Category Archives: Water

ICLEI and sustainability

Have you heard there’s a U.N. agency going around getting local governments to sign “Agenda 21” into ordinances that will take away your private property through eminent domain? If not, you’ve avoided the propaganda put out by fossil fuel companies to subvert sustainability. If you have, here’s why it’s bunk.

There is an organization that promotes measures for sustainability to local governments. Sustainability as in arranging for local resources to be available for us and our children and grandchildren. Clean air, clean water, forests, education, and private property rights including not letting developers or big corporations damage your private property. Are you against any of those things?

An organization promoting sustainability with local governments is called ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability. ICLEI says it is:

the leading global network devoted to local governments engaged in sustainability, climate protection, and clean energy initiatives. The organization was formerly known as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.

ICLEI has heard about the conspiracy theories and has written up a rebuttal. Continue reading →

Flooding study tonight, twice @ VCC 2014-05-06

Tonight we get to hear twice about the long-awaited flooding study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: once with no citizen input at the Valdosta City Council Work Session, and then with citizen input at Valdosta City Hall Annex. Presumably this study will say something about the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), the new force main to prevent manhole overflows, and maybe some upstream measures to keep quite as much water from getting there. This study only addresses issues within the city limits of Valdosta, not the larger watersheds upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers and downstream: that will take more funding. People downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.

Continue reading →

A newspaper opposes the pipeline: the Spectator

A major big city daily? A local newspaper of record along the proposed pipeline path? Nope: the Valdosta State University student newspaper, The Spectator, has done what its bigger newspaper colleagues have not dared: oppose the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline and demand renewable energy instead. Where students lead, maybe their elders will follow.

Editorial in The Spectator 1 May 2014 (I added the links and images), Pipeline a risk to Valdosta, Continue reading →

Videos: No you cannot speak @ LCC 2014-04-22

Two citizens from Hahira couldn’t speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, but the Chairman would go into the private board room out of camera range afterwards to speak to them. The Chairman did describe a statement about the Sabal Trail pipeline.

Veterinarian Amanda Hall didn’t appear but was appointed to the Dangerous Dog Board. They objected to the Hahira annexation request. They approved a bid for an mobile emergency bypass pump on a trailer, a computer lease purchase agreement, and two Juvenile Justice grant application items, for Continuation and for Enhancement (more about that). And all four remaining voting Commissioners showed up.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

FPL already dirtying Georgia air at Plant Scherer: and a pipeline, too?

Georgia Power’s Plant Scherer is #1 among the U.S. dirtiest power plants. But FPL owns most of one of the four units there, dirtying Georgia’s air for Florida’s power. The same FPL that wants the fracked methane Sabal Trail pipeline through Georgia, destroying Georgia’s environment. It’s time for Georgia to say no to destroying Georgia’s environment for a company in another state.

Thomas Stackpole wrote for Mother Jones 11 September 2013, 1 Percent of America’s Power Plants Emit 33 Percent of Energy Industry’s Carbon, Continue reading →

Videos: Dangerous Dog Board, Juvenile Justice, a pump, Hahira Annexation, and weather @ LCC 2014-04-21

Local veterinarian Amanda Hall for the Dangerous Dog Board, a very long weather report, another Hahira annexation request, a bid for an emergency bypass pump (water well? wastewater force main? other?), two Juvenile Justice grant application items, for Continuation and for Enhancement (more about that). Oh, and all four remaining voting Commissioners showed up, unlike either the Work Session or Regular Session two weeks ago.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Sinkhole under houses in The Villages, Florida, 20 miles from Sabal Trail pipeline path

Yet another sinkhole in Florida. And guess what goes within 20 miles of that Florida retirement community? The proposed Sabal Trail Transmission methane pipeline. Does poking holes in the already-fragile karst limestone that holds up houses and contains our drinking water, anywhere in Florida or south Georgia, sound like a good idea to you?

Susan Jacobson wrote for Orlando Sentinel, 19 April 2014, Sinkhole in The Villages threatens 2 homes,

This sinkhole was growing April 19, 2014 near 2 houses in The Villages. (Helicon Property Restoration)

A large sinkhole has opened under two houses in The Villages.

A picture provided by Helicon Property Restoration, which is working to stabilize the hole, shows a house teetering at the edge.

Video in report by Lisa McDonald for WKMG, Orlando, 19 April 2014, Crews fill sinkhole that threatened 2 homes in The Villages:

Continue reading →

Dangerous Dog Board, Juvenile Justice, a pump, and Hahira Annexation @ LCC 2014-04-21

Another Hahira annexation request (on the agenda this time), a bid for an emergency bypass pump (water well? wastewater force main? other?), two Juvenile Justice grant application items, for Continuation and for Enhancement (more about that), and I didn’t know we had a Dangerous Dog Board. All I can find is some related Georgia laws.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Defibrilators from Homeland Security @ LCC 2014-04-07

The KLVB presentation told us up to three states dump in the Pecan Row Landfill in Lowndes County, for which the county gets some unspecified amount of tipping fees, which go to fund KLVB. An appointment to KLVB was added to the agenda, although nobody deigned to reveal who was “that individual that has requested to serve on that board”. The Homeland Security grant application turned out to be for defibrillators.

Here’s the agenda, with a few annotations and links to the videos.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
AMENDED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Valdosta working to fix sewer problems

The city of Valdosta does have a plan to fix its sewer problems; it’s funded; and it’s moving along rapidly.

In the Spotlight on Valdosta’s front page says:

Click here for updates to Valdosta’s Sanitary Sewer System improvement projects.

That link leads to Valdosta Sanitary Sewer System Improvements [Since moved by Valdosta to a new URL. 2018-01-28 -jsq], Continue reading →