Tag Archives: north Florida

Sabal Trail front page Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Now that Atlanta has finally taken notice there’s even more reason
to repel these pipeline invaders.

300x434 Page A1, in Sabal Trail front page Atlanta Journal-Constitution, by John S. Quarterman, 3 April 2015
There’s still time to submit an amicus brief for the

court case in Leesburg, Georgia.
And time to file an ecomment or an out-of-time motion to intervene against Sabal Trail.
Or against

Elba Island LNG
or against

Transco and Atlanta Gas Light’s Dalton Expansion Project.
Or to oppose

Kinder Morgan’s southeast Georgia Palmetto oil pipeline
at the Georgia Department of Transportation or GA-EDP.
Both those state agencies have to provide permits for Sabal Trail
to get the Georgia emininent domain it demands in Leesburg,
so they are relevant to Sabal Trail, as well, as is your opinion
and those of all local elected governments in Georgia.

Dan Chapman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3 April 2015,

Pipeline project fuels fight on state’s future,

Regardless of route, Sabal Trail opponents fear pipeline
construction could create sinkholes Continue reading →

Sabal Trail disappointed in GWC Dirty Dozen; locals disappointed in Sabal Trail –WCTV

Spectra’s Andrea Grover is “disappointed” in Sabal Trail being on the
Georgia Water Coalition Dirty Dozen;
does she also find it “hard to believe” like Sabal Trail’s well-documented
eminent domain threats?


300x166 Harm --Chris Manganiello, in GWC Dirty Dozen Sabal Trail on WCTV, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 26 November 2014
Winnie Wright, WCTV, 26 November 2014,

Sabal Trail Pipeline Environmental Concerns Cited In Annual ‘Dirty Dozen’ Report,

Recently, The Georgia Water Coalition put

the Sabal Trail Pipeline
on their Dirty Dozen Report for 2014.


300x167 Winnie Wright of WCTV, in GWC Dirty Dozen Sabal Trail on WCTV, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 26 November 2014
You can see Cherry Creek sinkhole behind her as she reported.
She was navigated there by VSU professor Can Denizman.

She also interviewed several locals, including me
at the Withlacoochee River.

Continue reading →

Seven Out Superfund Assessment Public Meeting 2014-07-17

6-8PM tomorrow, Thursday 17 July 2014

Memorial Stadium, 715 Dewey St., Waycross, GA 31501



The Environmental Protection Agency, GA Environmental Protection
Division, and Georgia Department of Public Health will be present to
discuss sample collection and results from the Seven Out Tank site
in downtown Waycross.

EPD will also be available to address issues and answer questions
regarding CSX.

From Satilla Riverkeeper’s

facebook event.
Here’s
a map: Continue reading →

Study before Levee –Tim Carroll @ VCC 2014-05-06

Comment

on facebook 10 May 2014 and he told me the same by telephone.

It is clear a full watershed wide study must be completed before any
decisions can be made.


As established in this first study—The
City of Valdosta is the recipient-not the origin- of the flood
waters. While it confirms what we already knew, my job is to try and
keep the ball rolling forward. Engage congressional leaders, secure
funding and find long term, sustainable solutions that benefit all
communities within the watershed basin. A levee by itself is not the
answer.

–Tim Carroll

This was a comment on Continue reading →

Watershed meeting organized by Army Corps of Engineers



The

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) didn’t know there was
a large water problem hereabouts, but now they do, and they want
to take a watershed-wide approach, from the headwaters to the Gulf of
Mexico, including both surface water and aquifer issues,
perhaps starting with redrawing FEMA’s flood maps,
and maybe even including once again funding the state water council.



Thursday 11 April 2013 there was a rather large governmental meeting
organized by USACE in response to

the City of Valdosta’s request of 11 March 2103.
Yesterday,

Valdosta City Council District 5 Tim Carroll sent the appended
list of attendees, augmented by a conversation with him on the phone 13 April
and a blog comment by him later that same day on
the original post on the WWALS blog,
in which he also remarked:

Very good preliminary meeting that hopefully will yield real action on
our region wide water issues. Thanks for sharing this info with WWALS.

We know little else, because no media or private citizens were invited.

  • USACE Savannah office: Jeff Morris, Georgia Silver Jackets Coordinator and Beth Williams, Hydraulic Engineer
  • USACE Jacksonville office: David Apple, Chief, Watershed and Restoration Planning Section
  • GADNR: Christopher Hill and Tom Shillock, GAEPD Floodplain Management Unit
  • GEMA: Dee Langley, Planning Program Manager and Terry Lunn, Director, Hazard Mitigation Division
  • GEMA: Gary Rice – Regional Field Coordinator
  • USGS: Brian McCallum, Supv. Hydrologist/ADir and Keith McFadden, Physical Scientist
  • FEMA Region 4: Susan Wilson, CFM, Floodplain Management and Insurance Branch Chief and Janice Mitchell, Insurance Specialist and Lender Compliance

Those state and national agencies were brought by:

Continue reading →

Clean streams to attract business —Al Browning



Al Browning of

WWALS
made a point yesterday that I haven’t heard mentioned
by local Chambers of Commerce or economic development agencies:

Suppose there’s a business looking to south Georgia, to move into an area.
They can go to the

Adopt-A-Stream website for that particular area,
and get an idea of where the best water is.
And they may choose… that Berrien County has terrible water;
I’m going to go to Cook County, or Lowndes!

Here’s

the video:

That’s

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream,
which currently doesn’t show any water quality testing sites
for any of those counties, but that could change soon.
Maybe economic development organizations should help it change,
because that lack could be steering businesses elsewhere.

A prominent local economic development appointee asked me last year,

Why would you want absolutely clean ear or water?

Well, businesses considering moving here might want those things
because their employees do.
And their employees might want those things because they
don’t want to get sick.
And besides, who doesn’t like clean air and water?

-jsq

Florida Gets Smart About Solar



While Georgia goes for questionable biomass, WCTV reports that
CFO Sink Applauds Opening Of Solar Energy Center,
Welcomes $200 million in federal funding for Florida.

Florida CFO Alex Sink welcomed the news that a $200 million grant will go to Energy Smart Florida for the installation of 2.6 million smart meters in homes and the installation of advanced monitoring systems in grid substations.

CFO Sink commended President Obama for his commitment to new energy and his visit for the opening of Florida’s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the nation’s largest solar photovoltaic plant. CFO Sink released the following statement:

“Florida has been known as the sunshine state because of our beaches, but today we are taking an important step forward in becoming known as the sunshine state because of our commitment to solar and alternative energy. I commend Florida Power & Light for opening the nation’s largest solar photovoltaic plant here in Southwest Florida, and welcome President Obama to our state to see firsthand how we are working to diversify and modernize Florida’s economy.

“I am also extremely excited that Floridians will benefit from a $200 million grant to modernize our energy grid, one of the largest smart grid grants in the country. As Floridians, we are ready to harness our creativity and entrepreneurial energy to make our state a national leader in the development of a 21st century economy.”

South Georgia has just as much sunshine as north Florida. And you can build solar equipment anywhere. For example in a county with I-75 running through it and I-10 nearby. Maybe if Atlanta won’t lead, Valdosta should.