Category Archives: Economy

Sabal Trail opposition gets national media attention

October 12, 2014Alabama, Dougherty County, Economy, Environment, Florida, Georgia, Hazards, LawAlabama, Associated Press, Dougherty County, Economy, environment, Florida, Florida Southeast Connection, FPL, Georgia, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Law, NextEra Energy, Ray Henry, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

The AP finally picked up on opposition, newspapers and TV stations from San Francisco to Washington, DC and from Utah and Chicago to Miami picked up the AP story that same day, including Spectra Energy’s home town of Houston, Texas, plus Canada and New Zealand, followed by the Valdosta Daily Times today, for at least 27 stories total.

Ray Henry wrote for AP Saturday 11 October 2014, New $3.7B gas line proposed for Ala., Ga., Fla.,

ATLANTA (AP)—A proposal to build a $3.7 billion pipeline system carrying natural gas into Florida is raising complaints from Georgia residents—including media mogul Ted Turner—who say they’d face environmental costs while others get the benefits.

He quoted Gloria Gaines of Albany. He also mentioned Duke’s proposed Citrus County plant without mentioning that Duke has repeatedly said it doesn’t need Sabal Trail. And he didn’t mention LNG export. But he did list quite a few opponents, and he included this:

NextEra, Spectra or their related political committees have donated several thousand dollars to politicians, including Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal.

Picking up the AP story that same day were: Continue reading Sabal Trail opposition gets national media attention →

Fracked gas through Sabal Trail to Japan

October 7, 2014Alabama, Economy, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, LNG, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West VirginiaAlabama, Atlantic Sunrise, Cove Point, Economy, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, John S. Quarterman, LNG, LNG export, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Utica Shale, West VirginiaJohn S. Quarterman

New pipelines are to push fracked methane to export for profit, as fossil fuel industry analysts spell out, specifically describing a path from fracking through Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise and Transco pipelines and Spectra and NextEra’s Sabal Trail pipeline, and then naming Cove Point LNG export.

Chris Pedersen wrote for OilPrice.com 5 October 2014, Utica Boosts U.S. Natural Gas Production To Record Levels,

To find a market for both Marcellus and Utica gas production, existing pipelines are finding creative ways to move growing sources of gas, while new pipelines are proposed to take larger quantities of gas from large interstate pipelines such as the TRANSCO line. Williams’ new “Atlantic Sunrise” pipeline will connect Marcellus and Utica gas from its TRANSCO line. Sabal Trail LLC, a JV of Spectra and NextEra Energy have proposed to build the “Sabal Trail” pipeline, which would connect with TRANSCO. With the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s recent approval of the Cove Point LNG plant, it is not farfetched to imagine India or Japan producing electricity from Utica gas by the end of the decade.

Sure, that paragraph doesn’t say Continue reading Fracked gas through Sabal Trail to Japan →

We just do not want it! –Mary Rehberg to FERC

September 30, 2014Compressor, Dougherty County, Economy, Explosion, FERC, Georgia, Hazards, Leak, NoiseAlbany, compressor, Dougherty County, Economy, explosion, FERC, Georgia, Hazards, leak, Mary Rehberg, noise, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

Filed with FERC 30 September 2014:

Mary Rehberg, Albany, GA.

Albany and Dougherty County do not want, need or benefit in any way by this pipeline. These pipelines have been known to leak and to blow up. The pumping station needs jet turbines to pump the gas and the noise level will be horrific to anyone living near it. It should not be anywhere near any homes or businesses. We get all the risk and none of the benefit. We just do not want it!

How to comment with FERC.

FERC authorized Cove Point LNG export in Maryland

September 30, 2014Compressor, Economy, Environment, FE, FERC, Law, LNG, Maryland, VirginiaCalvert County, compressor, Cove Point, Dominion Power, Economy, environment, FE, FERC, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Maryland, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, VirginiaJohn S. Quarterman

This is what we’re going to get in Dougherty County, Georgia, and Lowndes County, and Suwannee County, Florida, and all the other counties along whichever route FERC picks for the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline to three already-authorized LNG export operations in Florida, unless somebody actually does something more than just talk. What talk gets you is being counted as one of n speakers at m meetings, and then this:

The Commission found that the proposal, as mitigated with 79 conditions found in Appendix B of today’s order, is in the public interest.

