The Valdosta newspaper wrote about two, and two more WWALS members also spoke to FERC in Valdosta last Wednesday.
Joe Adgie, Valdosta Daily Times, 2 October 2015, REgulators hear from Valdosta about Sabal Trail,
Deborah Johnson of Suwannee County, Fla., spoke of the safety record of Spectra Energy, the parent company of Sabal Trail.
“Spectra Energy has what is considered one of the worst Continue reading
After
Albany on Monday,
the Moultrie, Valdosta, and Lake City FERC Sabal Trail hearings
are all in WWALS territory, and Sabal Trail’s fracked methane pipeline would cross
WWALS’ Okapilco Creek near Moultrie, Withlacoochee River near Valdosta, and Suwannee River near Jasper.
The Georgia DNR board Wednesday
gave away easements under those streams to Sabal Trail,
but they’re not permanent until at least two more state approval steps,
and they mean nothing if the pipeline is cancelled.
The FERC meetings are all 5:30 PM speaker signup, 6 PM FERC presentation, then 3 minutes each per audience speaker, ending 8 PM.
* Marks meetings in WWALS territory.
Why is the first Florida meeting in Lake City, when Sabal Trail does not propose to go through Columbia County? Continue reading
September 4nd, 2015, Jasper, Florida —
Yesterday the
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL-DEP)
asked for an administrative law judge (ALJ)
“to conduct all necessary proceedings required by law and to submit a recommended order to the Department”.
FL-DEP apparently interprets its Order of the previous day as dismissing only
the petition of WWALS-FL, a Florida nonprofit corporation, and not that of
the parent corporation, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS).
So it seems WWALS gets a hearing after all.
WWALS president John S. Quarterman remarked:
“Everyone told us we’d never get a hearing, so apparently we interpreted the previous day’s FL-DEP dismissal too broadly. But sometimes if you try, you succeed. And WWALS continues to try to stop the unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous Sabal Trail pipeline.”
And it seems FL-DEP is reading the news about this case, because Continue reading
A Sumter County paper adds some local details of the possible ill effects of the Sabal Trail pipeline on the Green Swamp and other waterways, drawing its main story about the WWALS petition to FL-DEP from the Gainesville Sun article. And see further developments.
Scott Callahan and Christopher Curry Halifax Media Group, Daily Commercial, 2 September 2015,
Proposed natural gas pipeline draws petition,
In Lake County, the pipeline will cross wetlands and possibly impact the Green Swamp and flows of the Little and Big Creeks, according to the Lake County Water Authority.
“The flows from these two creeks are vital Continue reading
2015-09-04: New DEP message, new press release.
September 3rd, 2015, Jasper, Florida —
Despite the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL-DEP)’s
Order of yesterday dismissing WWALS’ amended petition with prejudice on a technicality,
including an attempt to deny FL-DEP’s responsibilities to the citizens of Florida,
WWALS and WWALS-FL continue to point out the obvious:
Spectra Energy’s
proposed Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline is not in the public interest,
would interfere with property rights far beyond the crossing of the Suwannee River,
would not maintain natural conditions,
and could have severe adverse effects on fish, wildlife, public recreation, and navigation, especially if it blew up like a Spectra Energy pipeline
did in May under the Arkansas River.
Hamilton County, FL resident Deanna Mericle, who wrote much of the WWALS amended petition that was dismissed, responds,
“DEP is doing a disservice to the citizens of Hamilton and Suwannee Counties by not hearing the legitimate argument and hiding behind a questionable technicality. I am sorely disappointed but not surprised.”
Yesterday WWALS received Continue reading
Filed 28 August 2015 (PDF). -jsq
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
STATE OF FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
|
WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., Petitioners,
vs.
SABAL TRAIL TRANSMISSION, LLC and STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,
Respondents. |
: : : : : : : : : : : |
OGC Case No.: 15-0468 |
Petition for Administrative Hearing:
Florida Department of
Environmental Protection’s intent to issue Environmental Resource Permit
|
Petitioner: |
WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. P.O. Box 88 Hahira, GA 31632 wwalswatershed@gmail.com |
WWALS Watershed Coalition Florida Inc.
|
Permit applicant:
Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC.
400 Colonial Center Parkway, Suite 300
Lake Mary, FL 32746
Department Permit file number: 0328333-001
Counties affected by the permitted activity: Hamilton, Suwannee, Gilchrist, Alachua, Levy, Citrus, Marion, Sumter, Lake, Polk, Orange, Osceola. Affected counties represented by WWALS: Hamilton, Suwannee, Madison.
Date Petitioner became aware Continue reading
According to GA-DNR, 17 August 2015,
The Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Council will meet on Monday, August 31, 2015 at 10:00am in the meeting room of
Aniston’s Restaurant, located at 1404 W. Baker Highway, Douglas, GA. Registration begins at 9:30am. The Council will be hearing presentations on surface water supply and agricultural water-use forecasting. The Council will also be discussing items for consideration in the revision and update of the 2011 Regional Water Plan.
Here are the LAKE videos of their June meeting and here is the announcement for their July meeting; the LAKE videos for that last one will be available soon.
-jsq
The
Florida Springs Council (FSC) is concerned about Bill Gates,
Lakeland Sands and others investing in Florida and south Georgia Land
for industrial farming operations, reports
Chris Mericle, WWALS delegate to FSC.
FSC, like WWALS, would like to know more, and is trying to contact Bill Gates
to start a dialog about sustainable farming practices.
For example, Chris reports:
There is a 300 acre parcel of Lakeland Sands property here in Hamilton Co. that has been cleared of the forest that was there except for a small island of trees in the center. Within this island of trees is a true hydrogeological wonder. A beautiful spring boils from the ground, the spring pool is Continue reading
Update 2021-03-09: The funding cost per gauge has gone up, to $22,500, of which usually the USGS contributes about $900.
How much would it cost
to fund the Okapilco Creek gage so it won’t go offline July 31st?
About
$13,600/year, more or less, mostly for field and office labor
and administration, with only 10% for the field equipment.
Since this gage is located in Brooks County, Georgia,
the most likely funding body (after USGS itself)
would be the Brooks County Commission.
Yes, it’s in WWALS watersheds; no, WWALS doesn’t plan to take on
funding streamgages. If some funding organization appeared
that wanted to pass the funds through WWALS, which is a 501(c)(3)
educational institution, that would be possible.
But this seems more like a government issue.
In USGS Groundwater Data for Georgia:
The following streamgage will be shut down on July 31, 2015 unless alternative funding can be found:
- 02318700 Okapilco Creek at Georgia Highway 333, near Quitman, Georgia
For questions regarding this threatened streamgage, please contact Tony Gotvald at (678) 924-6648 or agotvald@usgs.gov.
-jsq