Category Archives: Safety

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

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 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

Pass a resolution against the Sabal Trail pipeline –Michael Noll @ LCC 2014-11-11

10. CWTBH - Michael Noll Repeat speaker Dr. Michael Noll asked the Commissioners to do what Dougherty County has done and pass a resolution against the unnecessary and hazardous Sabal Trail pipeline, in the 11 November 2014 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Video. Like the previous speaker, Dr. Noll asked everyone there about this topic to stand up, and about 30 people did. Continue reading

People are concerned and you have a voice –Robbie Dixon @ LCC 2014-11-11

10. CWTBH - Robbie Dixon A first-time speaker against the Sabal Trail pipeline demonstrated there was opposition and reminded us all we have a voice, and asked the Lowndes County Commission to speak up as well, in the 11 November 2014 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Video. Robbie Dixon said he had been approached by their contractors asking to reroute the pipeline onto his property, which would take about half his property. He asked anybody in the audience who was there about Sabal Trail to stand up. About 30 people did. He said he did that because there are a lot of rumors that only a few people were concerned. He said there was no local benefit to landowners, and any potential tax benefit to the county shouldn’t be considered without consideration of the ill effects to landowners. Continue reading

Why should we let this foreign corporation, Sabal Trail, run roughshod over us? –Jim Parker @ LCC 2014-11-11

10. CWTBH - James J. Parker “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. Continue reading

Pipeline neighbor in Berrien County, Georgia on WALB TV

Most of the neighbors were camera-shy, but I found one for Colter Anstaett to interview for WALB.

Dave Miller wrote for WALB TV 7:26 PM EST 6 November 2014, Nashville city clears residential gas use, businesses asked to wait, which apparently was originally entitled “Gas must be conserved in Nashville”, by Colter Anstaett 11:20 AM 6 November 2014,

300x165 Evacuation in Berrien County, in Pipeline Break in Berrien County --WALB TV, by Colter Anstaett, 6 November 2014 BERRIEN CO., GA (WALB) — The City of Nashville says residential customers can resume normal natural gas use, after they asked all gas customers to conserve gas in the wake of a ruptured line.

Commercial business customers were still asked to conserve gas use Thursday night, according to Dawn Morrison with the City.

300x166 Elizabeth Cherry lives next door, in Pipeline Break in Berrien County --WALB TV, by Colter Anstaett, 6 November 2014 Resident Elizabeth Cherry said Continue reading

Pipeline break in Berrien County, Georgia

300x225 Berrien County Sheriff, GDOT, city of Nashville, Kinder Morgan trucks, in Berrien break, by John S. Quarterman, 6 November 2014 “Like a bomb going off,” said the evacuated neighbor. Like a waterfall, was the sound by the time I got there about 11:20 AM EST, tipped off by a friend with a 911 radio. Several Kinder Morgan trucks were parked on Bradford Road, with KM personnel standing near the leak.

600x450 The break in the ditch across from 986 Bradford Road, in Berrien break, by John S. Quarterman, 6 November 2014
The break in the ditch across from 986 Bradford Road

According to PHMSA’s NPMS Public Map Viewer, the pipeline operator is Continue reading

A Hazardous Sabal Trail to LNG Export

Here are the slides for the talk I gave at the Alabama Sierra Club Retreat 1 November 2014.

The outline, with links to supporting evidence:

Afterwards, somebody asked me if there was a study on LNG exports driving up domestic natural gas prices. Turns out there is, requested by LNG-export-authorizing Office of Fossil Energy from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. EIA’s summary of 29 October 2014: Continue reading