Category Archives: Leak

Pipeline Reader: Who, what, when, where, how, and why not the Sabal Trail methane pipeline

March 2, 2014Alabama, Corrosion, Economy, Environment, Explosion, FERC, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, Hazards, Health, Law, Leak, Noise, Safety, Solar, Water, West Virginiacorrosion, Danielle Jordan, Economy, environment, explosion, FERC, Fracking, Hazards, Health, History, Law, leak, methane, natural gas, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Water, West VirginiaJohn S. Quarterman

Here’s PDF of a reader for county commissions and others who need to get up to speed on the pipeline. Feel free to add local material for your county commission or city council.

This pipeline reader contains:

About the Pipeline
Sabal Trail Pipeline Context maps —Spectra Energy and FPL — Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange www.l-a-k-e.org
Natural Gas Pipelines — www.foodandwaterwatch.org
Spectra Safety Violations — www.spectrabusters.org
Facts on Fracking — Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE) www.wiregrassace.org/
Local Governments Can Restrict Pipelines — www.spectrabusters.org
WV Polluter Files Bankruptcy — www.spectrabusters.org
Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets — www.spectrabusters.org
Solar Jobs — Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange www.l-a-k-e.org
How to File a Comment with FERC

Continue reading →

Chamblee, Georgia opposes a methane pipeline

February 22, 2014DeKalb County, Explosion, Georgia, Hazards, LeakAGL, Atlanta Gas Light, DeKalb County, Georgia, John S. Quarterman, Landowner, leak, Pipeline Safety Trust, SpectraBusters, Thomas S. HoganJohn S. Quarterman

Georgia City passes resolution against a methane pipeline, citing its duty to its own citizens as its highest priority. Other local governments could do the same. And that was for a proposed 24-inch pipeline; Spectra’s Sabal Trail proposes a 36-inch pipeline, for almost 3 and a half times as much gas and potential leaks and explosions. -jsq

Thomas S. Hogan, II, District 3, Chamblee City Council posted on his facebook page 20 Feb 2014 Chamblee Resolution Calls on the Members of the State Legislature to consider Changes:

WHEREAS, the Chamblee City Council holds its duty to protect its citizens as its highest priority; and

WHEREAS, on or around January 10, 2013, Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) began, in earnest, a construction project on Land Parcel 36, located at the end of a cul-de-sac on Shalimar Drive and between the 3200 Clairmont North Condominiums and Tanglewood Circle; also, directly under a main flight path of DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.; and

WHEREAS, on December 30, 2013 Land parcel 36 and the surrounding areas were annexed into the City of Chamblee; and

WHEREAS, the scope of the AGL construction project includes the installation of a 24-inch diameter 1080 psi steel pipeline reportedly tested at 720 psi to replace an existing 16-inch diameter 300 psi pipeline, and the addition of a new large gas regulator station/pigging station with a blast radius of up to 500 feet, according to the Pipeline Safety Trust Landowner’s Guide; and

WHEREAS, both the new regulator station and the larger pipeline are Continue reading Chamblee, Georgia opposes a methane pipeline →

Judge lets pipeline company intervene in lawsuit

February 15, 2014Alabama, Hazards, Health, Jackson County MS, Law, Leak, Mississippi, Mobile County, Safety, WaterAlabama, Chevron, Jackson County, John S. Quarterman, Mobile, Mobile Baykeeper, Mobile County, oil, Pascagoula, Plains All-American Pipeline, Plains Southcap, Sabal Trail Management, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Tar Sands, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USACE, watershedJohn S. Quarterman

Stop the Sabal Trail pipeline early before it gets harder. Making a bad bet shouldn’t guarantee winning by legal judgment at the expense of landowners, methane pollution, and delayed solar deployment.

Gabriel Tynes wrote for Lagniappe yesterday, Pipeline company intervenes in lawsuit against Corps,

A federal judge has allowed pipeline company Plains Southcap to intervene in a lawsuit between Mobile Baykeeper and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, citing a rule of civil procedure permitting non-parties to step in to protect interests “that may be impaired by the disposition of the suit,” particularly those which existing parties “cannot adequately protect.”

Maybe the court should “adequately protect” the local watershed and drinking water supply from this kind of spill or worse: Continue reading Judge lets pipeline company intervene in lawsuit →

Methane pipeline blew up onto Florida Turnpike next to high school

February 11, 2014Corrosion, Economy, Explosion, Florida, Hazards, Health, Leak, Martin County, Safetycorrosion, crack, Economy, Education, emergency services, failure, Florida, Florida Turnpike, Hazards, Health, High School, I-95, injuries, integrity, John S. Quarterman, Martin County, missile, NTSB, Palm Beach County, PHMSA, property damage, rupture, Safety, SCADA, SpectraBusters, taxesJohn S. Quarterman

Five years ago a natural gas pipeline blew up between the Florida Turnpike and I-95, flying a 104-foot piece of 18-inch pipe through the air, shutting down both roads, and fortunately missing a high school. NTSB determined it was the fault of the pipeline operator, Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC (FGT).

FGT was written up by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in NTSB/PAB-13/01 of 13 August 2013 for “Damage/Clean-up Cost: $606,360” in this 4 May 2009 incident near Palm City, Florida:

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was environmentally assisted cracking under a disbonded polyethylene coating that remained undetected by the integrity management program. Contributing to the accident was Florida Gas Transmission Company’s failure to include the pipe section that ruptured in the integrity management program. Contributing to the prolonged gas release was the pipeline controller’s inability to detect the rupture because of SCADA system limitations and the configuration of the pipeline.

So NTSB said it was FGT’s fault.

And Florida and Martin County taxpayers had to pay for Continue reading Methane pipeline blew up onto Florida Turnpike next to high school →

Maine Citizens: We were “lied” to! No 24/ 7 manned compressor stations like Spectra promised- slow response to emergency “not good enough.” Residents feared for their lives.

January 24, 2014Corrosion, Hazards, Leak, Maine, Meetings, Waldo CountyBeth Gordon

Resident that lived near station: you are showering me with chemicals.

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

January 20, 2014Hazards, Hudson County, Leak, Maine, Waldo CountyAndrea Grover, Brian Fahrenthold, compressor station, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Maine, Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, Marylee Hanlee, natural gas, New England Road, Searsmont, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Susan Totman, Susan Waller, Waldo CountyJohn S. Quarterman

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 →