Tag Archives: Our Santa Fe River

Citrus County FL passes ordinance banning fracking 2016-06-14

Not just a resolution, an ordinance, which is a law: no fracking in Citrus County, Florida.

Jim Tatum, Our Santa Fe River, 14 June 2016, Citrus County Approves Fracking Ban,

Commissioners Dennis Damato, Ronald Kitchen, Joe Meek, Scott Adams, and Scott Carnahan unanimously passed a ban-fracking ordinance. The ordinance was amended to include all the county, both incorporated and non-incorporated areas, skillfully inserted by the able and prepared county attorney Denise A. Dymond Lyn.

The text of the ordinance is Continue reading Citrus County FL passes ordinance banning fracking 2016-06-14

SpectraBusters leaflets Sabal Trail in Live Oak 2016-04-20

“No fracking!” said the students, as nine people protested outside Sabal Trail’s Contractor Fair at RiverOak Technical College, Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida yesterday, 20 April 2016. Patricia says dont Frack with Our Water SpectraBusters, Suwannee-St Johns Group of Sierra Club Florida, and WWALS were among the groups with members on the ground, with the other groups listed on the flyer we were passing out there in spirit to say Short­term jobs are not worth long­term Sabal Trail risk. Here’s the press release, which was picked up by Valdosta Today.

SpectraBusters on the street

Many thanks to Continue reading SpectraBusters leaflets Sabal Trail in Live Oak 2016-04-20

Short-term jobs are not worth long-term Sabal Trail risk –Locals to Sabal Trail jobs-seekers at Contractor Fairs

PR sent tonight to about 100 news media:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Live Oak, FL, April 18, 2016 — Local residents and half a dozen environmental organizations want applicants at Sabal Trail pipeline job fairs to know a job for a few weeks isn’t worth risking drinking water for all our families and children and grandchildren. Red line Sabal Trail across most vulnerable area of Florida Aquifer Opponents of the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline and supporters of solar power include the Suwannee-St Johns Sierra Club Group, St Johns Riverkeeper, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Our Santa Fe River, Earth Ethics, Gulf Restoration Network, and SpectraBusters.

Sabal Trail is holding what it calls Contractor Fairs 11AM to 2PM on two days this week, not for people to actually install the pipeline, rather for Continue reading Short-term jobs are not worth long-term Sabal Trail risk –Locals to Sabal Trail jobs-seekers at Contractor Fairs

Hike to the Suwannee River with Sierra Club against Sabal Trail – Jan. 16, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Live Oak, FL, January 12, 2016 — Stepping up its support for local and larger groups opposing the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline, this Saturday Sierra Club is hosting a meeting culminating in a hike to the Suwannee River to see where Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas proposes to drill under the iconic Suwannee River into Suwannee River State Park. Media are invited to see people from Florida and south Georgia stand up for our rivers and our Floridan Aquifer.

When: Saturday, 16 January 2016 – 11 AM with hike at 1 PM

Where:  Suwannee River State Park

3621 201st Path, Live Oak, FL

15 miles west of Live Oak on US 90 Continue reading Hike to the Suwannee River with Sierra Club against Sabal Trail – Jan. 16, 2016

Videos: Citizens against Sabal “Sinkhole” Trail pipeline to FERC in Albany, Moultrie, Valdosta, and Lake City

Citizens renamed Sabal Trail the Sinkhole Pipeline because it doesn’t belong in the sinkhole-prone karst limestone of the Floridan Aquifer. FERC can’t say they weren’t told, since videographers followed them through all four cities so far; see for yourself.

Albany, Monday 28 September 2015, videos by Thomas Swain

Moultrie, Tuesday 29 September 2015, videos by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE)

“You tell us you’re sorry and it happens again”, said Continue reading Videos: Citizens against Sabal “Sinkhole” Trail pipeline to FERC in Albany, Moultrie, Valdosta, and Lake City

Laura Dailey spoke for SpectraBusters at clean water rally in Tallahassee

Floridian’s Clean Water Declaration Campaign, facebook, 18 February 2015,

Laura Dailey of SpectraBusters brought a strong message in favor of solar energy and against the pipeline that’s proposed to cross the springs heartland.

