Published with permission of the author, who stressed she sent this email “Not as a member of Spectrabusters. Just me.” I added a few links. -jsq
From: Beth Gordon
Date: April 24, 2014, 8:15:30 AM EDT
To: John Peconom of FERC
Subject: EPA commentsDear Mr. Peconum,
Does FERC, or Spectra, intend answer the questions posed by the EPA? I read their posted comments yesterday. They obviously share many people’s feeling that Sabal Trail’s claims don’t add up. Florida doesn’t need this gas. In fact right now, Florida has so much that we store it. Spectra and FPL need this amount of gas for LNG plants for export, obviously. And for the Riviera beach connection to a 46 inch pipeline to run to the Bahamas undersea. Switching over one coal plant doesn’t justify a 3 billion dollar pipeline. Especially where FPL has raised, rather than lowered, electric bills on account of this endeavor.
The EPA’s questions must be given serious thought by FERC before it awards this project, and the eminent domain rights attendant to it. Floridians will see no benefit whatsoever by this misguided attempt to trick landowners, judges and other agencies into believing this is beneficial and a project of necessity.
Taking land for private purpose is not something FERC should knowingly allow. FERC is now on notice that this gas is not necessary for Florida either now or in the near future. The question is now one of FERC’s independence from the companies it works with and who fund it. Because if FERC does not deny this pipeline, it will show how FERC is a tool of the industry rather than a regulatory agency. While private enterprise is of course a good thing, seizing private land for private purpose, no matter how attractive it is to sell energy to the Chinese, has long been prohibited. George W Bush reiterated this in Executive Order 13406.
Please know that approval will buy numerous lawsuits that raise this issue. The Keystone Pipeline faced several judicial orders requiring the pipeline company to prove benefit and necessity. So gar they haven’t. They cannot do that in Florida. In my opinion FERC’s very viability as a government agency hangs in the balance of its ability to stop this project which is so obviously designed to feed export plants- on our dime ( Florida customers and taxpayers are paying for this pipeline) but for no benefit to Floridians. The sole benefit is to Spectra stockholders, Nextera stockholders, and any other companies that will use the pipeline to get to the foreign market.
Beth Gordon, Esq.
Thegordonlawfirm@aol.com
352-528-0111
Short Link: