All posts by Beth Gordon

Local Levy County paper reports on landowner’s presentation to the Levy County Commission- a bit late.

Lou Elliott Jones wrote for the Williston Pioneer Monday, December 30, 2013 at 2:54 pm Williston lawyer asks county for help with pipeline

Williston resident and attorney Beth Gordon asked the Levy County Commission to use its authority to address safety and insurance concerns with the proposed Sabal Trail LLC gas pipeline that will be built through Levy County.

But while the commissioners listened, they did not debate taking any action. Commissioner Mike Joyner of Morriston (R-District 3) recommended Gordon speak with another attorney who is handling business for several residents with the pipeline company.

Gordon, who has also filed a protest against the line with the Florida Public Service Commission, said the 36-inch pipeline that will carry methane gas at 1,200 pounds per square inch of pressure through Alabama, Georgia and Florida will be buried only 3 feet from the surface. The line is being built by Spectra Energy for Florida Power and Light.

She asked the commission to invite Spectra Energy representatives to attend a commission meeting to answer residents’ questions about the pipeline. She said an open house hosted by Sabal on Dec. 9 in Williston did not provide answers to residents’ concerns. “Most people don’t even know we have it coming through.”

“The commission has many things it can do,” Gordon said. “It can require county easements to be used for the pipeline. It can require a certain amount of insurance.”

If an accident were to occur, Gordon said, “You certainly will be happy to have that insurance rather than having to sue Spectra Energy.”

See also Local Levy County web-based news site covers Levy County Commission.

Florida Public Service Commission Grants FP&L’s Motion to Dismiss my Petition- Because the damage is “speculative” and we are not FP&L customers- Really.

The Florida Public Service Commission relied upon their own precedent in Dismissing my Petition protesting the order granting permission for FP&L to go ahead with the SABAL TRAIL pipeline ( which was made by me and four other landowners in Levy and Sumter counties) because they said we do not have standing to bring such a safety-focused protest before them. Even though the pipeline will run through our land and past our bedrooms. Only if we were FP&L customers aggrieved by a high bill, or if we actually had PCB leaks on our properties, could we establish standing. Spectra’s scary record therefore was not of interest to them Their staff attorney pointed out to me on the phone that Spectra was not a Petitioner before their commission, and so they had no cause to consider their record. I plan on sending the Petition and the Order Dismissing to every newspaper I can think of. The Petition was dismissed for the above reasons, even though the Florida Commission (FLPSC) states this on their site’s home page:

The Florida Public Service Commission is committed to making sure that Florida’s consumers receive some of their most essential services — electric, natural gas, telephone, water, and wastewater — in a safe, reasonable, and reliable manner. In doing so, the PSC exercises regulatory authority over utilities in one or more of three key areas: rate base/economic regulation; competitive market oversight; and monitoring of safety….”

Order Granting Motion to Dismiss