Tag Archives: Suwannee River

Hamilton County, FL formally requests Army Corps site inspection of Sabal Trail Suwannee River crossing 2016-03-18

Here’s the letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the Hamilton BOCC voted unanimously 15 March 2016 to send. Other counties in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama may want to send similar letters.

BETH BURNAM
District 1 — Jennings
JOSH SMITH
District 2 — Jasper
ROBERT E. BROWN
District 3 — Jasper
RANDY OGBURN
District 4 — White Springs
BUSTER OXENDINE
District 5 — Jasper

HAMILTON COUNTY
FLORIDA
Office of
Board Of County Commissmners

GREG GODWIN
Clerk of Courts
JOHN H. MCCORMICK
County Attorney
207 Northeast First Street
Room 106
Jasper, Florida 32052
(386) 792-1288
FAX (386) 792-3524

March 18, 2016
Attn: Mark R. Evans, Senior Project Manager,
Jacksonville Permits Section
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Regulatory Division
Post Office Box 4970
Jacksonville, Florida 32232
RE: Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC
FERC Document No. CP15-17-000
Dear Mr. Evans:
The Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County recently received the Environmental Geology report prepared by Dennis Price and dated 10/25/2015, a copy of which is attached hereto.

If you will note, the findings of Mr. Price directly contradict Continue reading →

Lime Run Spring

Lime Run Spring is a 1st magnitude spring located in Suwannee River State Park. The Spring is the end point of the Falmouth Cathedral Cave System, one of the longest known underwater cave systems in the world. The Sabal Trail pipeline is proposed to cross over the cave and under U. S. 90 and CSX railroad all at the same point. Collapse of the cave roof is a distinct possibility at this point. We cannot allow Sabal to jeopardize this natural wonder.

Chris Mericle

Keep calling your GA House member to oppose SR 954: strip Sabal Trail easements

Your calls are working! Sabal Trail’s allies failed three times to whip up enough votes to pass this travesty.

Now please keep calling your state legislators and ask them to stay strong voting against SR 954 until Sabal Trail and Transco easements are taken out of it. It’s currently postponed until next Tuesday, March 22nd, so there’s time to call them through the weekend.

If Georgia Power, the EMCs, and GDOT want their easements, they should also be helping us strip Sabal Trail and Transco out of this bill. A fracked methane pipeline drilling under Okapilco Creek and the Withlacoochee, Ochlockonee, Flint, and Chatthahoochee Rivers is no advantage to anybody in Georgia. Or the Suwannee River in Florida: if you’re in Florida, you probably know somebody in Georgia you can ask to call their Georgia legislator.

Who to Call

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, 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 →

Thanks to Hamilton BOCC and all are watching tonight’s action against Sabal Trail 2016-03-15

Here’s what I just sent Hamilton County Commissioners before their meeting tonight, 6PM Tuesday 15 March 2016, Room 112 Courthouse, 207 Northeast First Street, Jasper, Florida (PDF):

Re: Thanks for your efforts against the unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous Sabal Trail pipeline
Dear Commissioners,
Thank you for your Resolution 2015-2 of March 3rd 2015 to support SB-166 and HB-169 to ban Fracking in the State of Florida. As you know, a bill in the Florida legislature that would have prohibited counties from banning fracking was defeated recently. But beware: Calhoun County, FL may see the Cholla Petroleum Company begin seismic testing any day now. And there is a shale gas basin underneath Hamilton County. http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=12546
Thank you for protecting our Withlacoochee River and the Floridan Aquifer with Continue reading →

Sabal Trail on Hamilton County, Florida Commission agenda 2016-03-15

It’s the Ides of March for Sabal Trail 6PM tomorrow in Hamilton County, Florida!

All are invited to come hear and possibly speak about Sabal Trail, which is number 6 on this agenda, not yet posted on the Hamilton County, Florida Board of Commissioners website:

AGENDA
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, HAMILTON COUNTY, FLORIDA
Room 112 — Courthouse 207 Northeast First Street
Jasper, Florida
MEETING DATE: MARCH 15, 2016
Continue reading →

Urge your GA House member to oppose SR 954: strip Sabal Trail easements

Update 2016-03-17: Your calls are working! Please keep calling: details.

You can help stop Georgia ~~eminent domain~~ easements for Sabal Trail from passing the statehouse! (PDF handout)

Photo: TONY CASSADY, 31 May 2015, in Arkansas River pipeline blowout occurred on Sunday morning, cause still unknown, by Benjamin Hardy, Arkansas Blog, 3 June 2015

Sabal Trail (a project of Houston-based Spectra Energy) is a methane frack-gas pipeline that would run from east central Alabama to south-central Florida. Multiple route choices exist. The company has chosen one, despite massive amounts of public objection, that maximizes the public and private impact. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted a permit for the particular one the company wants, one which that places a large number of Georgian’s private property under threat of (federal) eminent domain, for private profit. The FERC permit process is under appeal by property owners and advocacy groups. The pipeline still does not have several major state and federal permits (water quality, air, and wetlands).

Yet the Deal Administration seeks 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 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 →

FDEP silently issued Sabal Trail permit and easement 2016-021-22

Despite being on FDEP’s permit announcement list, I never got anything about a Sabal Trail permit. After much digging, the other day I found that FDEP went ahead and issued the Sabal Trail permit 22 January 2016 (PDF), conveniently before FERC issued certificates 2 February 2016.

That FDEP permit was also before the appeal deadline of 15 February 2016 in WWALS v Sabal Trail & FDEP. They did not copy the petitioner in that case, namely WWALS. They did copy Audubon Florida, which, as you may recall back in October sent FERC a letter supporting Sabal Trail (and then tried to walk back part of it). A letter that EPA chose to mention by name to the Army Corps of Engineers, while not naming Sierra Club or WWALS in opposition. Apparently if you go along with FDEP you get preferential notification.

And that, that’s nothing. FDEP issued Continue reading →

Winners, student logo contest, Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, by WWALS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Valdosta, February 28, 2016 — Two VSU students took First and Second Prizes Saturday for logos for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), at a Workshop at VSU, with an art exhibit and silent auction, and talks on history, archaeology, hydrogeology, and safety, organized by WWALS Watershed Coalition, the Waterkeeper® Affiliate for the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, and upper Suwannee Rivers. “These logo winners reflect the beauty and unusual nature of our blackwater rivers,” said logo contest organizer Julie Bowland, a VSU Art Professor. She aded, “I’ve already heard talk that we may use both of these logos, one for color, and one for black and white.”

Logo Contest Winners

Eboni Patterson (center) won First Prize for the circle logo. Ann Reid (left) won Second Prize for the river trace logo. Both were congratulated by contest organizer Julie Bowland, who handed them checks from WWALS. The prizes were contributed by Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.