Tag Archives: sinkhole

Not in our county, state, or aquifer: Valdosta votes against Sabal Trail pipeline tonight

Tonight at 5:30 PM the Valdosta City Council will vote on a resolution against the Sabal Trail pipeline they discussed Tuesday at their Work Session. Valdosta added a clause about the Floridan Aquifer to the clauses already in the resolution Lowndes County passed Tuesday evening that Valdosta is supporting. Valdosta’s aquifer clause reads:

WHEREAS, the City of Valdosta has concerns regarding any potential effect the proposed pipeline or its construction might have on the Floridan aquifer, the primary source of the drinking water supply for our City, County and the south Georgia area; and

As VSU Prof. Don Thieme remarked yesterday, Continue reading →

Little Alapaha River

Probably the least-known tributary of the Alapaha River, the Little Alapaha River is so shy it disappears underground between Jennings and Jasper, Florida.

The Little Alapaha River arises in Echols County, Georgia, just before it flows into Hamilton County, Florida, where it falls into a sinkhole west of Jasper, briefly reappearing before vanishing again. Theoretically it is a tributary of the Alapaha River, but it is not clear the waters of the Little Alapaha River ever reach the Alapaha River aboveground. Like the Alapaha River, the Little Alapaha’s sinkhole disappearance happens at the Cody Scarp. Chris Graham found this very interesting reference, Continue reading →

Dirty Dozen, sinkhole, aquifer, drinking water, and corrosion –WWALS to FERC about Sabal Trail

“There is no reason anyone in WWALS’ watersheds should accept any risk for the profit of Williams Company, Spectra Energy, and FPL, when any need for the Sabal Trail pipeline is unproven, and in any case the pipeline does not serve anyone in Georgia.”

Filed with FERC 15 November 2014, and appeared in FERC’s ecomment system 17 November 2014 (PDF).

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605
15 November 2014

VIA ELECTRONIC FILING
Ms. Kimberly Bose
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20426

Re: Southeast Market Pipelines Project,
Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC Docket No PFl4-1-000
Williams Transco Hillabee Expansion Project, LLC Docket No PFl4-6-000

Dear Ms. Bose,

I applaud FERC for getting Sabal Trail to move off of the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County, Florida. However, the same karst limestone geology underlies the same Withlacoochee River and the Floridan Aquifer in Brooks and Lowndes Counties, Georgia, and WWALS Watershed Coalition continues Continue reading →

Alapaha River Sink 2014-11-11

Deanna Mericle posted on facebook 11 November 2014,

Chris and I hiked the riverbed of the Alapaha River and found the other sink!

Other as in different from the Dead River Sink. Continue reading →

Avoid karst and water and demonstrate need for the Sabal Trail pipelne –Dougherty County Commission to FERC

A county commission is representing its people and the waters of Georgia in a resolution Dougherty County sent to FERC which says in part:

300x391 Resolution page 2, in Resolution No. 14-019 pipeline and compressor station, by Dougherty County Commission, for SpectraBusters.org, 5 November 2014 SECTION II Thus, we are in opposition to the construction of the proposed pipeline in Dougherty County and request that FERC give serious consideration and analysis to alternative routes (1) that avoid unstable geologic areas such as karst and sink-hole prone areas, (2) that minimize impacts to drinking water and agricultural water supplies, (3) that minimize impacts to wildlife habitat, forest, wetlands, streams and rivers and (4) that do not compromise socio-economic and cultural issues.

Continue reading →

Sinkhole formation and collapse due to drilling under the Withlacoochee River

Drilling through fragile sinkhole-prone karst limestone under the Withlacoochee River (or the Suwannee River, or the Santa Fe River): what could possibly go wrong? Sabal Trail now proposes to move off of the Withlacoochee River in Florida, but still plans to cross the Withlacoochee in Georgia, and to cross the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers, all of which have the same hydrogeology. You can talk directly to Sabal Trail and FERC at the Open House in Jasper, Florida, 5-7PM Tuesday 21 October 2014, and you can join WWALS where the Alapaha River disappears entirely into a sinkhole, at the Alapaha Sink, 2PM Sunday 26 October 2014.

