Tag Archives: sinkhole

USACE refuses Madison County’s request for a Sabal Trail SEIS 2016-07-29

They didn’t even bother to fill in the year on the date, and “File with original letter”. Here’s what the Corps wrote (PDF) in response to Madison County’s request for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) about Sabal Trail.

File with
original letter

DEPARTMENT or THE ARMY
JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT CORPS 0F ENGINEERS
POST OFFICE BOX 4970
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32232-0019

July 29, 201

USACE Response to Madison County re Sabal Trail Reply to attention of
Regulatory Division
North Permits Branch
Jacksonville Permits Section
SAJ-2013-03030

Madison Board of County Commissioners
Attn: Mr. Brian Kauffman, County Coordinator
Post Office Box 539
Madison, Florida 32341

Dear Mr. Kauffman:

Please accept this correspondence as Continue reading →

Madison County, FL asks USACE for a SEIS 2016-07-18

This request for a Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), mentioning Madison Blue Spring in particular, was sent July 18th or 19th 2016, one copy to each of the Corps addresses. (PDF). That’s the fourth Florida county to make such a request, after Hamilton, Suwanee, and Marion Counties. The Corps already responded to Madison County.

Board of County Commissioners
Madison County, Florida

to express our concerns

Jacksonville Permits Section
U.S.A.C.E. Regulatory Division
Attn: Mark R. Evans,
  Senior Project Manager,
Post Office Box 4970
Jacksonville, Florida 32232

Commander, U.S.A.C.E.,
Savannah District
Attn: Mr. Terry C. Kobs
1104 N. Westover Boulevard, Unit 9
Albany, GA 31707

U.S.A.C.E.
Mobile District Reg. Div.
Montgomery Field Office
Attn: Mr. James S. Cherry II
605 Maple Street
Building 1429 Room 105
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6017

 

Norman C. Bay, Chairman Continue reading →

Sanford Bishop GA-02 requests Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement for Sabal Trail from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016-05-27

Rep. Sanford Bishop GA-02 just stood up again against the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline invader, for the Flint River, the Floridan Aquifer, and his constituents in Albany, and Dougherty and Terrell Counties, pointing out FERC shouldn’t have issued a certificate before all the state Clean Water Act Section 401 permits were in, and asking for a Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).

Many counties and county seats have passed resolutions against Sabal Trail I’m sure we’re all looking forward to similar requests from Austin Scott GA-07, in whose Congressional district Sabal Trail would cross Okapilco Creek and the Withlacoochee River, and in which Moultrie, Valdosta, and the counties of Colquitt, Brooks, and Lowndes passed resolutions against the pipeline. And especially from Ted Yoho FL-03, in whose district Sabal Trail would cross the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers through the most vulnerable recharge area of the Floridan Aquifer in the Florida Springs Heartland, and in which the counties of Hamilton, Suwannee, and Marion have already sent letters to the Corps, like Rep. Bishop just asked for a Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).

We know the Corps did a SEIS for Keystone XL. The Corps should do a SEIS for Sabal Trail, so Continue reading →

Thanks for a historic victory against Sabal Trail –WWALS in VDT 2016-04-10

In today’s Sunday April 10th 2016 Valdosta Daily Times:

The Georgia House on March 22nd by an unprecedented 34 ayes to 128 nays rejected easements for Sabal Trail Sunday VDT to drill our Withlacoochee and other Georgia Rivers. This was a historic victory by the Georgia Water Coalition, including Georgia Sierra Club, WWALS, Flint Riverkeeper, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, plus SpectraBusters, and thanks to all of you who called their state reps.

That same day, Continue reading →

Sinkhole Trail on the agenda, Suwannee BOCC, 2016-04-05

Once again, Suwannee County follows Hamilton County’s lead.

Carl McKinney, Suwannee Democrat, 1 April 2016, Suwannee County Commission to discuss Sabal Trail sinkholes,

At its next meeting, the commission will consider sending a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which must issue a permit for the pipeline project.

The letter would mimic one Hamilton County recently voted to send, said Suwannee County Commissioner Wesley Wainwright.