More about Laura Dailey, Director of Community Outreach & Speaker’s Bureau. And a few more of her notes for that speech:

Throughout history, the smart investor has bet his money on the future. Today, colleges and universities, even major corporations are divesting from fossil fuels. Why? Because fossil fuels are the new DINOSAURS, and we already know how that story ends! Even Duke Energy, just last week committed $225 million to the development of Solar energy. Think of the water that can be saved!

Since 2006, the cost of solar panels Continue reading Laura Dailey spoke for SpectraBusters at clean water rally in Tallahassee

What Sabal Trail wants to do to our rivers

After a long string of safety incidents and later-contradicted assertions in the media, would you trust Sabal Trail to drill under your rivers in your aquifers and near your farms, schools, homes, and springs?

Here’s stage two of Sabal Trail’s three-stage horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method, 300x98 River Crossing -- HDD Method, in What Sabal Trail wants to do to our rivers, by John S. Quarterman, for SpectraBusters.org, 5 February 2015 according to its document How We Cross Rivers and Streams,

Time to comment to FERC on Sabal Trail ignoring springs on Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers

Here’s why you should ecomment to FERC and your elected officials right now. Sabal Trail filed key materials after FERC’s stated deadline, a Suwannee County, FL landowner points out in a FERC ecomment, also revealing Sabal Trail still didn’t address key springs upstream and down from its proposed new pipeline path, and said nothing about connecting caverns beneath the Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers.

Here’s a call to action from Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson:

Good Morning,

I realize many of you have seen me (and a few others) navigate through a enormous amount of meetings, letters, social media announcements to stop the Sabal Trail Gas (fracked)Transmission Pipeline cutting through one of our most vulnerable areas of our World, the Florida Springs Heartland.

You have watched and read from the sidelines for nearly 2 years. It is time for you to act. Call it my Continue reading Time to comment to FERC on Sabal Trail ignoring springs on Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers

Columbia County, FL steps towards anti-fracking ordinance

And of course our own Laura gave her usual valuable insights! An excellent presentation by OSFR well attended except by Suwannee County citizens. Columbia County voted to have their attorney consult with Alachua County to draft a resolution or ordinance against fracking and related issues. Thank you Merrillee, Jim and all the members of OSFR and other groups for a concise and excellent presentation. Now for the rest of North Florida counties… Like Suwannee County

Our Santa Fe River, 15 January 2015, Columbia Commissioners Take First Step,

And a giant step it was. The far-sighted and open-minded commissioners listened attentively and with interest to the detailed, informative and professionally delivered Power Point presentation by OSFR president Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson giving the many reasons for adopting an ordinance banning fracking in Continue reading Columbia County, FL steps towards anti-fracking ordinance

OSFR v. FPL: head to head in the Gainesville Sun

Evidently Spectra’s Andrea Grover was too obviously failing to convince people to stop worrying and love the Sabal Trail pipeline, because FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy has taken up the mighty megaphone of methane talking points. And the Gainesville Sun ran him on the same page as Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson and Jim Tatum of Our Santa Fe River, today, 18 August 2014. Here are the links and a few excerpts. Read ’em for yourselves!

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson and Jim Tatum, Pipeline poses multiple problems,

Again, we must point out that Florida Power & Light just recently estimated that in 10 years the demand for power will increase approximately 13 percent, but the Sabal Trail’s new pipeline would have an increase of 33 percent delivery capability. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed a report with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission saying that the recently completed (2011) Southeast Supply Header System was designed as an “alternative natural-gas source during hurricane-related disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico.”

That’s actually an underestimate Continue reading OSFR v. FPL: head to head in the Gainesville Sun