That’s right, FERC found Continue reading FERC authorized Cove Point LNG export in Maryland →

Stop this Pipeline –Columbia Paper not buying the script

September 27, 2014Columbia County, Compressor, Economy, Explosion, FERC, Fracking, Law, Leak, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, SafetyColumbia County, compressor, Constitution Pipeline, Economy, explosion, FERC, FPL, Fracking, John S. Quarterman, Kinder Morgan, Law, leak, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Tennesee Gas PipelineJohn S. Quarterman

Update 28 Sep 2014: With details from Bill Huston. The main point remains:

“Supporting the pipeline proposal as it stands amounts to surrendering our future to the petroleum industry.” That about sums it up, both for Kinder Morgan’s ~~Constition Pipeline~~ Northeast Direct project (NED) through Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts, and for Spectra and FPL’s Sabal Trail pipeline through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

Parry Teasdale wrote for The Columbia Paper of Ghent, NY 25 September 2014, EDITORIAL: Stop this pipeline,

The proposed pipeline would reportedly run beneath 55 private properties in Columbia County if it’s approved by federal regulators. The property owners would have to grant rights of way to the company. Neither the towns nor the county could intervene.

The editorial doesn’t really buy that last: it laster asks local governments to intervene.

Opponents say that property values along and nearby Continue reading Stop this Pipeline –Columbia Paper not buying the script →

Departing PHMSA Administrator has let regulated companies determine testing as LNG exports increase

September 25, 2014Economy, Explosion, FE, FERC, Fracking, Hazards, Leak, LNG, New York, PHMSA, SafetyCynthia Quarterman, Economy, explosion, FE, FERC, Fracking, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, leak, LNG, New York, PHMSA, Safety, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

PHMSA Administrator Rather than stopping leaks and explosions, Cynthia L. Quarterman (no relation) seems to spend a lot of time testifying before Congress, see for example these CSPAN videos. Maybe now that “market forces” are shifting away from fossil fuels, instead of chasing the white whale of pipelines for fracked methane to LNG export, we can get a new PHMSA Administrator who will do something about the lax safety of the pipelines we’ve got while we get on with shifting to sun, wind, and water power.

James F. Bowe, Jr. and Sara E. Peters wrote for Energy Newsletter, March 2014, Congress Probes Crude by Rail Safety Developments; Voluntary Industry-Regulator Agreement Addresses Safety Concerns, Continue reading Departing PHMSA Administrator has let regulated companies determine testing as LNG exports increase →

Rockefeller Brothers Fund divesting from coal and tar sands, but not from natural gas

September 25, 2014Climate Change, Economy, Environment, Fracking, History, SolarDesmond Tutu, Divest-Invest, Economy, Fracking, John D. Rockefeller, John S. Quarterman, natural gas, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, solar, SpectraBusters, Standard Oil, Stephen Heintz, Tar Sands, whale oilJohn S. Quarterman

It’s indeed historic when heirs of John D. Rockefeller, the man whose Standard Oil more than any other company put the world on its current fossil-fuel-burning climate-changing path decide to divest from coal and tar sands. But read their actual statement: they’re not divesting from natural gas, or fracking, or even from oil. Yet.

Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) PR 22 September 2014 Fund Announces Plans to Divest from Fossil Fuels,

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has been working to better align its endowed assets with its mission since 2010, when the board of trustees approved a commitment of up to 10 percent of the endowment to investments consistent with the foundation’s Sustainable Development program goals. Stephen Heintz, president of the Fund, announced its decision to divest from fossil fuels at a press conference in New York City on September 22, 2014, one day before world leaders convene at the UN Climate Summit. The Fund has begun a two-step process to divest from investments in fossil fuels, first focusing on limiting its exposure to coal and tar sands, with a goal to reduce these investments to less than one percent of the total portfolio by the end of 2014. The Fund is also analyzing in detail its remaining fossil fuel exposure and will develop a plan for further divestment as quickly as is prudent over the next few years.

There’s nothing about this continued investment in fracked methane in the New York Times story or in any of the others I’ve found. But RBF’s own PR is pretty clear.

