All posts by John S. Quarterman

Fracking unsafe in at least four states

Fracking, Hazards, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, , , , , , , , , ,

If it’s so safe, why is it so hard to find out how safe it is? And why did injecting toxic chemicals into ground water ever get approved? Since methane leaks out of pipelines and compressor stations, as well as wells, it’s time to stop fracking and pipelines and get on with solar and wind power.

Kevin Begos wrote for AP 5:20 p.m. EST January 5, 2014, 4 states confirm water pollution from drilling

PITTSBURGH (AP) — In at least four states that have nurtured the nation’s energy boom, hundreds of complaints have been made about well-water contamination from oil or gas drilling, and pollution was confirmed in a number of them, according to a review that casts doubt on industry suggestions that such problems rarely happen.

The Associated Press requested data on drilling-related complaints in Continue reading Fracking unsafe in at least four states →

Ask FERC at the Moultrie Monday makeup Sabal Trail Open House

Colquitt County, Environment, FERC, Georgia, Hazards, Law, Trees, , , , , , , , , ,

PDF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Valdosta, 24 January 2014 — The gas pipeline company has scheduled another Open House for Monday January 27th, 2014, perhaps because a local landowner complained to FERC about previous Sabal Trail meetings in Moultrie being during big local events. You can ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in person why they should approve that methane pipeline. Protesters against the pipeline will be out front starting about 4:45PM.

When:  5:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Monday, January 27 th 2014

Where: Holiday Inn Express
850 Veterans Parkway North
Moultrie, GA 31788

Why: Spectra Energy, which had compressor station leaks in Maine this month and in Pennsylvania last year, plus multiple fines by Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for corrosion and leaks, and a record Continue reading Ask FERC at the Moultrie Monday makeup Sabal Trail Open House →

A 36-inch pipeline blews up in Alabama

Alabama, Appomattox County, Environment, Explosion, Florida, Hazards, Marengo County, New Jersey, Safety, Trees, Virginia, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The pipeline Sabal Trail wants to connect to, Williams Transco in Alabama, blew up in 2011, flaming a hundred feet up, heard more than 30 miles away, left a crater more than 50 feet wide, destroyed 65 acres of trees, fried five acres of soil into pottery, and launched a 43-foot pipe section as a missile that landed 190 feet away. The cause was never announced. There was no construction going on, so could it be corrosion? Do we want another pipeline like that?

TXsharon wrote for Bluedaze drilling reform 2 January 2012, Pictures: Acres of devastation from Williams gas pipeline explosion in Alabama

Williams did some pigging just before this pipeline rupture but they didn’t receive the pigging results until after the explosion. The word from the locals in Alabama is that Williams is now frantically digging up parts of this same pipeline in several different locations which could indicate the problem is not isolated.Williams does not have a good track record of pipeline safety.

Jason Cannon wrote for Demopolis Times 3 December 2011, No cause known in explosion,

A Transco natural gas pipeline ruptured at approximately 3:07 p.m. Saturday with an explosion that could be heard for more than 30 miles while shooting flames nearly 100 feet in the air for over an hour….

Continue reading A 36-inch pipeline blews up in Alabama →

Pipeline Opposition Mounts –Shale Property Rights

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hazards, , , , , , , , ,

Spectra’s scent precedes it.

On Shale Property Rights 22 January 2014, Pipeline Opposition Mounts, Sabal Trail Pipeline – Spectra Energy’s Proposed Gas Transmission Pipeline Draws Citizen Opposition in 3 States: Georgia, Florida, Alabama
Spectra Energy Builds on its Reputation for Cynical Social Responsibility

Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE), the $5 billion pipeline and underground natural gas storage company, is now in a position where its reputation precedes it. When it holds community meetings to sell a proposed natural gas transmission pipeline, communities show up with pitchforks, figuratively speaking.

Despite airy promises about “stakeholder engagement” and commitment to “transparency and accountability,” word about Spectra Energy’s lack of responsiveness and ongoing problems at existing facilities is spreading to communities across states where it hopes to build more pipelines and compressor facilities.1, 2

For example, the Sabal Trail pipeline is a proposed 474-mile natural gas transmission pipeline Spectra Energy hopes to build through Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Current plans call for 7 large compressor stations along the pipeline route (to ˜push’ the gas through).

