Tag Archives: Tallahassee

Beyond cleanups: trash traps, ordinances, business permits, reusable substitutes, bottle deposits, and single-use packaging bans 2023-02-05

Update 2023-03-29: Trash still dribbling from 2695 N Ashley St into Two Mile Branch 2023-02-24.

Every Waterkeeper and many local and even state governments brag about trash cleanups. Cleanups need to be done, but actually they are the least effective way to deal with trash. They do not stop trash; they just remove it once it blows off roads or parking lots or floats downstream.

So let’s look up, to see more effective solutions.

Solid waste management hierarchy

Here WWALS has adapted an industry-standard waste management hierarchy diagram. We’ve gone farther than just cleaning up, containing, or even reusing the trash. Our diagram goes all the way up to stopping it being produced.

Let’s start at the pointy bottom of the pyramid. Continue reading →

Videos: Tracy Horenbein winning Best Americana with Wild and Free, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2022-08-20

Here are videos of Tracy Horenbein, of Tallahassee, Florida, singing her song Wild and Free, and winning Best Americana, at the 2022 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

Wild and Free –Tracy Horenbein, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2022

Thanks for playing, Tracy!

Here’s a WWALS video playlist: Continue reading →

Five Finalists, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2022-08-20

Hahira, Georgia, August 11, 2022: Five finalists have been selected to play at the Finals of the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, coming from Tallahassee and Gainesville, Florida, and Lake Park, Valdosta, and Adel, Georgia.

“I’m very excited to hear everyone sing!” said organizing committee chair Angela Duncan. ”It’s going to be a great event.”

That’s 7-11 PM, Saturday, August 20, 2022, at the Turner Center Art Park in Valdosta, Georgia.

Kyle Chamberlain of Lake Park, GA; David Rodock of Adel, GA; Emmett Carlisle of Gainesville, FL; Kevin Stephenson of Valdosta, GA; Tracy Horenbein from Tallahassee, FL

Chuck Roberts will be the Master of Ceremonies. Continue reading →

Rachel Hillman, Gossipping of Butterfiles, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Rachel Hillman came from Tallahassee, Florida, to sing Gossipping of Butterflies last year.

Today’s the last day to send in your song for this year’s Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest:
https://forms.gle/A2tpW1c7HJK3Tjuf7 Continue reading →

Wood pellet plant: speakers and documents @ Adel City Council 2020-09-08

Update 2020-09-11: fixed document and map links and added form for comments.

The Adel City Council had no questions after their Public Hearing on annexation and rezoning for a wood pellet plant, Tuesday, September 9, 2020, after thirty minutes of speakers for and against.

That was just the first reading. The second reading will be 5:30 PM, Monday, September 21, 2020, at Adel City Hall.

Maps and speakers, wood pellet plant, Adel City Council 2020-09-08

After the meeting I asked the City Manager, the City Clerk, and a couple of City Council members what maps and plans they had looked at. They all said they hadn’t seen any, and maybe I should talk to Economic Development. So I asked her, and she didn’t seem to indicate she’d seen any.

Yet there are maps and plans in the air permit application to GA-EPD, and others reviewed by the Planning Commission, which, as the City Manager pointed out during the meeting, issued a Public Notice of its public hearing on July 6, 2020. I don’t know why these state and county agencies have not published these documents, nor why the City of Adel has not. But those are public documents, so here they are (see Air Quality Permit maps and Planning Commission maps).

Below are videos by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE) of the pellet plant part of the Adel City Council meeting. See also the agenda and the WWALS letter to the Adel City Council. See also some helpful documents by the Dogwood Alliance

And this handy Dogwood Alliance form to send a comment to the Adel City Counci l.

By the way, this kind of work does take time and effort, so feel free to contribute to WWALS. . Continue reading →

Adel agenda and WWALS letter 2020-09-08

Update 2020-09-11: Wood pellet plant: speakers and documents @ Adel City Council 2020-09-08.

Here is the agenda for tonight’s Adel City Council meeting:

Agenda, Adel City Council 2020-09-08
PDF

Since it can’t be any of the other items, apparently the wood pellet plant is:
5.B. ANNEXATION AND ZONING OF INDUSTRIAL AUTHORITY PROPERTY

I don’t see anything about any previous hearings, nor any of the maps, plans, etc. that usually accompany a rezoning.

You can still use the Dogwood Alliance Action Alert to send in a comment before tonight’s meeting.

Meanwhile, I sent Adel this letter, mostly about water trails:

WWALS to Adel, Water Trails and pellet plant 2020-09-08
PDF

For background, see Adel wood pellet plant sourcing radius: entire Suwannee River basin in Georgia 2020-09-08.

