FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Valdosta, December 9, 2013—What’s been done and what can be done to stop a
natural gas pipeline proposed to gash through here for the profit of companies far away. It’s not just a federal issue: there are things every state and local government and citizen can do to prevent this safety and property value hazard.
When:
7 PM to 9 PM
Thursday, December 12th 2013
Where:
Lowndes County Offices
Multi-Purpose Room
327 N. Ashley Street, 2nd floor
Valdosta, GA 31601
Phone: (229) 671-2442
Why: Spectra Energy
proposes
a hundred-foot-wide gash through our lands for their huge
36 inch Sabal Trail gas pipeline from Alabama through
Georgia to feed Florida Power and Light (FPL) for no benefit
to local citizens. A one-time payment is nowhere near
adequate for permanent destruction and hazards when FPL and
Spectra would profit forever.
Agenda:
1) 7 PM Introduction and reports
- Introduction of elected
and appointed officials
- Committees (PR and Outreach)
- Meetings (county commissions and others)
2) 7:20 PM Presentation
- About the pipeline
- How can people get involved
3) 7:40 PM Discussion and sign up
- Our situation:
landowners and others (1 min each)
- Allies (water, fracking, solar, etc., 1 min each)
4) 8 PM Breakout sessions
- Land valuation and local
economy
- Safety and health
- Outreach: telephone, door-to-door, online
- Media: newspapers, radio, TV, facebook, twitter
- How to comment with FERC
Property values: A pipeline through your property isn’t going to increase its value, and a pipeline corridor won’t attract businesses.
Hazards: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined Spectra a record $15 million for leaking PCBs at 89 sites along another pipeline. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) fined Spectra $134,500 in December 2012 for five violations of federal regulations and Spectra’s own company procedures, involving not monitoring pipelines and letting them corrode and leak.
This 36 inch pipeline would be bigger than the 30 inch gas pipeline that blew up in Oklahoma a few weeks ago, visible from Kansas and Texas, and far bigger than the 10 inch one that blew up in Texas last week.. It is nowhere near safe enough to run anywhere near schools, churches, people’s houses, or wildlife.
Fracking: The gas comes from fracking in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and the Barnett Shale in Texas, destroying whole watersheds and poisoning farmlands and drinking water.
Instead: Solar power is cheaper and brings jobs and energy right here where we need them.
SpectraBusters: We
ain’t afraid a no pipeline!
We are a coalition of landowners and others opposed to the
Sabal Trail Transmission gas pipeline through Alabama,
Georgia, and Florida.
Contact:
spectrabusters@gmail.com
http://spectrabusters.org
www.facebook.com/spectrabusters
Sandra Y. Jones
Colquitt Co., GA
229-941-5774
Beth Gordon
Levy Co., FL
352-528-0111
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