Wainwright asked Continue reading →

FERC makes Hamilton BOCC filing illegible

Does FERC actually look at what counties and other people send it?

Figure 2: LiDAR Map, Suwannee River --Dennis Price to FERC (5 of 8) FERC made the figures illegible in its posting of Dennis Price’s geology report that Hamilton BOCC appended when it forwarded to FERC its site visit request to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

This reminds me of when FERC lost half of Dougherty County’s Sabal Trail resolution and just happened to lose page 3 of Bill Kendall’s letter, the page about lack of need, false pretense, and duress. Does FERC actually care what anybody thinks, other than the industries it “regulates” while they pay all its costs?

FERC Filing 28 March 2016, Accession Number 20160328-0091, “Correspondence from Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton, FL to U.S. Army Corp of Engineers re the Environmental Geology report under CP15-17.” Continue reading →

Hamilton County, FL unanimously asks Army Corps for on-site independent study of Sabal Trail

Thanks to the Hamilton Board of County Commissioners for standing up for its people, Hamilton BOCC deliberating and for all those affected by the invading Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline.

Debra Johnson, SpectraBusters, 15 March 2016, Hamilton County takes exception with Sabal Trail,

Tonight, Tuesday March 15, 2016, Hamilton County unanimously voted to request that the Army Corps of Engineers perform an independent study on site concerning the ommisions and discrepancies contained in the final environmental study that FERC and Florida DEP used to issue the[ir] permit[s] for the Sabal Trail pipeline.

These ommisions in the EIS were discovered by Mr Chris Mericle when Continue reading →

Geological determinations about Sabal Trail and Suwannee River by Dennis Price P.G.

Sinkholes, springs, and caves abound where Spectra Energy wants to gouge its yard-wide Sabal Trail pipeline Figure 1. Location Map of Sabal Trail Pipeline through the heart of the Florida Springs Heartland, wrote a Practicing Geologist WWALS member to FERC, following up on his testimony in WWALS v Sabal Trail & FDEP.

Here is the text of the report by Dennis Price, followed by the images (PDF in FERC accession number 20151027-5034), all about the same area where WWALS board member Chris Mericle recently guided Hamilton and Suwannee County Commissioners to see for themselves. -jsq

Continue reading →

Videos: Hike to Sabal Trail route across Suwannee River with Suwannee and Hamilton County Commissioners 2016-02-18

Here are WWALS videos of Chris Mericle (WWALS board member) explaining the sinkholes in the path of the proposed Sabal Trail fracked methane crossing of the Suwannee River under Suwannee River State Park. Commissioners and staff from Suwannee and Hamilton Counties attended, along with many other interested parties. Both Commissions have regular meetings tomorrow, Tuesday March 1st, Hamilton County at 9AM, and Suwannee County at 6PM. See previous post for locations, pictures, and more names of participants in the hike. Sabal Trail declined to send anyone to this well-announced hike, although Spectra has been holding one-on-one meetings with individual county commissioners, or, rather six to one, just like they did in their “Open Houses” where they surrounded each landowner with six pipeline blueshirts.

Here are links to each of the WWALS videos, followed by a video playlist. Can you spot the Sabal Trail marker stakes, and the sinkholes? Continue reading →

Pictures: Hike to Sabal Trail route across Suwannee River with Suwannee and Hamilton County Commissioners 2016-02-18

Commissioners from counties on both sides of the Suwannee River saw the sinkholes and big oaks and pines directly above and near where KIMG3665 30.4091034, -83.1629486 Sabal Trail proposes to bore under Suwannee River State Park and the River, led by WWALS board member and Hamilton County resident Chris Mericle, assisted by Debra Johnson of SpectraBusters, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson of Our Santa Fe River (OSFR), and others from as far away as south Florida. All but one of the Suwannee County Commissioners were there, and he had a good excuse. They also saw Falmouth Spring, which is part of a cave system which Sabal Trail claims is 100 feet deep. Both county commissions meet Tuesday March 1st; see below for details. WWALS videos to come now posted. You can see Continue reading →