Tag Archives: Quantity

Hamilton County, FL formally requests Army Corps site inspection of Sabal Trail Suwannee River crossing 2016-03-18

Here’s the letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the Hamilton BOCC voted unanimously 15 March 2016 to send. Other counties in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama may want to send similar letters.

BETH BURNAM
District 1 — Jennings
JOSH SMITH
District 2 — Jasper
ROBERT E. BROWN
District 3 — Jasper
RANDY OGBURN
District 4 — White Springs
BUSTER OXENDINE
District 5 — Jasper

HAMILTON COUNTY
FLORIDA
Office of
Board Of County Commissmners

GREG GODWIN
Clerk of Courts
JOHN H. MCCORMICK
County Attorney
207 Northeast First Street
Room 106
Jasper, Florida 32052
(386) 792-1288
FAX (386) 792-3524

March 18, 2016
Attn: Mark R. Evans, Senior Project Manager,
Jacksonville Permits Section
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Regulatory Division
Post Office Box 4970
Jacksonville, Florida 32232
RE: Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC
FERC Document No. CP15-17-000
Dear Mr. Evans:
The Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County recently received the Environmental Geology report prepared by Dennis Price and dated 10/25/2015, a copy of which is attached hereto.

If you will note, the findings of Mr. Price directly contradict Continue reading →

Come on down to Staten Road Bridge and paddle the Withlacoochee River to Langdale Park 2016-03-20

Update 2016-03-24: Pictures.

A few potholes never stopped us from paddling! Come on down to Staten Road Bridge 9AM tomorrow, Sunday 20 March 2016; follow this link for details. Yes, Langdale Park will be closed, but VLPRA has made arrangements for us to get in. (facebook event, meetup)

Staten Road has always been a put-in for carrying boats Continue reading →

Staten Road, Withlacoochee River, water levels, outing 2016-03-20

This Sunday, 9AM March 20th 2016, come paddle from Staten Road Bridge past Shadrick Sink and under the North Valdosta Road Bridge to Langdale Park! Follow this link for details. Although Langdale Park will be closed, Parks and Rec. will let us in for this event. (facebook event, meetup) Continue reading →

Stream Flow, SE Gulf and Atlantic Rivers

The Suwannee River flows most in May, and most of that comes almost equally from the Withlacoochee (with Little River and Okapilco Creek), the Alapaha, and the Suwannee from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Alapaha confluence. This is an interestingly different seasonal pattern from other rivers of similar flow, such as the Altamaha, Savannah, St Johns, Flint, and Chattachoochee.

These are screenshots from the interactive ESRI Hydro Hierarchy, http://maps.esri.com/rc/radial/, whose Help message says: Continue reading →

Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council meeting, Nashville, GA 2016-03-09

Received today this NOTICE, SUWANNEE-SATILLA REGIONAL WATER PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING, Announcement Date: February 16, 2016, TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES::

The Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council is holding its next meeting for the Review and Revision of the Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Plan at the following date, time, and location:

Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Registration: 9:00 A.M. – 9:30 A.M.
Meeting: 9:30 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.

Nashville Community Center Continue reading →

Floridians Against Fracking defeats pro-fracking bill

Thanks to the indefatigable Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson of Our Santa Fe River and all the Floridians Against Fracking (WWALS is a member) who stopped this bogus bill.

This was national and international news. But this from Florida: Margie Menzel, Palm Beach Post, 1 March 2016, Senator withdraws bill to permit, regulate fracking in Florida,

TALLAHASSEE — The Senate sponsor of a controversial bill about the regulation of “fracking” in Florida withdrew it from consideration Tuesday, saying he didn’t have the votes to get through a key committee.

Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee that the opposition of environmentalists played a key role in thwarting the measure (SB 318).

“Emotions tend to magnify the controversy,” he said.

Well, yeah, people do tend to get emotional about their drinking water, their Continue reading →

FDEP silently issued Sabal Trail permit and easement 2016-021-22

Despite being on FDEP’s permit announcement list, I never got anything about a Sabal Trail permit. After much digging, the other day I found that FDEP went ahead and issued the Sabal Trail permit 22 January 2016 (PDF), conveniently before FERC issued certificates 2 February 2016.

That FDEP permit was also before the appeal deadline of 15 February 2016 in WWALS v Sabal Trail & FDEP. They did not copy the petitioner in that case, namely WWALS. They did copy Audubon Florida, which, as you may recall back in October sent FERC a letter supporting Sabal Trail (and then tried to walk back part of it). A letter that EPA chose to mention by name to the Army Corps of Engineers, while not naming Sierra Club or WWALS in opposition. Apparently if you go along with FDEP you get preferential notification.

And that, that’s nothing. FDEP issued Continue reading →

Conversations with Noah Valenstein, E.D., SRWMD in Columbia County 2016-02-04

It’s not for shipping water to Jacksonville, it’s not much changed from last year, no money is allocated for it yet, and people should get involved in the process, said Noah Valenstein, the new Executive Director of the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD), in answer to questions from Jim Tatum and Merillee Malwitz-Jipson of Our Santa Fe River (OSFR) and me about the Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge Project at the Columbia County Commission meeting last Thursday, 4 February 2016. Plus Sabal Trail, Amtrak and that chicken farm.

Valenstein answered Jim during the Commission meeting. See also Jim’s report for OSFR. I stayed afterwards and had a longer discussion with Valenstein. Some notes from memory: Continue reading →

Skipper Bridge, 17.66 feet, flood level 15 feet

The water level continued up from yesterday, when it was 17.66 feet on the USGS guage at Skipper Bridge in Lowndes County, Georgia at 9:46 AM when I took these pictures. Flood stage is 15 feet. It was so high you could have floated over the chain link fence the county put in when it replaced the bridge, thus preventing normal use of this bridge as a Withlacoochee River access point on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Downstream panorama 30.9016667, 83.2930556

Continue reading →

Noah Valenstein, SRWMD E.D. @ Columbia County, FL Commission

He answered a few questions about Falling Creek Aquifer Recharge.

See Questions to SRWMD Director for context. More detail to come.