Category Archives: Georgia

Spectra backtracks on eminent domain in VDT

Sabal Trail tries to teach us how to read, plus redefining centuries of common law.

Joe Adgie wrote for the VDT today 3 December 2014, Sabal Trail: Accusations ‘lack any substance’,

Two representatives with Sabal Trail Transmission disputed complaints from property owners in correspondence with The Valdosta Daily Times and with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Lisa Connolly, general manager of rates and certificates for Sabal Trail, said that letters sent to property owners should be read in a different light than was presented.

“A fair reading of these letters Continue reading →

Opposes Sabal Trail pipeline in any portion of Lowndes County –Lowndes County Commission

Escalating from the Chairman’s letter of 11 April 2014, perhaps after listening to requests from citizens, the Lowndes County Commission passed a resolution wanting no part of Sabal Trail in the county or in the state of Georgia.

Update 2014-11-25: Well, according to Joe Adgie in the Valdosta Daily Times today, “Even though the missive has already been mailed [to FERC], the resolution will not be formally voted on until the county commission’s next meeting in December [9th].”

Filed with FERC in docket CP15-17 on 21 November 2014 as Accession Number: 20141121-5242, but that was a Friday and FERC doesn’t work on weekends, so it actually appeared Monday 24 November 2014.

300x52 Commissioners, in Lowndes County Commission Work Session, by John S. Quarterman, 10 November 2014 RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas has proposed to build a $3.7 Billion, 460mile natural gas line known as Sabal Trail, and;

WHEREAS, The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners has concerns regarding personal property rights Continue reading →

Sabal Trail’s eminent domain argument applied to FPL headquarters

300x72 Between the Atlantic and the canal, in FPL Headquarters, by John S. Quarterman, 24 November 2014 The alleged “Project Need” in Sabal Trail’s Friday FERC docket CP15-17 permit application to get eminent domain for its 100-foot-wide gouge for a yard-wide hazardous fracked methane pipeline is: Sabal Trail claims it has contracts to sell the gas. Let’s apply that logic to Sabal Trail co-owner FPL’s headquarters.

This is FPL headquarters at 700 Universe Blvd., Juno Beach, Florida, in the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s map: Continue reading →

Sabal Trail newspaper assertions contradicted by Spectra corporate documents and FERC filings –John S. Quarterman to FERC

“I ask you and FERC to stop Sabal Trail from telling newspapers things that Spectra Energy’s own corporate documents refute, and to start paying attention to multiple requests by county commissions and other affected parties.”

Back in December, Spectra’s Andrea Grover and Brian Fahrenthold were “not familiar” with Spectra’s lengthy safety rap sheet (see above picture). Yesterday’s VDT had Sabal Trail: Eminent domain accusation ‘hard to believe’ by Joe Adgie. Meanwhile, the Moultrie Observer has picked up the VDT story. Maybe some newspapers will also publish better information than what trained pipeline PR people seem not to remember or believe, despite copious evidence of the actual facts.

Filed with FERC 19 November 2014 accession Number: 20141119-5232. The attachments are in the PDF, and they’re all in the links in the HTML version below. -jsq Continue reading →

SONAT pipeline break in Berrien County, GA on offshoot of same line Sabal Trail proposes to parallel –John S. Quarterman to FERC

300x225 The break in the ditch across from 986 Bradford Road, in Berrien break, by John S. Quarterman, 6 November 2014 “The SONAT pipeline that broke in Berrien County, Georgia was only a 9- or 10-inch line, I’m told at 800PSI. Sabal Trail proposes a 36-inch line, at much higher pressure. I’m no expert, but that seems like at least twenty times the explosive capacity. I don’t want that risk for any of my neighbors anywhere.”

Filed with FERC 15 November 2014 (PDF), posted by FERC 17 November 2014 as Accession Number: 20141117-5040. Continue reading →

China, U.S., and Russia energy deals: bad news for Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline?

The U.S. and China made a historic deal on climate change this week. Here’s the good (it’s real, it’s huge, and it’s positive economically for both countries), the bad (nuclear is first on the list of those “clean energy” sources), and the ugly. Also this week China made a second huge natural gas deal with Russia: what does that mean to the current U.S. push for LNG exports, including the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline gouge through Georgia?

The Deal

Rebecca Leber, The New Republic, 12 November 2014, The World Has Waited for the U.S. and China to Take Action on Climate Change. They Just Did.

President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Wednesday commitments to reduce both countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The surprise announcement, which came while Obama visits Beijing this week, is the clearest sign yet the two countries are serious on climate change.

After months of negotiations Continue reading →

Videos: Candidates in Lake Park @ LPCoC 2014-10-16

Sitting at a table, the local candidates laid out their positions in Lake Park. See also LAKE videos of the previous candidate forum in Valdosta. Continue reading →

Videos: Valdosta Chamber Candidate Forum @ VLCoC 2014-10-07

Here are LAKE videos of the candidates forum at the Rainwater Conference Center organized by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce. In the one remaining County Commission race, for District 3, Tom Hochschild made opposition to the Sabal Trail pipeline a platform plank, while Mark Wisenbaker mentioned his opposition to the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation (DSS). We know Hochschild is opposed to that lawsuit and Wisenbaker is opposed to that pipeline, so we may get some change on the County Commission in January. Cary Scarborough of DSS was at this forum, as were many pipeline opponents. Bikram Mohanty wins special mention for best use of the VSU students Hochschild brought.

Continue reading →

Protest today against Sabal Trail pipeline

It’s a bad week for Sabal Trail and its proposed fracked methane pipeline, with three back-to-back protests today alone (March and Protest in Valdosta, GA plus Development Authority meeting, and Protest at Sabal Trail Open House in Jasper, FL, plus Hamilton and Suwannee County Commission meetings) after one yesterday (at Albany Open House and Dougherty County Commission) and more to come. Continue reading →

Georgia Power plans to change all streetlights to LEDs

Terri Lupo. South Region Vice President at Georgia Power, has provided further information on Valdosta converting to LED streetlights.

She said on the telephone yesterday that Georgia Power met with Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson last week. Georgia Power plans over next four years to change out all the streetlights in Georgia, from high pressure sodium (or whatever they’re currently using) to LED lighting. She says that will be more efficient, and will provide more light, with a better pattern of coverage. Valdosta had already expressed interest, so they were one of the first to join this LED streetlight program.

She said it’s not surprising Tim Carroll was a little vague on the details, since Georgia Power is Continue reading →