This is a joint venture between Spectra Energy and NextEra Energy, Inc. The contractor is Florida Power & Light (the key recipient for the nat gas). For details, see the Sabal Trail Transmission website: http://www.sabaltrailtransmission.com/

It did not take “interstate” property owners long to mobilize. Here is a link to their energetic website: http://spectrabusters.org/ and one for their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/spectrabusters

Lessons from New York

Spectra Energy’s track record leaves a negative brand image across many states and in Canada.3

The article continues with lessons from New York, New Jersey, and some further comments about actions in Georgia and Florida. This, for instance, from Clare Donohue, a founding member of the Sane Energy Project in New York: Continue reading Pipeline Opposition Mounts –Shale Property Rights →

3 minutes a question at Gilchrist County Commission 20 Feb 2014

Florida, Gilchrist County, , , , , ,

Seen this morning on Gilchrist County to hold pipeline meeting in February. -jsq

Gas Pipeline Alert: Next meeting scheduled with Gilchrist County Commission and Sabal Trails gas Transmission Pipeline is February 20, 2014, time certain, 5 pm. At the Gilchrist County Administration building in Trenton, FL. All citizens and concerned parties in this vicinity of the Santa Fe River are encouraged to come. This is a Q and A with the company. You will be allowed 3 minutes to ask your question. Please remember to fill out a speaking card when you enter the building.

— Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson
President
Our Santa Fe River, Inc.

Gilchrist County to hold pipeline meeting in February

Florida, Gilchrist County, Levy County, Suwannee County, , , , , , , , , , ,

One Florida county is taking the Sabal Trail pipeline proposal seriously, maybe because there are no fewer than three paths for the pipeline into Gilchrist County, Florida, all three crossing the Santa Fe River, and one first crossing the Ichetucknee River.

In his article about Glynn Bryan, Terry Witt wrote for Levy County Journal (undated), Bronson Area Property Owner Says Gas Pipeline Just an Atom Bomb,

Gilchrist County Administrator Bobby Crosby said the Gilchrist County Commission is planning for a February public meeting with Sabal Trail officials to answer questions about the pipeline.

Crosby said there are two proposed routes through Gilchrist County and rumors of a third route. He said he has been unable to get answers from Sabal Trail officials, but they are willing to answer questions from the public at the meeting.

“We’re kind of in the dark,” he said. “There’s nothing definite. I can’t get an answer from Sabal Trail.”

Sabal Trail’s preferred route has nine detail maps for Gilchrist County: crossing the Santa Fe River to enter the county, Duck Pond, Bell Quad, Cow Creek, Ginnie Spring, Neals, Waters Lake Quad, Union Church, and Newbury SW Quad, where it crosses into Alachua County.

Plus Sabal Trail’s alternate route maps include Gilchrist Westerly Deviation and Ichetucknee River Deviation: Continue reading Gilchrist County to hold pipeline meeting in February →

WV polluter files bankruptcy: why should we expect better from Sabal Trail?

Environment, Hazards, Safety, West Virginia, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A shell company lasted only weeks before filing bankruptcy after polluting a West Virginia river and drinking water for 300,000 people. No assets, no insurance, as near as I can tell. Sabal Trail Transmission is a shell company owned by Spectra Energy and NextEra and managed by Spectra: what assets does it have, and what insurance has it offered in case its pipeline corrodes and leaks like Spectra has been fined for or one of its compressor stations leaks like in Pennsylvania or Maine or residents have to evacuate as Spectra’s Susan Waller said would happen in case of a “true emergency”? Who will pay for the local first responders, or property damage, or a polluted aquifer?

Nick Visser wrote for The Huffington Post 17 January 2014, Freedom Industries, Company Behind West Virginia Chemical Spill, Files For Bankruptcy,

The company behind the massive chemical spill that made tap water unsafe for more than 300,000 West Virginians has filed for bankruptcy, according to documents obtained by The Huffington Post.