That PR and a longer statement refer us to Continue reading Rockefeller Brothers Fund divesting from coal and tar sands, but not from natural gas →

Citizens meet against Spectra’s Algonquin pipeline

September 10, 2014Connecticut, Economy, FERC, Massachusetts, New York, Putnam County, Safety, WestchesterAIM, Algonquin Incremental Market, Caithness II, Concerned Peekskill Residents, Connecticut, CPR, Economy, FERC, John S. Quarterman, Long Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, PSEG, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, SAPE, Searsmont, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Steckman Ridge, Stop the Algonquin Pipeline ExpansionJohn S. Quarterman

Safety, property values, insurance, schools: same concerns about Spectra’s Algonquin pipeline as about its Sabal Trail pipeline. Plus Algonquin runs by the safety-paper-forging Indian Point nuke! Nothing to worry about, says Spectra’s Marylee Hanley, same as she said about that compressor leak at Steckman Ridge, and same as Spectra said about Searsmont, Maine, where residents say they were lied to. New York residents aren’t buying that; they don’t want their property and lives risked for LNG export profit. They already had 50 people in a meeting in July, and they’re doing more. And FERC has actually denied a Spectra Algonquin pipeline permit before; time to do it again!

Lanning Taliaferro wrote for Ossining-Croton-on-Hudson Patch 25 August 2014, Opponents Set Sept. 3, 4, 13 Info Sessions on Natural Gas Pipeline Project,

Residents and elected officials throughout Westchester and Putnam Continue reading Citizens meet against Spectra’s Algonquin pipeline →

Fourth Dougherty County meeting against Sabal Trail pipeline

September 7, 2014Compressor, Dougherty County, Economy, Georgiacompressor, Dougherty County, Economy, Flint Riverkeeper, Georgia, Gordon Rogers, Jennifer Maloney, John S. Quarterman, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

A resident who lives next to the proposed compressor station site, and Gordon Rogers, Flint Riverkeeper, were among those seen in this meeting and not in previous Dougherty County meetings.

Courtney Highfield wrote for WFXL 5 September 2014, Residents concerned about Sabal Trail pipeline,

About a year ago is when the county first learned Sabal Trail’s interest in bringing a natural gas pipeline to the county. There have been several meetings since then to get the community involved.

County commissioners, former commissioners, and other officials say the pipeline won’t bring any jobs or money to the area and they warned of the noise and annoyance it will cause.

Jennifer Maloney is a resident who spoke out and said Continue reading Fourth Dougherty County meeting against Sabal Trail pipeline →

Action letter to County Commissioners against Sabal Trail pipeline

September 2, 2014Economy, Environment, Florida, History, Law, Suwannee County, WaterDebra Johnson, Economy, environment, Florida, History, Law, ordinance, resolution, sinkhole, subsidence, Suwannee Alliance for Sustainable Growth, Suwannee County, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

Update 2014-09-12: Still more signatures.
Update 2014-09-08: Still more signatures.
Update 2014-09-07: More signatures.

Debra Johnson posted this on the Suwannee Alliance For Sustainable Growth facebook group 1 September 2014:

SABAL TRAIL PIPELINE ACTION NEEDED—If you desire add your signature to this multi-group email please enter it in the comment section.This email will be sent from SAFSG and other groups to BOCC officials here and in surrounding counties. It is available for use anywhere Sabal Trail pipeline is a threat—Simply change the county and/or state name in the body. We will start sending it out Tuesday Sept. 2nd. You should read it even if you do not sign as it contains important information.

The Suwannee County, FL Commission meets today, 2 September 2014. When does yours meet? Here is contact information for Florida counties. Here is contact information for Georgia and Alabama county commissions and city councils along the proposed pipeline path, as well as for state and federal elected officials. Remember also to comment with FERC on docket # PF14-1. Here’s the letter. -jsq

Dear Commissioner,

We are sure that you have heard of the Sabal Trail/Spectra Energy Pipeline and the resolution passed by Hamilton County BOCC August 22, 2014, to prohibit its path through the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton County (link below). It appears that that resolution has been successful. But the problem has not gone away in that Sabal Trail has already sent FERC and Rep. Ted Yoho a letter suggesting that they move the pipeline yet again! (link below).

We would also like to bring to your attention to other local government actions that have been implemented to protect the citizens of those counties. Our hope is that your county government will consider adopting one of these strategies in this crucial effort to protect their citizens, water, land, etc. from this gas pipeline which will provide zero benefit to the people of Florida Continue reading Action letter to County Commissioners against Sabal Trail pipeline →