Category Archives: Law

Colquitt County Commission on Sabal Trail pipeline today and tomorrow

Colquitt County, Economy, Georgia, Law, , , , , , , , , ,

Colquitt County is actively investigating legal options about the methane pipeline Spectra Energy wants to gouge through here. Other county attorneys could be as active.

Alan Mauldin wrote for The Moultrie Observer 8 February 2014, County commission meetings to focus on Sabal Trail pipeline,

Colquitt County Commission will receive updates Monday and Tuesday on a proposed natural gas pipeline that could pass through the county.

County Attorney Lester Castellow, who reently met with his counterparts from Brooks, Doughterty and Lowndes counties, is scheduled to address commissioners about the project during a Monday afternoon commission work session.

And representatives of Sabal Trail, the company that is building an Alabama-to-Florida gas pipeline will address commissoiners at Tuesday night’s commission meeting.

“Basically we’re going to be discussing what a local govermnent can and cannot do relative to the planning and construction of an interstate gas pipeline,” Castellow said during a Friday telephone interview.

It’s on the agenda for the 12 noon Monday 10 February 2014 Work Session:

3. Lester Castellow, County Attorney – Potential Options for Sabal Trail Natural Gas Pipeline

That’s at Room 261-C, Courthouse Annex, 101 East Central Avenue, Moultrie, GA 31768.

Colquitt County’s calendar doesn’t say when the Tuesday 11 February Regular Session will be, but the previous one was at 7PM. Presumably the Regular Session will have an agenda similar to the Work Session.

The newspaper story concludes: Continue reading Colquitt County Commission on Sabal Trail pipeline today and tomorrow →

Farmer and lower income folks are people –James & Tracy Ryder to FERC

Brooks County, Economy, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Law, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Filed with FERC 2 December 2013:

James & Tracy Ryder, Tallahassee, FL.

Sirs:

We have been contacted by Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC regarding their proposed natural gas pipeline. In their contacts with us, they requested permission to survey our property in reference to one of the proposed corridors since we are already encumbered with the SONAT pipeline that run through the middle of our property. We were told that we should sign the consent because they would use eminent domain to access our property against our will if need be. In a public meeting we were told they were putting in a 24″ line that would provide gas to mid and south Florida. We have later learned that they are intending to put in a 36″ line that would not serve Florida, but would provide for exports from Florida. Sabal Trail has not been providing accurate, or clear information to the public regarding these pipeline endeavors. When we asked about alternate corridors, we were told they would not consider the alternate corridor that was originally proposed due to the fact that there were many people impacted.

Seriously, Brooks County may be the home to many a farmer and lower income folks, but I assure they are people and don’t deserve to be exploited for the potential gains in revenue and exportation of our limited natural resources. Continue reading Farmer and lower income folks are people –James & Tracy Ryder to FERC →

FERC FOIA not transparent even internally

FERC, Law, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Received yesterday by email to me and Beth Gordon. -jsq

*John and Beth,*

*Regarding your FOIA questions, I’ve contacted the Commission’s Offices of External Affairs and General & Administrative Law, and have determined that the best course of action to fully and accurately respond to your questions would be for you to speak directly with our FOIA Public Liaison Ms. Toyia Jackson. I was hoping to be able to answer your questions myself; however, I believe that it would be better if Ms. Jackson responded to you. As the Commission’s FOIA Public Liaison she is much more capable than I to answer your questions. I have forwarded your questions to her and we have discussed the conversations each of us have had. Ms. Jackson’s contact information is:*

*Toyia Johnson*, FOIA Public Liaison
Office of External Affairs
Telephone: 202-502-6088

Respectfully,

Continue reading FERC FOIA not transparent even internally →

Question the Sabal Trail pipeline in Osceola County 2014-02-10

Economy, Environment, FERC, Florida, Hazards, Law, Osceola County, Solar, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Update: 10 Feb 2014: Watch it online or go to one of several other upcoming county commission meetings.

PDF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Valdosta, 6 February 2014 — Local landowner Monica Martin will speak to the Osceola County Commission about the proposed Sabal Trail methane gas pipeline and its effects on the aquifer, native wildlife, and the landscape, plus property values and property rights. Other local citizens may also speak in the same "Hear the Audience" section (turn in a "Request to Speak" form before the meeting). Anyone from anywhere can come listen, or protest against the pipeline outside.

