“Why do we have to kneel before their wishes? How is it that a single foreign corporation can have greater power and say than the hundreds of property owners and their supporters?” asked Jim Parker in the 11 November 2014 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Here’s his text:

Chairman Slaughter, fellow commissioners,

My name is James Parker, I live at ___ in the city of Valdosta.

I come before you today to humbly request that you follow in the footsteps of the Dougherty County Commission, and pass a resolution in opposition to the Sabal Trail pipeline passing through Lowndes County.

This proposed pipeline provides absolutely no benefit to any citizen living in Lowndes County, nor, in fact, to any citizen living in the State of Georgia. Yet Sabal Trail wants, no, demands, that they be allowed to run this 36-inch pipeline through hundreds of private properties, taking a hundred foot wide path that the property owners can no longer have full use of, thus negatively affecting the value of their property.

Over the last year, I have seen hundreds of property owners and their supporters speak at numerous meetings against this pipeline. Never once have I heard a local citizen speak in support of this pipeline. The only people I have ever heard speak in the pipeline’s favor have been paid representatives of the corporation.

In my opinion, Sabal Trail has been less than straight up in its dealings with Lowndes County citizens. For example, Sabal Trail has fallaciously, and I would say deceptively, asserted eminent domain in its letters to landowners, in order to give Sabal Trail access to their properties to survey them. Lacking such consent, Sabal Trail has been known to trespass on the properties in order to survey them anyway.

Why should the residents of Lowndes County, citizens like you and me, have to let this foreign corporation, Sabal Trail, run roughshod over us? Why do we have to kneel before their wishes? How is it that a single foreign corporation can have greater power and say than the hundreds of property owners and their supporters? Why should we living, breathing, human citizens have to yield and step aside and give up our property to this corporation and its pecuniary interests? Are we human beings now second class citizens in our own county and country? It looks to me, right now, that what a multi-billion company, that isn’t even from here, wants to do trumps all the local citizenry, their wishes, and property rights.

This august Commission are the elected representatives of the citizens of Lowndes County. I ask that you protect and defend the property owners and other citizens of Lowndes County against the onslaughts of this foreign entity. Please, I ask, and even beg you, to pass a resolution forbidding this corporation, Sabal Trail, from ramming this pipeline through our county.

It has absolutely no benefit to us in any way, shape, or form, yet it takes property away from our citizens, and is a threat to the people of Lowndes County and their property.

Thank you for your time

The source of that text is his blog, in which he prepends a few further comments about some reaction from one Commissioner, and his further recommendations.

In the screen shot you can see the County Attorney and County Manager while Jim was talking; at least one of them appears to be asleep.

You don’t have to wait for the Lowndes County Commission. You can ecomment directly to FERC, and, more importantly, you can contact your local, state, and national elected and appointed officials and the public and recommend they stop this unwanted, unneed, and hazardous pipeline.

-jsq

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