FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Live Oak, June 4rd 2016 — The photographers of these inspirational pictures were themselves photographed by a local photographer.
“It’s so important to engage young people in respecting and appreciating nature. Hopefully they will want to protect it.” said Deanna Mericle, WWALS member from Hamilton County, who organized this contest along with Eileen Box of Suwannee County and the Live Oak Woman’s Club, two weeks ago in Live Oak, Florida. Continue reading
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).
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
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Live Oak, May 24th 2016 — A Hamilton High student took $100 home for first place, and Branford High took the rest of the prizes, at the Serenity at Lime Run Spring photo contest, last night in Live Oak, Florida, organized by the Live Oak Woman’s Club and WWALS Watershed Coalition. Boys and girls were equally represented in the four prizes awarded, and grades ranged from 10 to 12.
![[Prizes awarded to high school students, Serenity at Lime Run Spring photo contest 2016-05-23]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2016-05-23--lime-winners/fbmany.jpg)
Prizes awarded to high school students, Serenity at Lime Run Spring photo contest 2016-05-23
Anyone of any age or gender or county can enjoy the beauty of the Florida Springs Heartland. We hope recognizing these students and their photographs will help bring awareness to the fragile beauty of Lime Run Spring, located in Suwannee River State Park, and will help preserve this spring in accordance with the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act.
The Winners of the Serenity at Lime Run Spring photo contest have been selected by the judges!
We will be having the award ceremony as planned
on Monday May 23, 2016 at 6:00 pm.
at the Woman’s Club of Live Oak,
1308 11th St. SW, Live Oak, FL 32064.
Anyone who can join us, please do come out and support the winners!
-Deanna Mericle
Preserving and Protecting Pristine Areas of Our Earth for Future Generations.
Why: In order to bring awareness to the fragile beauty of Lime Run Spring, located in Suwannee River State Park, and to help preserve this spring in accordance with the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act.
Organizers: the Woman’s Club of Live Oak and WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. are organizing a photo contest for high school students to capture the beauty and serenity at Lime Run Spring.
Who can participate? Any Continue reading
If you can’t get to the BIG Little River Paddle Race Saturday at Reed Bingham State Park Saturday morning between Adel and Moultrie, GA, there’s a cave diving workshop in Lake City, FL. And yes, the Paddle Race is still on unless there’s actually lightning, hail, or torrential rain tomorrow morning, and so far that seems unlikely. But you can still paddle at Reed Bingham and go to the social in Lake City tonight, the afternoon part of the Workshop tomorrow, and the rebreather demonstration or spring tours Sunday.
Social: 7PM Friday May 20th 2016 at 313 NW Commons Loop, Lake City, FL
Workshop: Continue reading
In the paper Suwannee Democrat, May 5th, 2016.
WWALS Watershed Coalition showed Suwannee County Commissioners sinkholes in the middle of the pipeline path that Sabal Trail didn’t mention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). All of them, except Jason Bashaw, studied a report by a local geologist and showed leadership by voting to tell that “truth that exists in the middle” to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The quotation above is a reference to Continue reading
Thanks to Janet Barrow for this letter approved by the Marion County, Florida BOCC yesterday, 3 May 2016 (PDF). That makes three Florida Counties requesting investigation of Sabal Trail discrepancies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after Hamilton County and Suwannee County.
Marion County
Board of County CommissionersDistrict 1 — David Moore, Commissioner
District 2 — Kathy Bryant, Chairman
District 3 — Stan McClain, Commissioner
District 4 — Carl Zalak ill, Vice Chairman
District 5 — Earl Arnett, ConnnissionarMcPherson Governmental Complex
601 SE ZSth Ave.
Ocala, FL 34471
Phone: 352-438-2323
Fax: 352-438-2324May 3, 2016
US. Army Corps of Engineers
Jacksonville District Regulatory Division
Jacksonville Permits Section
Attn: Mr. Mark R. Evans
Post Office Box 4970
Jacksonville, Florida 32232RE: Sabal Trail Transmission and Sabal Trail Citrus County Line projects within Marion County, Florida
Dear Mr. Evans:
Over 30 miles of pipeline are expected to be installed within Marion County, Florida for the Sabal Trail Transmission and Sabal Trail Citrus County Line projects. These pipelines will cross important, sensitive environmental lands, While Continue reading
Sent yesterday to the Chairman, the other five elected Lowndes County Commissioners, and the County Clerk (PDF). They meet again 5:30PM Tuesday evening, April 25th 2016.
Dear Commissioners,
Thanks to Chairman Bill Slaughter for saying in the Valdosta Daily Times that the Commission signing an easement contract was not an endorsement of the Sabal Trail pipeline.[1] Therefore I ask you to:
- Invite the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to investigate on site and on paper the numerous omissions by Sabal Trail of springs and underground water transmissivity in what it told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; .please see the letter from WWALS to the Army Corps,[2] attached with the letter from WWALS to you of April 12th.
Ask our U.S. Congress member Austin Scott (GA-08) to join the four Georgia Congress members who have already asked FERC to fix its processes or deny a permit for Sabal Trail.[3]
- Join the hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals who have already asked the U.S. Congress to call in the General Accounting Office (GAO) to review FERC’s permitting processes.[4]
Please find appended further information about the issues the Chairman raised in the VDT of eminent domain, in differences in regulation of oil and gas pipelines, and in environmental and safety issues of natural gas pipelines.
Since I wrote to you on April 12th, two more major natural gas pipelines have run into serious problems.
On April 20th, Kinder Morgan shelved Continue reading
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
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
Update: 4610-foot explored cavern under McIntyre Spring.
Blue Spring between Quitman and Valdosta has been known since the settling of Brooks County, when it was used as a reference point in building roads starting in 1859. Here’s an early 20th century report, with a much later picture postcard (probably not the same building) and location map.
A Preliminary Report on the Underground Waters of Georgia, by S. W. McCallie, State Geologist, Continue reading