See you in Adel in about an hour and a half.

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Adel wood pellet plant sourcing radius: entire Suwannee River basin in Georgia 2020-09-08

Update 2020-09-11: Wood pellet plant: speakers and documents @ Adel City Council 2020-09-08.

Update 2020-09-08: Adel agenda and WWALS letter 2020-09-08

If a company from Houston, Texas, gets its rezoning Tuesday at the Adel, Georgia, City Council, it could take trees from 75 miles around to turn into wood pellets to ship to Europe for burning for electricity. It takes 50 to 100 years for natural forest to regenerate completely. Meanwhile, rain on land without forest runs off faster, carries more sediment and pollution (pesticides, E. coli, etc.), damaging fishing and wildlife. Floods also become more likely.

You can help stop this biomass plant. Before 5:30 PM Tuesday, please, which is when the Adel City Council has this rezoning on its agenda.

Adel, GA, pellet plant sourcing radius (PDF)

That 75-mile sourcing radius around Adel would reach Tallahassee, Florida, and Albany, Georgia, as well as all of the Red Hills longleaf area around Thomasville. It would include all the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia: the Suwannee, Alapaha, Little, Withlacoochee, and Okapilco Rivers, from Fargo and most of the Okefenokee Swamp to Cordele in the north and Moultrie, Quitman, and Valdosta. As well as much of the Suwannee River Basin in Florida, include White Springs, Live Oak, Mayo, Jasper, and Madison. Plus the Ochlockonee and Aucilla Rivers and much of the Flint River on the west, and on the east most of the Satilla River and a bend of the Altamaha River.

This is an environmental justice issue because the plant will go in an African-American part of town and poor people are typically most adversely affected by deforestation.

When a local activist alerted me a few months ago to a proposed biomass plant in Adel, I pointed them to Vicki Weeks of the Dogwood Alliance. She has put together an Action Alert. Please follow that link to send your comment to the entire Adel City Council.

According to K.K. Synder, Georgia Trend, 31 July 2020, Adel | Cook County: Community in Motion,

Houston-based Renewable Biomass Group will construct Continue reading →

Reclaiming Florida’s Future for All, State Capitol 2020-02-06

Want to help convince Florida state legislators to do the right thing? Come on down to Tallahassee this Thursday morning, February 2, 2020!

When: 10AM to 4PM, Thursday, February 6, 2020

Where: Florida State Capitol, 400 S. Monroe St., Tallahassee, Florida

Event: facebook

About: “Our focus will include:

Bills that help increase access to clean energy,
bills that move Florida away from fossil fuels,
bills address climate change and sea level rise (to include related growth management issues)”

Advance registration has closed, but you can still Continue reading →

Okapilco Creek better, Withlacoochee still clean 2020-01-22

Update 2020-01-25: Florida advisory lifted, but WWALS warning signs stay up, and keep testing rivers, creeks and wells.

Okapilco Creek is down from 2419.6 cfu/100 mL E. coli last Thursday to 365 yesterday, Wednesday, January 22, 2020, according to data from Lowndes County received during the Florida Rivers Task Force meeting in Lake City.

Okapilco Creek in Brooks County in Brooks County Tax Appraiser map.

That’s still higher than we’d like to see, but not way up in don’t touch the water range like before.

Lowndes County 2020-01-22
Thanks to Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter for sending these results, which are on the WWALS website along with the entire entire updated WWALS composite spreadsheet of all results from all sources.

Where did that contamination go? Did it show up on Continue reading →

No Roads to Ruin at Florida State Capitol 2019-12-05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“We need less fertilizer leaching into our springs and rivers and more water quality monitoring, not more roads gouging through our watersheds,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman at the No Roads to Ruin press conference Thursday at the Florida Capitol Rotunda.

He and WWALS Science Committee Chair Tom Potter then visited the offices of FDACS Commissioner Nikki Fried, some state Senators and Representatives, and FDEP Secretary Noah Valenstein, with letters to each of them to follow.

NO BUILD! RURAL TOLL ROADS MUST BE STOPPED

New “No Roads to Ruin” Coalition sends clear message

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman beside banner; Mike Roth of OSFR speaking
Photo: Tom Potter, WWALS

Tallahassee — A new coalition of fifty-five (55) organizations and businesses, the No Roads to Ruin Coalition (NRTR) announced today a statewide campaign devoted to stopping Senate President Bill Galvano’s unneeded and costly plan for 300 plus miles of new toll roads.

Within sight of Governor Ron DeSantis’ office, Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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