When:  1:30 PM
Monday, February 10 th 2014

Where: Administration Building 4 th Floor
One Courthouse Square
Kissimmee, Florida 34741
407-742-2000

Why: Spectra Energy, which had compressor station leaks in Maine last month and in Pennsylvania last year, plus multiple fines by Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for corrosion and leaks, and a record $15 million EPA fine for PCB contamination, proposes a hundred-foot-wide gash through our lands for their huge 36 inch Sabal Trail gas pipeline from Alabama through Georgia to feed Florida Power and Light (FPL) and Duke Energy for no benefit to local citizens and rate hikes for FPL customers. A one-time payment is not enough Continue reading Question the Sabal Trail pipeline in Osceola County 2014-02-10 →

How does this pipeline benefit the public by taking land from the public?

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Received Sunday on Stranded fossil fuel assets. -jsq

Governmental eminent domain powers have been growing for more than 115 years, to the point where courts have upheld the taking of property from one private owner for the purpose of transferring it to another, as long as it benefits the public. The Natural Gas Act delegates eminent domain powers to the pipeline companies, subject to court approval. However there’s no mechanism in place to dispute the taking. Things to consider:

  • How does this benefit the public by taking land from the public?
  • Is there an irrefutable study that shows this act of taking of private land is justifiable by needs other than capitalistic greed?
  • Also, what about the mineral rights of the property?
  • How many “pipes” or infrastructures can the Pipeline Company sell or lease access to other entities without any future benefits paid to the original land owners?
  • Are all Continue reading How does this pipeline benefit the public by taking land from the public? →

I just don’t think they should be allowed to deface my property –Irvin Allegood to FERC

Colquitt County, Economy, FERC, Georgia, Law, Trees, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Colquitt County landowner Irvin Allegood came to the do-over Sabal Trail Open House in Moultrie 27 January 2014 so he could tell FERC he wasn’t going to allow another pipeline. He wasn’t the only one, but he especially wanted video, so here he is, talking to John Peconom of FERC.

…the existing pipeline comes through the front corner.

I just don’t think that they should be allowed to, basically, to deface my property. …losing that road, if they put two pipelines on my property.

Their first suggestion, was they would destroy… as far as my property was concerned. all of the wooded area. There’s old growth pines in there, the run of a creek. We’re just not going to allow that to happen.

If they put it on the other side of the existing pipeline. I’ve been planning to put my shop out there when I retire in a couple of years.

Here’s the video:


I just don’t think they should be allowed to deface my property –Irvin Allegood to FERC
Video by John S. Quarterman for SpectraBusters.org,
Moultrie, Colquitt County GA, 27 January 2014.

FERC rep. John Peconom then wanted to be sure to get the spelling of Irvin Allegood’s name, and where his property was. It wasn’t on the map hanging right there, so they looked at the maps on Peconom’s laptop. Peconom had no direct response to the basic point of the pipeline defacing property, or tearing down trees.

You can easily see the existing pipeline on google maps: Continue reading I just don’t think they should be allowed to deface my property –Irvin Allegood to FERC →

Central Florida property owner pipeline concerns –GTN

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Injury to workers or local people, limited local resources, property rights, and more concerns all bubbling to the top in central Florida like methane from a deep well.

Briana Harper reported for GTN 29 January 2014, Natural Gas Pipeline Cause Concern for Property Owners,

The Sabal Trail Gas Pipeline is a project more than 400 miles long spanning across three different states. The purpose is to provide domestically-produced natural gas for the southeast region. But this pipeline comes at a cost to property owners. Eminent Domain Attorney Brian Bolves says, “It’s a big scale project that’s coming through the community. It will change the character of a lot of people’s property,there have been a lot of surveyors assessing people’s property and so people have a lot of concerns about the nature of this facility.”

The project will affect Continue reading Central Florida property owner pipeline concerns –GTN →

The Big Picture

Colquitt County, Economy, Environment, FERC, Fracking, Georgia, Hazards, Law, Safety, Solar, Water, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A followup to discussions in Moultrie, GA, 27 January 2014.

From: John S. Quarterman <jsqferc@quarterman.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 17:29:54 -0500
cc: John S. Quarterman <jsqferc@quarterman.org>
To: John Peconom <john.peconom@ferc.gov>
Subject: Re: Contact and the Big Picture

Howdy, and it was good to meet you in Moultrie.

I look forward to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission taking into account the whole big picture, and not just believing assertions by applicant companies without critical review.

Thanks for sending me this boilerplate, which I see appears in many FERC documents:

Any state or local permits issued with respect to the jurisdictional facilities authorized herein must be consistent with the conditions of this certificate. The Commission encourages cooperation between interstate pipelines and local authorities. However, this does not mean that state and local agencies, through application of state or local laws, may prohibit or unreasonably delay the construction of facilities approved by this Commission.

There was no source cited in the boilerplate, does it refer to this? Continue reading The Big Picture →

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 →