Due to too many events this weekend, the WWALS board has rescheduled its quarterly meeting to a week later:
When: 2PM, Sunday, October 22, 2017
Where: Wooden Nickel Pub, 3269 Inner Perimeter Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602
Who: The public is invited for discussions of everything WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper do.
Stay tuned for an agenda.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Received 28 September 2017 from Lowndes County Utilities Director Steve Stalvey:
John,
This is the information I sent to the State concerning the spills related to Irma on Tuesday 9-12-17. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(See also PDF and previous blog post.)
Live Oak, FL, October 5, 2017 — Sabal Trail, operating without a permit, is at risk from a new sinkhole within 60 feet of its 36-inch diameter, high-pressure, fracked methane pipe under Suwannee River State Park (SRSP), between the Suwannee River and the drill site in Hamilton County. Such sinkholes are among the geological risks WWALS warned about that have happened in the fragile karst limestone containing our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer. We were assured in October 2015 by Sabal Trail and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) that sinkholes and frac-outs would not happen or would be detected and fixed. They keep happening, and Sabal Trail has done nothing about this one. Sabal Trail should not even be continuing operations after the DC Circuit Court vacated its permit six weeks ago.
Suwannee
Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman at new sinkhole in Suwannee River
State Park, 2017-10-03.
Photo:
Christopher J. Mericle, Chair, N. Florida Working Group,
Suwannee-St. Johns Group, Sierra Club Florida.
In WWALS vs. Sabal Trail & FDEP (October 2015), FDEP’s one witness, Lisa Prather, said under oath (see https://wwals.net/blog/?p=27799):
“Well, the Suwannee River crossing doesn’t, in fact, have any impacts to an outstanding Florida water, because the directional drill commences in uplands and terminates in uplands. So there are no surface water impacts at that crossing that would affect the outstanding Florida water.”
“Well, any work within, or could have adverse effects on OFW, is considered.In this case, we determine that there would be no impacts to the OFW.”
Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman says:
“Email to Ms. Prather’s address now comes back with an error message, while the rest of us are left Continue reading
Nitrates, agriculture, and silviculture were already in, and sewage, phosphate mines, and the Floridan Aquifer got added yesterday afternoon in Live Oak in public comments on updates to SRWMD’s SWIM Plans, plus new SRWMD E.D. Hugh Thomas spoke.
Thanks to presenter Tom Singleton, the slides presented are on the WWALS website. Here are a few notes and pictures.
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson of Sierra Club Florida noted Continue reading
Fun was had by all at the WWALS booth at South Georgia Pride, in Saunders Park, Valdosta, Georgia, September 16, 2017. Plus we saw the remains of an artesian spring. Here are pictures plus a google map.
Lowndes County (not Valdosta) spilled sewage Saturday that may have reached the Withlacoochee River. The county also had “several” lift station spills during Tropical Storm Irma.
After tonight’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, I asked Utilities Director Steve Stalvey whether the county had spilled any sewage this month. He said yes, Saturday (September 23, 2017), about 25,000 gallons from the force main on Val Tech Road. He said it was due to Continue reading
I still want to know which river that is, under “(2) Areas Requiring Special Attention Defining Narrative; Threatened Regionally Important Resources&rdquo. And what I already sent SGRC for WWALS is below this reminder message. Received yesterday:
Good Morning,
A quick reminder for our 1st Regional Plan Update Workshop on:
September 21st, 2017 9:30a to 12:30p
Valdosta SGRC Offices at 327 W. Savannah Ave
The first workshop will cover the following topics:
- Review the existing issues and opportunities within the Region and determine whether they are Continue reading
WWALS will have a booth at the South Georgia Pride Festival this Saturday.
We will share information about our programs and activism with the local community.
When: Noon-7PM, Saturday, September 16, 2017
Where: John W. Saunders Park, 1151 River Street, Valdosta, Georgia
Waterkeeper Alliance and Affilates support equality, particularly “we know equality and human rights are intrinsic to environmental values.”
South Georgia Pride is open to the community and family friendly and we invite you to come and visit us there.
Gretchen and a student. Picture by Scotti Jay for WWALS.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
City Council Tim Carroll forwarded me the appended press release yesterday. I assumed it would be on Valdosta’s News page, but it is not.
Also, despite assurances back in January that Continue reading
Why should anyone downstream care about an obscure creek north of Valdosta? Because it runs past sinkholes that leak into the Floridan Aquifer, into the Withlacoochee River, then into the Suwannee River, then into the Gulf of Mexico, going by all seven of the downstream Florida counties that passed resolutions asking the state of Florida to do something about Valdosta wastewater, not to mention neighborhoods and wetlands closer to the recent Cherry Creek Lift Station sewage leak, which was at least smaller than previous spills.
The orange red-circled disk shows Continue reading