Here are before and after diagrams by Continue reading →

Alapaha Dead River Sink

Update 2014-11-13: This is actually the Dead River Sink. See also the Alapaha River Sink. -jsq

Received 16 September 2044:

300x225 Disappearing into the sink, in Alapaha Sink, by Chris Mericle, 16 September 2014 I just saw the photos on WWALS web site of Bret’s trip to find the sink, Very nice.

Here are some photos of the sink you may want to add.

-Chris Mericle

Plus this Sunday, 10AM 21 September 2014, Chris and Deanna Mericle will be our local hosts at the WWALS outing on the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers in Florida.

-jsq

Continue reading →

FERC and Sabal Trail at the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County, FL

Filed with FERC 16 September 2014 as Report of Christopher J Mericle , On site meeting with local property owners, FERC and Sabal Trail at the proposed Withlacoochee river crossing Hamilton Co. Florida under PF14-1. Chris and Deanna Mericle are our local hosts for the WWALS outing at that same affected location 10 AM this Sunday, September 21st 2014. -jsq

9-10-14

Local property owners met with FERC and Sabal Trail to voice concerns with the proposed Natural Gas pipeline route where it crosses the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County, Florida. We had a great turnout of local support. Also in attendance, supporting our cause, was David Brown, Florida Certified Geologist, Jessica Norfleet, Constituent Advocate representing U.S. Congressman Ted Yoho, and Louie Goodin, Hamilton Co. Coordinator representing Hamilton Co. Board of Commissioners.

600x300 John Peconom (center) Talking with Deanna & Chris Mericle, David Brown, and FERC Geologist Tony (1 of 2), in FERC and Sabal Trail at the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County, FL, by Chris Mericle, for WWALS.net, 16 September 2014 Attendees for FERC included John Peconom, Project manager, James Martin, Chief-Gas Branch3 and at least 4 other people.

Sabal had over 10 people attending from all areas of expertise including Andrea Glover, public relations, and Greg Jones, Geologist.

There was discussion of Continue reading →

FL State Rep. Elizabeth Porter objects to FERC about Sabal Trail pipeline in karst limestone

Chris Mericle’s Florida state rep., Elizabeth Porter, who also attended the recent GA EPD briefing to SRWMD about Valdosta’s plans to fix its wastewater overflowes into the Withlacoochee River, just objected to FERC about Sabal Trail’s fracked methane pipeline (PDF). Chris and Deanna Mericle are our local hosts for the WWALS Withlacoochee and Suwannee River paddle past the pipeline 21 September 2014.

FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Representative Elizabeth Porter
District 10
Elizabeth.Porter@myfloridahouse.gov

Continue reading →

Withlacoochee and Suwannee paddle: springs, shoals, and pipeline 21 Sept 2014

Update 20 September 2014: Now with a lunch stop at Chris and Deanna’s house! Bring your own lunch or snacks, but the Mericles have picnic tables and bathrooms. Chris reports the Withlacoochee is high enough that the shoals are no problem, and the weather report says clear all day tomorrow. See also his report on FERC and Sabal Trail’s recent visit to this same area and what Sabal Trail wrote to FERC the next day.

Sabal Trail may be thinking of moving their pipeline, but WWALS is still padding past the original location 10AM Sunday September 21st. All are invited to come see for themselves the springs, shoals, and sinkholes that we value more highly than pipeline profit for a company from Houston. Join us for a fine day on two of our fabulous southern blackwater rivers: the Withlacoochee River and the Suwannee River, in Hamilton and Suwannee Counties, Florida.

The meeting place is the CR 143 Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River near Jennings, Florida. For directions, please see the earlier post about this outing.

This event is FREE! All we ask is Continue reading →