According to bankruptcy filings, Freedom Industries, wholly owned by Chemstream Holdings Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday. Freedom Industries owns the storage facility responsible for leaking up to 7,500 gallons of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (a coal-cleaning chemical also known as crude MCHM) into West Virginia’s Elk River.

And Freedom Industries was only formed a few weeks ago. Steven Mufson wrote for the Washington Post (undated), One week after W. Va. toxic spill, new owner of Freedom Industries puts firm in bankruptcy,

It took just one week for Pennsylvania coal mining executive Cliff Forrest, the new owner of Freedom Industries, to discover that one of the six-decade-old storage tanks he had acquired Dec. 31 was leaking a toxic chemical into the Elk River that supplies water to about 300,000 West Virginians….

Forrest, through another firm he owns, paid Continue reading WV polluter files bankruptcy: why should we expect better from Sabal Trail? →

Five compressor stations proposed by Sabal Trail and Spectra

Alabama, Dougherty County, Florida, Georgia, Marion County, Osceola County, Suwannee County, Tallapoosa County, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Spectra proposes five compressor stations along its Sabal Trail Transmission gas pipe: Alexander in Tallapoosa County, AL, Albany in Dougherty County, GA, Hildreth in Suwannee County, FL, Dunnellon in Marion County, FL, and Reunion in Osceola County, FL. Why should we expect them to be any safer than the ones in Maine or Pennsylvania?

Alexander

Alexander City Compressor Station in Tallapoosa County, Alabama Continue reading Five compressor stations proposed by Sabal Trail and Spectra →

“The most terrifying experience”: Spectra blows another compressor station

Hazards, Hudson County, Leak, Maine, Waldo County, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Spectra Energy refuses to say much about a compressor station leak in Maine, much like the one in Pennsylvania in March 2013. Spectra’s Susan Waller did offer that in a real emergency everyone would have been evacuated. Who wants that next to the five compressor stations Spectra proposes along the Sabal Trail Transmission pipeline it wants to gouge through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida?

Abigail Curtis wrote for Bangor Daily News 15 January 2014, ‘The most terrifying experience’: Residents question safety in wake of malfunction at Searsmont natural gas pipeline station,

First came the noise late New Year’s Eve at the Searsmont natural gas pipeline compressor station, so loud that it caused nearby homes to shake and some residents, frightened by the jet-engine-like roar, to pack up their cars and flee for the night.

Then came the questions, as some members of the normally quiet rural community wondered how safe — or dangerous — it is to live so close to the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline facility. The station was shut down for Continue reading “The most terrifying experience”: Spectra blows another compressor station →

We can survive without gas, but not without water. –Jane Hatker

Economy, Environment, FERC, Florida, Gilchrist County, Hazards, Health, Safety, , , , , , , ,

FERC filing 20131230-4002 from a landowner in southeast Gilchrist County, Florida. -jsq

Note to:FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000
Note from:John Peconom, Environmental Project Manager
Date:December 30, 2013
Subject:Comments of Ms. Jane Hatker

I received the following comments regarding the Sabal Trail Project on December 26, 2013. Ms. Hatker’s address and phone number have been ommitted.

From: Jane Hatker [mailto:jhatker@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2013 4:29 PM
To: John.Peconom@ferc.gov
Cc: merrilleeart@aol.com
Subject: Sable Trail Pipeline Concerns

Dear Mr. Peconom,

I met you and we spoke at length at Bell High School on December 5th at the open house regarding the proposed Sabal Trail Transmission pipeline route. To refresh your memory, I gave you a Google map showing our small pecan orchard that backed up to property where a 35 foot and quite deep sink hole formed. I also included pictures of the sink hole and proof that this was located no more than 2300 feet from the proposed pipeline route. This entire area is at high risk for rapid sink hole formations and it makes no sense to put a pipeline right through such an area simply to serve the interests of FPL.

At 62, I have lived in Florida for almost all of my adult life and have observed an enormous change in the amount and quality of our water Continue reading We can survive without gas, but not without water. –Jane Hatker →