Tag Archives: Safety

Fire engine sinkhole in Atlanta

I wonder if their insurance covered this? TV reporter wonders if sewer lines were affected. What if a methane pipeline had been there, like when Florida Gas Transmission called the 25-acre sinkhole in Louisiana “Force Majeure”, or an act of God, or not their fault? Will your insurance cover sinkholes or broken pipelines?

AP in the AJC 3 March 2014, Atlanta fire engine stuck in sinkhole,

Department spokeswoman Janet Ward told local outlets that the sinkhole on Ashby Grove opened as the truck was driving along the street Monday afternoon. Ward estimates that the hole was about 8 feet long, 6 feet wide and 5 feet deep.

Marcus K. Garner wrote for the AJC yesterday Atlanta firetruck gets stuck in sinkhole,

The cause of the sinkhole is unknown at this time.

Leaking sewer or water line, overpumping, other?

Julie Wolfe reported for 11alive yesterday, Continue reading →

FERC pipeline Scoping Meeting tonight in Valdosta: testify for your community

A local affected landowner and the chair of a local political party ask you to come tonight at 6PM at the Holiday Inn on West Hill Avenue to testify to the federal agency that decides on a permit for the proposed yard-wide hundred-foot right of way methane pipeline that a company from Houston wants to gash through here. First a presentation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), then citizens can stand up and be recorded by a court reporter.

As directly affected local landowner Carol Singletary pointed out on WALB Sunday,

“When you have it within 100 feet of your home, you cannot have any sense of security there. There are alternate routes that aren’t being considered. So I want to get those on the table and some strong considerations given to those.”

As Gretchen Quarterman pointed out for the Lowndes County Democratic Party on WCTV yesterday,

“The Georgia Democrats feel that there’s a moral obligation to leave the world as beautiful and majestic as we found it and the pipeline, it does not do that”, says Gretchen Quarterman, Chairman of the Lowndes County Democratic Committee.

More from the LCDP Press Release yesterday, plus more meetings and more ways to testify, Continue reading →

Valdosta City Council member Tim Carroll files with FERC

Tim Carroll, District 5, has filed a request based on property rights and water issues for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to deny the Sabal Trail Transmission methane pipeline that Spectra Energy wants to run through Lowndes County. Here’s the letter: Property rights and water: please deny the Sabal Trail methane pipeline –Tim Carroll, Valdosta City Council, 5th District

Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, and at least one landowner with land in the path of that proposed pipeline lives in the City of Valdosta in Council Carroll’s district.

-jsq

Broadband, outsourcing, trash, and fire @ LCC 2014-02-28

The second day of the Commission retreat is finished. Reporting from location, Gretchen noted:

1PM: BroadBand

Chairman Bill Slaughter has a five year goal of making broadband available. Some possibility of creating a fibre ring. He says he’s working with the City of Valdosta.

Well, a year ago in February he said broadband was “one of the number one issues”, but in October he said “we have broadband”, so it’s anyone’s guess what his opinion will be in a few months.

1:06PM: Outsourcing

Commissioner Crawford Powell wants to outsource more county services.

That’s working so well, after all; see the next note.

1:19PM: Trash evaluation

Continue reading →

Adapt natural gas pipeline to renewable resources? –Laura Dailey @ GCC 2014-02-20

Spectra was unwilling to consider adapting their Sabal Trail pipeline plan to include renewable energy, other than to continue reiterating that they do natural gas pipelines, and to refer to renewables only as “alternative” energy.

Laura Dailey asked at the Gilchrist County Commission meeting 20 February 2014:

Will the pipelines be adaptable to future use of other forms of energy besides the transmission of fossil fuels. Anybody know that?

Brian Fahrentholdt of Spectra answered: Continue reading →

More the county could do about the pipeline –John S. Quarterman @ LCC 2014-02-25

I thanked the County Manager but mentioned something else the county could do about that pipeline, at the 25 February 2014 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

I thanked County Manager Joe Pritchard for notifying constituents like FERC had recommended about the FERC Scoping Meetings starting next week.

Then I read the recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) after Spectra Energy’s 1994 Durham Woods pipeline fireball in Edison, New Jersey that burnt dozens, evacuated thousands, made hundreds homeless, and literally scared one woman to death:

The public will not benefit from the safety improvement recommendations developed in RSPA’s public safety risk study without guidance containing implementation procedures and without motivation from associations representing local governments.

I suggested Lowndes County Commissioners might want to talk to the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) about that.

Here’s the video:

Continue reading →

Objections and Sabal Trail pipeline reader –Danielle Jordan @ LCC 2014-02-25

A local native and VSU student voiced her objection to the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline in the 25 February 2014 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

8. Citizens Wishing To Be Heard – Danielle Jordan

And she handed the Commission a pipeline reader. The VDT summarized:

During the citizens to be heard portion of the meeting, Danielle Jordan voiced her opposition to the Sabal Trail Transmission pipeline because “it violates personal property rights, causes safety concerns, and causes troublesome environmental impacts.” She then presented the commission with a packet of research.

Here’s the video:

Continue reading →

FERC Scoping Meetings on Sabal Trail Pipeline –Joe Pitchard @ LCC 2014-02-25

County Manager Joe Pritchard told everyone about the FERC Notice of Intent and Scoping Meetings starting next week (Albany Monday 3 March, Valdosta Holiday Inn on West Hill Ave. Tuesday 4 March, Moultrie 5 March, all at 6PM). at the 25 February 2014 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

7. Reports-County Manager

He said materials were on the county’s website, and they are:

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail interrogated in Gilchrist County, Florida @ GCC 2014-02-20

Here’s a video playlist of the real questions asked at the Gilchrist County Commission where everybody could see Sabal Trail and Spectra Energy answering about their proposed 36-inch fracked methane pipeline in a 100-foot right of way: or not answering. This is 1 hour and 27 minutes worth of video. I didn’t get all of it because both camera batteries ran down and it took a bit to find a plug. This interrogation went on for more than two hours total. Well done, Gilchrist County, staff, citizens, and everybody who asked questions.

Update 28 Sep 2014: A couple of notable questions:

As mentioned in this PR, Gilchrist County put this in the “Time Certain” part of their agenda:

5:00 p.m. Sabal Trail Workshop

As mentioned in local government pipeline responsibilities, other local governments could do this, and more. For example, Lowndes County, Georgia with 114,552 population compared to 16,815 for Gilchrist County (2012 est.) could do more.

Here’s the video playlist:

Continue reading →

Small town in Michigan votes to oppose nuclear waste dump across the lake in Canada

It’s unlikely a U.S. town has any direct power over a siting decision in Canada, but a small Michigan town made its views known anyway, because it would be affected. Local governments affected by the Sabal Trail methane pipeline could do the same.

Lori Maranville wrote for the Milan News-Leader 22 February 2014, MILAN: Council approves resolution opposing nuclear waste site in Canada,

In October, U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry showing their concern for the proposed nuclear waste site.

“The placement of this nuclear waste storage facility is of great concern given its location near Lake Huron and the importance of the Great Lakes to tens of millions of U.S. and Canadian citizens for drinking water, fisheries, tourism, recreation, and other industrial and economic uses,” they wrote in the letter.

In passing a resolution opposing the site, Milan elected officials brought the issue to light for the city’s residents.

Continue reading →