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
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
Joe Adgie wrote for the VDT today 23 October 2014, Coalition: Sabal one of Dirty Dozen,
VALDOSTA — The Georgia Water Coalition has named the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline as one of its Dirty Dozen for 2014, which highlights “12 of the worst offenses to Georgia’s waters,” according to the organization.
The pipeline is proposed to run under the Withlacoochee river, near Valdosta.
Joe Adgie also took the first picture above, of Logan Hulsey and Blake Clark of Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.) at yesterday’s protest in front of the Valdosta Sabal Trail office. The other illustrations here are from WWALS Watershed Coalition about that Dirty Dozen item #9, Sabal Trail pipeline threatens Withlacoochee River and Floridan Aquifer,
In a press release, the GWC cited the risk of contaminating southwest Georgia’s well water, rivers and streams, as well Continue reading
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
As a Commissioner said,
“It don’t pass the smell test”
that Sabal Trail already bought land for a compressor station
before they even filed for a formal permit.
A Commissioner said
“We have to be more aggressive.”
Well, then, time to
pass a land-user ordinance against pipelines!
Thanks to Jennifer Maloney, you can see for yourself Albany and
Dougherty County citizens and Commissioners
opposing the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline
in
a community effort
at a Dougherty County Commission meeting 15 September 2014. Continue reading
Richland in Stewart County,
Preston in Webster County, Americus in Sumter County, Cordele in Crisp County,
Ashburn in Turner County,
if you thought you were off the Sabal Trail path, think again!
You’re in FERC’s eye for a 36-inch fracked methane pipeline
just like Tifton, Adel, Hahira, and Valdosta in Tift, Cook, and Lowndes
Counties Georgia, and in Florida Jennings in Hamilton County, Lake City in Columbia County, Alachua and Gainesville in Alachua County, Ocala in Marion County, Wildwood in Sumter County, and Ferndale in Lake County, and probably some other cities and counties you can find on the map.
And Alternative 4 would cross the Withlacoochee River in Lowndes County
just before passing right next to Lowndes High School and an exploding
pipeline segment’s throw from Valdosta Mall.
Alternative 4 in
FERC’s recent instructions for Sabal Trail to “include analyses” would start
even farther north on I-75 than
Alternative 1.
Alternative 4 beginning from Alternate 2 near Richland, Georgia and following Highway 280 to near Americus, Georgia; then following a high voltage transmission line (along Sabal Trail’s Hillabee Alternative route); then following Alternate 1 starting near Tifton, Georgia and extending to the proposed endpoint.
Watch out Dougherty, Mitchell, and Thomas Counties Georgia, and Jefferson, Taylor, Lafayette, Suwannee, and Columbia Counties, Florida, and the Flint, Ochlockonee, Aucilla, Ecofina, Suwannee, and Santa Fe Rivers: Alternative 3 is for you! County Commissions and city councils in the county seats of Camilla, Thomasville, Monticello, Perry, Mayo, Live Oak, and Lake City may want to take action like Jefferson County already did to stop water bottling, as may Alachua, Gainesville, Ocala, Wildwood, The Villages, and Ferndale in Alachua, Marion, Sumter, and Lake Counties, Florida.
Alternative 3 in
FERC’s recent instructions for Sabal Trail to “include analyses” begins
like
Alternative 2 near Armena, GA and goes through Albany,
then veers due south.
Alternative 3 beginning at approximately MP 141 (near Albany, Georgia) and following Highway 82 to Highway 19 (Slappy Boulevard) in Albany, Georgia; then following Highway 19 through Albany, Camilla, and Thomasville, Georgia to the FGT pipeline corridor south of Capps, Florida; then following the FGT pipeline corridor to I-75 and the Alternate 1 and 2 routes to the proposed endpoint.
Here’s a very rough map of the whole route of Alternative 3, including the FGT pipeline part: Continue reading
Watch out Albany Mall, Deerfield-Windsor School, Kerr Gardens Park and Pond,
Miller-Coors Albany Brewery, Pilot Travel Center and of course the Flint River at the US 82 bridge!
If Sabal Trail’s mile point (MP) 141 is still on the Lee-Dougherty County
line just west of Armena, GA on US 82, then
Alternative 2 in
FERC’s recent instructions for Sabal Trail to “include analyses” would look very
much like
Alternative 1, plowing through the north edge of Albany, GA
and much of Dougherty County,
before heading on through Sylvester, Tifton, Adel, Hahira, Valdosta, Jennings, Lake City, Alachua, Gainesville, Ocala, Wildwood, past The Villages, to Ferndale, FL.
Alternative 2 extending along other pipeline and road rights-of-way from near MP 0 to approximately MP 141 (near Albany, Georgia), and then following Alternate 1 to the proposed endpoint.
Here’s MP 141 in the maps Sabal Trail sent to FERC in November 2013: Continue reading
Maybe Lowndes County Commissioners can ask Rep. Austin Scott (GA-08) to do what Dougherty County Commissioners have successfully asked Rep. Bishop (GA-02) to do: those two Congressional districts cover the entire Georgia part of the proposed path of that methane pipeline. And maybe they could help Greenlaw get the FERC scoping period extended and get the GIS data from Sabal Trail.
Carlton Fletcher wrote for the Albany Herald yesterday,
U.S. Congressman Sanford Bishop to take part in pipeline listening session:
Metting called to address safety, other concerns surrounding controversial natural gas pipeline,
Two Dougherty County Commissioners and one of their former colleagues who is running to rejoin them have scheduled a listening session at 10 a.m. Thursday with U.S. House District 2 Congressman Sanford Bishop to discuss the proposed Sabal Trail Transmission Gas Pipeline project and a planned accompanying Continue reading
A directly affected landowner wanted to know what happened
with the talks
among several local county attorneys about the
proposed Sabal Trail pipeline, and was there any way citizens
could provide input,
at the
11 March 2014 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
Here’s the video:
Can we get pipeline update and citizen input? –Carolyn Singletary
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 March 2014.
Also she wondered if she could hear Continue reading