Tag Archives: sinkhole

WWALS moves to enter EPA letter to FERC into evidence in Florida case

Everyone from the Atlanta Journal-Constition to the Palm Beach Post to the Ocala StarBanner Comes now, Petitioner... and moves.... considers the EPA letter to FERC to be of great significance. WWALS agrees, and has filed a motion to ask the judge to take notice in WWALS v. Sabal Trail & DEP.

§ 373.414 Florida Statutes, begins:

(1) As part of an applicant’s demonstration that an activity regulated under this part will not be harmful to the water resources or will not be inconsistent with the overall objectives of the district, the governing board or the department shall require the applicant to provide reasonable assurance that state water quality standards applicable to waters as defined in s. 403.031(13) will not be violated and reasonable assurance that such activity in, on, or over surface waters or wetlands, as delineated in s. 373.421(1), is not contrary to the public interest. However, if such an activity significantly degrades or is within an Outstanding Florida Water, as provided by department rule, the applicant must provide reasonable assurance that the proposed activity will be clearly in the public interest.

Not just “not contrary to the public interest”. For an Outstanding Florida Water applicant (Sabal Trail) “must provide reasonable assurance that the proposed activity will be clearly in the public interest.” The Suwannee River is an Outstanding Florida Water. And the EPA letter is pretty good evidence that Sabal Trail did not provide such reasonable assurance.

Filed October 30, 2015 4:43 PM Division of Administrative Hearings (also PDF on WWALS website): Continue reading →

Get Sabal Trail out of vulnerable karst –EPA to FERC

Avoid the whole most vulnerable area of the Floridan Aquifer, you risk drinking water wells and environmental justice communities, you didn’t even identify Clean Water Act mitigations, neglect isn’t mitigation, and stop just tweaking Sabal Trail’s preferred route even if Sabal Trail is at risk by its contract: your process is broken, FERC! Furthermore, all agencies means you, too, FERC, about the December 2014 Revised Draft Guidance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change Impacts. This project is so bad EPA is setting aside its stance that natural gas is cleaner and demanding a full life cycle analysis of the Transco – Sabal Trail – FSC project.

Above I paraphrase, but I do not exaggerate the severity and extent of EPA’s criticisms of FERC’s DEIS for the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline. Read it for yourself below.

EPA specifically criticizes the proposed HDD drilling under the Withlacoochee River slightly upstream from Blue (Wade) Spring, and going anywhere through the eroded karst sinkhole-prone terrain of southern Brooks and Lowndes Counties, Georgia, as well as in Florida through the Cody Scarp with its springs, swallets, siphons, and merging sinkholes, under the Suwannee River, over Falmouth Cave, and under the Santa Fe River.

Florida Sierra Club did this: Continue reading →

Sinkholes, toxins, and terrorism are not insignificant: WWALS members to FERC in Valdosta 2015-09-30

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 →

Sabal Trail right in the middle of the most vulnerable area of the Floridan Aquifer –John S. Quarterman for WWALS on Chris Beckham radio show 2015-08-31

The main point:

“I’ve got an independent route: let’s cancel this pipeline, and the Sunshine State should go directly to solar power.”

Here’s the video: Continue reading →

Judge assigned for WWALS v. Sabal Trail and FL-DEP

Here’s the letter DOAH sent Friday 4 September 2015 that we received on paper yesterday. Fortunately, it’s also online along with the rest of Case No: 15-004975. It’s been assigned Judge Bram D. E. Canter.

STATE OF FLORIDA
DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

 
 
 
Case No. 15-4975
15-0468

 
WWALS WATERSHED COALITION, INC.,

      Petitioner,

vs.

SABAL TRAIL TRANSMISSION. LLC AND
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,

      Respondent.
/

INITIAL ORDER

Initial Order
  1. Any document filed with DOAH by a party represented by an attorney shall be filed by electronic means through eALJ located at www.doah.state.fl.us. Parties not represented by an attorney may file by electronic means through eALJ. Any document filed through eALJ shall include the filing party’s e-mail address and be served upon all other parties. All pleadings and motions must contain the DOAH style and case number.
  2. THE AGENCY OR, WHERE THE AGENCY IS NOT A PARTY, THE PETITIONER SHALL COORDINATE WITH ALL PARTIES AND PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WITHIN SEVEN DAYS Continue reading →

A hearing for WWALS v Sabal Trail after all –WCTV

The hearing will be about the Suwannee River in Florida, and the same pipeline wants to cross the Withlacoochee River in Georgia (and the Ochlockonee, Flint, and Chattahoochee in Georgia, and the Santa Fe and the other Withlacoochee River in Florida).

Winnie Wright, WCTV, 4 September 2015, WWALS Receives Hearing on Sabal Trail Pipeline,

JASPER, Fla. — The WWALS will receive a hearing regarding the Sabal Trail Pipeline, according to the group.

“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,” said Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., Petitioners, vs. SABAL TRAIL TRANSMISSION, LLC and STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, Respondents 2015-08-28

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.
Chris and Deanna Mericle
(386) 938-5943 or (321) 431-3204 or (386) 855-5096
7712 SW 32nd Lane
Jasper, FL 32052
mericle.deanna@gmail.com
cjmericle@gmail.com

Stamped cover pagePermit 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 →

Another sinkhole near where Sabal Trail proposes to gouge its pipeline

What if a sinkhole develops years later under the proposed pipeline in south Georgia or north Florida, and Sabal Trail declares force majeure and doesn’t pay, like FGT did in Louisiana in 2013?

Numerous news stories are linked in the LAKE blog post, but let’s pick just one.

Winnie Wright, WCTV, 5 August 2015, 150-Foot Sinkhole Opens in Lowndes County Residential Area, Continue reading →

Linkage between ground water and surface water –USGS

Yet more documentation on why gouging a pipeline under the Withlacoochee River, or through this Valdosta Limesink area anywhere, would be a bad idea:

In most watersheds (river basins) in Florida the interactions between ground water and surface water typically result in a single dynamic flow system. This direct hydraulic linkage results from numerous karst features (such as sinkholes, conduit systems in the underlying limestone, and springs) that facilitate the exchange of water between the surface and subsurface (fig. 1). Unique problems can arise in protecting water quality in karst areas because of the direct and rapid transport of recharge through conduits to the subsurface and through resurgence by springs. In some areas, recharge from unknown drainage pathways to areas of discharge may contribute to chemical and biological contamination of water supplies. Such contamination in karst areas has been documented by many studies.

Yes, it says Florida, but the geology doesn’t stop at the state line, as USGS spelled out in a 1999 study of the Withlacoochee River. It works like this in Georgia, too: Continue reading →

Sasser landing to Jennings Bluff, WWALS Outing 2015-06-14

Update 2015-06-10: Expedition leader Chris Mericle writes:

I am pleased to report that the Alapaha River water level has increased since my last report (May 31). The Statenville gauge reports an increase of .9′ The Jennings gauage reports an increase of .8′. There should be plenty of water in the river for this weekend’s outing.

Float down the Alapaha River for a couple of hours, then walk to the Dead River Sink, where it disappears into the Floridan Aquifer. facebook event.

This is a pretty easy outing, but as always Continue reading →