Category Archives: Hazards

Methane pipeline rejected in New Jersey

In the same coastal plain that contains the Floridan Aquifer with our drinking water, a commission just rejected a natural gas pipeline that would have gone through a pine fire forest with blueberries and bobcats much like ours. FERC should reject the Sabal Trail pipeline.

Wayne Parry wrote for AP 10 January 2014, Natural gas pipeline for N.J. Pinelands rejected,

Pemberton Township, N.J. — A New Jersey agency tasked with protecting the ecologically fragile Pinelands region narrowly defeated a proposal Friday to run a 22-mile natural gas pipeline through it….

“This is a great victory for the Pinelands and the environment of the region,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Today the commissioners said the Pinelands are not for sale.”

“The Pinelands is host Continue reading Methane pipeline rejected in New Jersey

Pipeline subsidence is Force Majeure –Florida Gas Transmission

Force Majeure, or an act of God, in other words “not our fault”, that’s what a methane pipeline company calls the 25-acre sinkhole in Assumption Parish, Louisiana. The same thing could happen in the soft limestone underlying all of Florida and south Georgia that contains our Floridan Aquifer, the source of our drinking water.

Found in Energy Transfer’s page for Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC under Critical Notices:

Critical Notice
Notice ID: 39957
Notice Type: Force Majeure
Critical: Y
Notice Status Description: Initiate
Reqrd Rsp Desc: No response required
Posting Date/Time: Aug 15 2012 1:57PM
Subject: FORCE MAJEURE, Southern Portion of the Chacahoula Lateral & Napoleonville Interconnect, Assumption P
Notice Effective Date/Time: Aug 15 2012 1:54PM
Notice End Date/Time: Until further notice
Notice Text:

FORCE MAJEURE, Southern Portion of the Chacahoula Lateral & Napoleonville Interconnect, Assumption Parish, Louisiana (Revision #1) Continue reading Pipeline subsidence is Force Majeure –Florida Gas Transmission

State pipeline safety regulations –NARUC

Did you know New York does not allow pipeline operators to downgrade any leaks while the federal government does not grade leaks at all? Washington state requires responses within 15 minutes for detection thresholds of 8% leak for full flow and no flow conditions applicable to hazardous liquid operators, while the federal government has only begun early discussions of this? That Kansas requires quality assurance inspection of all outside contractors, while federal regulations require only periodic workshops on quality assurance? Idaho requires NFPA 54 compliance before an operator is permitted to distribute gas, while the federal government does not? Illinois requires a full training program for operators, not just the minimum Operator Qualifications required by the federal government? All this and more from a recent report.

PR from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners 23 September 2013, Updated Compendium Details State Actions on Pipeline Safety, Continue reading State pipeline safety regulations –NARUC

Local governments can restrict pipelines –Penn. Supreme Court

Alabama, Georgia, and Florida probably don’t even have a restrictive law like the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just struck down, so local governments in the states along the proposed Sabal Trail, Florida Southeast Connection, and Transco Hillabee Expansion Project pipelines apparently can pass restrictions on pipelines. As can state legislatures.

Mark Scolforo and Marc Levy wrote for Associated Press 20 December 2013, Pa. Gas Drilling Decision Leaves Future Uncertain,

The energy industry and policy makers in Pennsylvania, the heart of the nation’s gas drilling boom, are thinking about their next moves after the state’s highest court threw out significant portions of a law that limited the power of cities and counties to regulate the industry.

The state Supreme Court voted 4-2 on Thursday to strike down portions of a 2012 law that had been crafted by Gov. Tom Corbett and his industry-friendly allies in the Legislature.

The article talks about corporate “need”: Continue reading Local governments can restrict pipelines –Penn. Supreme Court

The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas –Ichetucknee Alliance to FERC

Filed with FERC 17 December 2013 and on the Ichetucknee Alliance facebook group:

Lucinda F Merritt, Fort White, FL.

The Ichetucknee Alliance (http://ichetuckneealliance.org) opposes placement of any new natural gas pipelines under, over or through the 5.5-mile long Ichetucknee River, including the area of Ichetucknee Springs State Park, the area of Columbia County that is included in the historic riverbed (the Ichetucknee Trace), and any part of the Ichetucknee Springshed.

The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas for the following reasons.

The river and springs, including Ichetucknee Springs State Park, are Continue reading The Alliance opposes any new pipelines in these areas –Ichetucknee Alliance to FERC

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

Florida and Georgia members of FERC’s House Subcommittee

Cathy Castor (FL-14) and John Barrow (GA-12) are on the oversight committee for FERC that had all the FERC Commissioners testify 5 December 2013: the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Shouldn’t they be interested in hearing about the Sabal Trail pipeline? Each time someone files a comment with FERC, the filer could also send it to that subcommittee or their member of it, or their own member of Congress or Senators.

Unlike the other subcommittee that held a hearing pushing LNG exports, the Subcommittee on Energy and Power has the appropriate jurisdiction:

Jurisdiction:

National energy policy; fossil energy; renewable energy; nuclear energy; nuclear facilities; the Department of Energy; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; synthetic and alternative fuels; energy conservation; energy information; utility issues; interstate energy compacts; energy generation, marketing, reliability, transmission, siting, exploration, production, efficiency, cybersecurity, and ratemaking for all generated power; pipelines; the Clean Air Act and air emissions; all laws, programs, and government activities affecting energy matters, including all aspects of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security.

Not only fossil energy, also renewable energy, such as solar and wind. Not only utility issues, but also interstate energy compacts. Not only pipelines, but also the Clean Air Act and air emissions.

Here’s the subcommittee membership: Continue reading Florida and Georgia members of FERC’s House Subcommittee

Spectra still leaving questions unanswered

Here’s how Spectra’s VP of Stakeholder Outreach Susan Waller actually implements her assertion quoted in the Valdosta Daily Times Tuesday.

“I want stakeholders to talk to us. They have to ask the questions so we can answer them,” Waller said. “Keep talking. Don’t shut down.”

When I asked the FERC representatives at the Madison County meeting how to get Spectra to answer questions, they said file comments with FERC.

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Please help us save our Precious lands, wetlands, watersheds –Kristofer Graham to FERC

Filed with FERC 25 November 2013:

Kristofer Graham, Naylor, GA.

Kristofer Graham, I am concerned about the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline going though Lowndes County, Georgia. Because I fear it danger to our land environment and the people family’s that live near that natural gas pipeline route. Then I noticed the natural gas pipeline is going though many of our wetlands and our watersheds. Well that really concern me because they can destroy our natural resource, which that mean our Eco system is destroy like Continue reading Please help us save our Precious lands, wetlands, watersheds –Kristofer Graham to FERC

It endangers wildlife and the safety of my children –Brian Peters to FERC

Filed with FERC 25 November 2013:

Brian Peters, Lake Park, GA.

I am in protest of this pipeline because it endangers wildlife and the safety of my children if brought into Lowndes County. We formally protest this harassment of property owners rights!

How to comment with FERC.

-jsq