Category Archives: Levy County

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.

Economy, Florida, Hazards, Levy County, Safety, , , , ,

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

Duke plant in Citrus County likely Sabal Trail gas pipe customer

Economy, Florida, Levy County, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Spectra’s Sabal Trail Transmission wants to slice through Alabama, Georgia, and north Florida to get to FPL and Duke gas plants in Florida. That helps explain the Citrus County Pipeline offshoot tacked onto the end of Sabal Trail’s 15 November 2013 update to FERC.

Bill Thompson wrote for the Ocala StarBanner 14 December 2014, Duke Energy to build gas plant tied to Sabal Trial pipeline,

The proposed interstate pipeline that will slice through Marion County in delivering natural gas to an Orlando-area depot apparently has a customer ready.

Duke Energy plans to build a new natural gas-fired power plant in Citrus County, which is expected to be in operation not long after Sabal Trail Transmission LLC, the pipeline builder, completes its 465-mile link to gas reserves flowing through east central Alabama.

Duke Energy spokesman Sterling Ivey said the company had within the past week received six bids to build a facility in Citrus, and it is keeping open the option to do the work itself.

This is the same Sterling Ivey who claimed Continue reading Duke plant in Citrus County likely Sabal Trail gas pipe customer →

No landowner list for you –Andrea Grover

Florida, Levy County, , , , , ,

After Beth Gordon asked a contractor for a list of affected landowners, she tried asking Andrea Grover of Spectra Energy:


No landowner list for you –Andrea Grover
Video by Beth Gordon for SpectraBusters,
9 December 2013, Levy County, Florida

Beth notes: Continue reading No landowner list for you –Andrea Grover →

Live Oak and Branford Open Houses: Suwannee County and Levy County

Compressor, Florida, Hamilton County, Levy County, Lowndes County, Madison County, Suwannee County, , , , , , , , , , ,

This newspaper didn’t mention Suwannee County, Florida may be getting a compressor station. And remember, the proposed pipeline path crosses the Withlacoochee River a second time just before crossing the Suwannee River to enter Suwannee County.

All of the Open Houses required by FERC, are listed on the calendar. They resume Monday evening in Lumpkin, GA and Williston, FL. Before that, Monday morning, the Lowndes County Commission, Georgia, is having Spectra speak at their 8:30 AM Monday 9 December Work Session, to answer questions submitted in advance by the public.

Suwannee Democrat, 30 November 2013, Public invited to proposed gas pipeline open house events,

Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC will be hosting two open house meetings for the interested public to learn more about the underground natural gas pipeline project that is proposed to come through Suwannee County.

The public is invited to attend the meetings on Tuesday, Dec. 3, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Coliseum (11th Street/Fairgrounds) in Live Oak and on Wednesday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Branford High School (405 S Reynolds St., Branford).

They also included “As previously reported by the Suwannee Democrat”:

Natural gas pipeline to extend 40 miles in Suwannee County

500 landowners could be affected

By Bryant Thigpen

bryant.thigpen@gaflnews.com

Sabal Trail Transmission has announced their intent to construct a natural gas pipeline which will run approximately 40 miles in Suwannee County, according to Andrea Grover, spokesperson for Sabal Trail Transmission. Plans are underway to construct a natural gas pipeline from North Alabama to Central Florida and could be constructed as early as Summer 2016.

If the proposed map remains unchanged, the pipeline is about 470 miles long and will make its way through four Alabama counties, nine Georgia counties and 12 Florida counties, including Suwannee and surrounding Madison and Hamilton counties.

The pipeline will extend for approximately 40 miles in Suwannee County and approximately 500 landowners will be affected by this project. About 100 landowners in Hamilton County will be affected by this project as well.

“The routing is very much not set,” Grover said.

According to Grover, the current proposed route could change, but it will stay within the 600 feet corridor. Grover said the pipeline will run along existing rights-of-way for about 80 percent of the route. When construction begins, the pipeline’s projection path will be narrowed down to a 50 feet corridor.

Really? In Lowndes County, Georgia, at least, “run along” means side-by-side but not on the same easement, so many landowners get a second pipeline gash through their property if we let this happen. And why did Sabal Trail file with FERC all those detailed alternative maps including one for a “Hildreth Compressor Station, Suwannee County, Florida”?


Hildreth Compressor Station, Suwannee County, Florida, in Alternatives, by Sabal Trail Transmission,
for FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, 15 November 2013, converted by SpectraBusters
SABAL TRAIL PROJECT, DRAFT RESOURCE REPORT 10, Alternatives, FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, Initial Pre-Filing Draft, November 2013

-jsq

Petition against Sabal Trail pipeline to Florida Public Service Commission –Beth Gordon

Florida, Levy County

All 50 pages of Beth M. Gordon’s petition to FL PSC of 18 November 2013 on behalf of herself in Levy County, Florida and several other people, in four parts. It includes a transcript of the U.S. House subcommittee that wants to export natural gas. The preceding Saturday she was interviewed in Valdosta by radio host Lee Henderson.

House subcommittee wants to export gas

Florida, Gilchrist County, Hamilton County, Levy County, Madison County, Marion County, Texas, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is this what that proposed pipeline is really for, exporting gas for profit of gas company executives at the cost of our local land? Rep. Ted Yoho (R FL-03) of north Florida is on this House subcommittee.

25 April 2013, NATURAL GAS EXPORTS: ECONOMIC AND GEOPOLITICAL OPPORTUNITIES: HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION,

Opening statement by Chairman Ted Poe (R TX-02) of Houston:

Five years ago, companies were building terminals to import natural gas at the cost of billions of dollars because analysts agreed that the United States’ economy was going to need natural gas from overseas. Today, that scenario has changed 180 percent. Import terminals lie dormant. The Department of Energy has 19 applications waiting to get permission to export natural gas. Thanks to breakthroughs, the United States’ natural gas reserves have climbed 72 percent since 2000 and 49 percent since 2005. The amount of natural gas that is technically recoverable in the United States is 97 times greater than all of the natural gas we consumed in 2011. In plain terms, this means we have an abundance of natural gas that we are not using. It is just sitting there, and this is really not smart policy, or smart business.

Rep. Ted Poe (R TX-02)

A big reason why is Continue reading House subcommittee wants to export gas →