Dave Williams, Capitol Beat News Service, in Tribune & Georgian (Serving CAMDEN County, Georgia Since 1894), Mine faces roadblock at Okefenokee Swamp,
ATLANTA—The Alabama company looking to open a titanium mine near the Okefenokee Swamp is being confronted with an additional hurdle.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has Continue reading
Hahira, GA, June 5, 2022 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has reversed its October 2022 abdication of oversight over the proposed titanium strip mine site too near the Okefenokee Swamp. That puts Twin Pines Minerals back to re-applying for a USACE permit, in addition to its permit applications to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD).
![[Okefenokee Swamp, Mine site, Ossoff, Connor]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-03--usace-tpm-okefnokee/many.jpg)
Okefenokee Swamp, Mine site, Ossoff, Connor
This Friday, Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, issued a memorandum revoking the previous decision by USACE that said there were no Waters of the U.S. related to the proposed mine site. He said the Muscogee Creek Nation had not been properly consulted, despite their request for such consultation. Twin Pines Minerals must resubmit an application if they still want to mine there.
“The Okefenokee is a sacred natural resource. It is a wildlife refuge that must be protected,” said U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, May 6, 2021. https://wwals.net/?p=55536
“Thanks to Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff for Continue reading
Update 2022-06-05: WWALS Press Release, Army Corps resumes oversight; miners have to reapply for strip mine too near Okefenokee Swamp.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has reversed its October 2022 abdication of oversight over the proposed titanium strip mine site too near the Okefenokee Swamp. That puts Twin Pines Minerals back to re-applying for a USACE permit, in addition to its permit applications to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD).
![[Michael Connor. Photo: Indianz.com 2022-02-14--indianz-michael-connor]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-03--usace-tpm-okefnokee/2022-02-14--indianz-michael-connor.jpg)
Michael Connor. Photo: Indianz.com 2022-02-14
Like Sen. Ossoff, you can help stop a strip mine proposed far too near the Okefenokee Swamp, which is the headwaters of the Suwannee and St Marys Rivers, and the mine sits on top of the Floridan Aquifer from which we all drink.
Senator Jon Ossoff is advocating for the protection of the Okefenokee swamp, Kyra Purvis, WFXL, Wednesday, May 25th 2022,
![[Sen. Ossoff at the Okefenokee Swamp 2021-05-14]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-05-25--ossoff-okefenokee/21.05.14-Okefenokee-4-1024x683.jpg)
Sen. Ossoff at the Okefenokee Swamp 2021-05-14
Senator Jon Ossoff is advocating for the protection of the Okefenokee swamp and its national wildlife refuge.
The swamp is currently being looked at by Twin Pines Minerals LLC as a place for titanium mining.
Ossoff is asking for a joint effort between both parties and is calling on all environmental agencies to protect one of Georgia’s most precious natural resources.
“Our state may lose the Okefenokee swamp, this precious natural resource, unless EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the Army Corps and Georgia’s environmental protection division take action to stop it,” said Ossoff in his call to action, “Overwhelmingly the people of Georgia and of the local community treasure the Okefenokee swamp. But I’m sounding the alarm because we need an all hands-on deck effort now to bring the pressure to bear necessary to save the Okefenokee swamp from destruction.”
Ossoff says he has Continue reading
This morning the Lowndes County Commission considered and Tuesday evening will vote on letting a subdivision developer replace a detention pond with a built-on lot and some other detention area somewhere unspecified.
![[Map: Little Viking Road to Grand Bay, ARWT]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-03-21--loco-drainage-grand-bay/map-arwt-little-viking-road-grand-bay.jpg)
Map: Little Viking Road to Grand Bay,
in the WWALS
map of the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).
The detention pond is marked by the red ellipse. The most likely drainage from there is where I drew the cyan line. It appears to go into Grand Bay. See below a closeup of the lot and a larger map of how Grand Bay drains into Grand Bay Creek, the Alapahoochee River, the Alapaha River, and then the Suwannee River on the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Continue reading
Water gaps and water quality: the Georgia Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council meets 10-15 AM to 2 PM, Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at Coastal Pines Technical College, 1701 Carswell Ave, Waycross, GA 31503. There is an online method of attendance, unfortunately via Microsoft Teams.
Unlike Florida’s Suwannee River Water Management District, SSRWPC has no paid staff, no budget to speak of, and no taxing, permitting, or fining ability. Its Council is all volunteers, assisted by a few staff from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) and sometimes a consultant or two.
SUWANNEE-SATILLA
REGIONAL WATER PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING
Announcement Date: February 2, 2022
TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES:
The Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council
will hold a meeting at the following date, time and location:
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Registration: 10:15 A.M. – 10:30 A.M.
Meeting: 10:30 A.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Note: This Meeting may be attended In-Person (with Social Distancing Measures in place) or Virtually via the MS Teams Link with Call-In Information Provided Below
Coastal Pines Technical College
1701
Carswell Ave
Waycross,
GA 31503
If you are planning to attend the meeting in-person please send your RSVP notice to woodsh@cdmsmith.com so we can ensure we do not exceed the venue capacity.
