, 404.656.6801, amy.carter@house.ga.gov
  3. Buddy Harden, Cordele, R-148, 404.656.0188, buddy.harden@house.ga.gov

The Flint River, #2 on American Rivers’ most endangered rivers list, is the next watershed to the west of us. If this bill passes, when will they come for the waters of the Little River, too?

Good Bills

Here are some good bills that need support, with descriptions from Georgia Water Coalition’s current legislative update, which covers the same bills as Flint Riverkeeper’s update.

Extending the Ban on Aquifer Storage and Recovery

Continue reading →

Delaware Riverkeeper and leaky methane pipes

Delaware Riverkeeper again has standing to oppose fracked natural gas pipelines, as part of the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling against frackers.

Andrew Maykuth wrote for philly.com 23 December 2013, What Pa. court’s ruling on gas-drilling law means,

…opponents of shale gas drilling say the court decision carries substantial symbolic and political weight. They hope it signals a reconsideration of state government’s love affair with fossil fuels.

“With this huge win, we will move ahead to further undo the industry’s grip of our state government,” said Maya van Rossum, executive director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, whose standing as a plaintiff in the case was restored by the Supreme Court’s decision.

The ruling may also revitalize the state’s Environmental Rights Amendment, a 42-year-old law that guarantees Pennsylvanians’ access to clean air and water.

Fracking backers of course say the ruling will harm business. Somebody remind me, why should big business get to destroy local property and watersheds to turn a buck?

Local governments in Pennsylvania made big fossil fuel think again: Continue reading →

The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas –Ichetucknee Alliance to FERC

Filed with FERC 17 December 2013 and on the Ichetucknee Alliance facebook group:

Lucinda F Merritt, Fort White, FL.

The Ichetucknee Alliance (http:// ichetucknee alliance.org) opposes placement of any new natural gas pipelines under, over or through the 5.5-mile long Ichetucknee River, including the area of Ichetucknee Springs State Park, the area of Columbia County that is included in the historic riverbed (the Ichetucknee Trace), and any part of the Ichetucknee Springshed.

The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas for the following reasons.

The river and springs, including Ichetucknee Springs State Park, are Continue reading →

WWALS in Waycross at EPA Seven Out Superfund meeting

It’s a serious situation in Waycross, with people getting sick and dying. The contamination, whatever it is, may have crossed into WWALS watersheds, as well. Good interactions between WWALS, Satilla Riverkeeper, and silentdisaster.org, plus EPA, GA EPD, and GA Health Dept.


Matthew J. Huyser, EPA (l. standing blue shirt), Jim Brown, GA EPD (c. standing white shirt), Ashby Nix, Satilla Riverkeeper (facing Brown, paper in hand), Joan Martin McNeal, silentdisaster.org (r. in group)

For details, see these posts on Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE): Continue reading →

Entering the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone –Kristofer Graham

Written as a newspaper letter to the editor and posted here with permission. -jsq

Dear Residents

Did you know Lanier County doesn’t have zoning laws. Which that mean they can development on wetlands and on our Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and build resident houses, subdivided, commercial building etc., cut timber on wetlands, on our watersheds and a Natural Gas Company want to put a pipeline through on these precious lands they can. It will destroy the land environment like our Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone (aka our drinking water) and our wetlands and our watersheds. Because it not protected like it should.

Lanier County Groundwater Recharge Areas Well it time to protect it before it all destroy and gone. It is up to our local government to protect these precious lands and preserve it in the original state. Yes it’s time for our local government to do there job to protect it. So it can be there forever.

I notices they got those lands zone as Ag and V5 zone. Which those zone doesn’t protect it and in fact it can destroy those lands Eco system because they spray pesticide for there farm crops near the Floridan Aquifer Recharge zone and wetlands, our watersheds. It will Continue reading →