For Virtual Attendance use this link: Continue reading
We appear to be the poster child for Recreational redesignation of waterbodies by GA-EPD.
![[Prioritization of Nominated Waterbodies]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-09-13--epd-recreational-redesignation-update/9_13_2021_Triennial_Review_Public_Meeting-0019.jpg)
Prioritization of Nominated Waterbodies; blue marks prioritized waterbodies.
That’s a slide from today’s update meeting.
Not all our blue prioritized waterbodies were redesignated: not Banks Lake nor Grand Bay. But the Withlacoochee and Alapaha segments were redesignated. We may have gotten more river miles redesignated than anywhere else in Georgia.
![[Stretches redesignated Recreational]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-09-01--ga-epd-triennial-recreational/map-redesignated.jpg)
Stretches redesignated Recreational
on the
GA-EPD map.
As you can see, GA-EPD stuck to considering swimming as most important for what they call primary recreation, which is what they require for Recreational redesignation. Thanks to all of you who sent in swimming pictures and locations. You can keep sending those in, especially for the Suwannee River. Thanks to those cities and counties and Chambers of Commerce that sent in letters of support. Continue reading
Update 2021-09-01: More Recreational redesignation of waterbodies still possible –GA-EPD 2021-09-01.
GA-EPD picked a subset of the river stretches they previously said they would consider for Recreational designation: in the Georgia Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards: parts of the Alapaha River, and a smaller part of the Withlacoochee River.
There’s an online Update Meeting next month.
So that’s the Alapaha River from the Willacoochee River to Dampier Branch, and from Cherry Creek to the state line. I guess you can still paddle from Willacoochee Landing @ GA 135 to Berrien Beach Boat Ramp @ GA 168 without getting into any non-Recreational stretches. But Lakeland Boat Ramp and Pafford’s and Burnt Church Landings are right out. But you can paddle from Hotchkiss Road Landing to Naylor Boat Ramp, Mayday Landing, Statenville Boat Ramp, and on to Florida.
Redesignated Recreational is the Withlacoochee River from Tiger Creek (at Spook Bridge, just below US 84) to the state line. So Knights Creek, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps can all be Recreational, even though they’re all downstream of Okapilco Creek and all those cattle in Brooks County, but Langdale Park Boat Ramp and Troupville Boat Ramp are not designated Recreational, despite the Valdosta Mayor’s letter of support.
However, the big win is that anything at all got redesignated. In previous cycles, GA-EPD declined to consider such a thing. And we can reapply next time.
Completely missing from this list are: Continue reading
Maybe this letter will help GA-EPD to upgrade our waterways from Fishing to Recreational for tighter standards on contaminants.
![[Water Trails, Mayor's Paddle, cleanups, $100 million sewer improvements, Troupville River Camp]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-06-30--vld-ga-epd-recreational/big/2021-06-30--Valdosta-Mayor-to-GA-EPD-Triennial-Review-Water-Quality-0001.jpg)
Water Trails, Mayor’s Paddle, cleanups, $100 million sewer improvements, Troupville River Camp
PDF
Update 2021-07-08: Sewage Spills: Valdosta, GA, Starke, FL 2021-07-08.
Elsa has downgraded to Tropical Storm again, and is late for landfall.
As of 8 AM this morning Elsa is 35 miles west of Cedar Key, according to the National Hurricane Center. Pretty much everything in Cedar Key is closed today.
The storm track has moved slightly west. “On the forecast track, Elsa will make landfall along the north Florida Gulf coast by late this morning or this afternoon.” Late morning would be high tide, making storm surge worse.
Elsa is still predicted to move north up the Suwannee River Valley, where county offices are closed today all the way up into Georgia. Then over the Okefenokee Swamp Thursday, on up the Georgia coast, but now somewhat inland, with tropical storm warnings most of the way, and storm surge warnings for the Georgia coast through Charleston, S.C. And on up the eastern seaboard, inland until Virginia, onwards to the Canadian Maritimes by Saturday.
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for…
- West coast of Florida from the Middle of Longboat Key to the Aucilla River, including Tampa Bay
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for…
- West coast of Florida from Chassahowitzka to the Steinhatchee River
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
- West coast of Florida from south of Chassahowitzka to the Middle of Longboat Key
- West coast of Florida north of the Steinhatchee River to Ochlockonee River
- Mouth of St. Marys River, Georgia to Little River Inlet, South Carolina
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…
- North of Little River Inlet, South Carolina to Chincoteague, Virginia
- Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds
…
Interests elsewhere in the Carolinas, the mid-Atlantic coast, southeastern New England, and the Canadian Maritimes should monitor the progress of Elsa.
Tornadoes are possible along the coast and inland. Continue reading
![[Article]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-09--usace-okefenokee/many.jpg)
![[Region, Public Notice]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-03-09--ssrwpc/many.jpg)
![[Header, Suwannee River Basin]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-11--ga-epd-rule-change/many.jpg)
![[5-day Cone No Line And Wind]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-07-07--elsa/115653_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.jpg)