Category Archives: Pennsylvania

State and local permitting for Sabal Trail pipeline

August 24, 2014Alabama, FERC, FL PSC, Florida, Georgia, Jefferson County, Law, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, PHMSA, WaterAlabama, FERC, FL PSC, FL-DEP, Florida, Florida Southeast Connection, FPL, FSC, GA EPD, GA PSC, Georgia, John S. Quarterman, Law, permit, Sabal Trail Transmission, Santa Fe River, Southeast Market Pipelines Project, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Suwannee River, Suwannee River Water Management District, Williams Company, Withlacoochee RiverJohn S. Quarterman

The Florida Public Service Commission has a special say in the Southeast Market Pipelines Project because the Florida Southeast Connection (FSC) leg of this pipeline is completely inside Florida and completely owned by FPL, a Florida regulated electric utility. And Florida has a say because the entire excuse for the three-part Transco -> Sabal Trail -> FSC project is that supposedly Florida needs the power (it doesn’t, but that’s the excuse). FPL is getting so desperate for public acceptance of this boondoggle they pressed their own CEO, Eric Silagy, into attempting to rebut Our Santa Fe River’s latest entry in the op-ed debate.

Sabal Trail and FERC would like everyone to believe state regulators have no say, but that’s just not true. It’s not even clear GA PSC has no say, considering that Continue reading State and local permitting for Sabal Trail pipeline →

Williams Atlantic Sunrise to feed fracked methane to Sabal Trail: Videos of Scoping Meetings

August 18, 2014Economy, FERC, Fracking, Law, LNG, PennsylvaniaAtlantic Sunrise, Economy, FERC, FPL, Fracking, Hillabee Expansion Project, John S. Quarterman, Law, methane, NextEra Energy, Pennsylvania, PF14-6, PF14-8, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

FERC’s scoping meetings seem just as much a farce at the other end of Williams’ Transco pipeline from the Hillabee Expansion (PF14-6) that would feed Spectra’s Sabal Trail (PF14-1), Williams is pushing its Atlantic Sunrise Project (PF14-8) to suck up more Marcellus Shale fracked methane from Pennsylvania and ship it down here to Alabama, Georgia, and Florida and out through LNG export. Activists up there videoed several Pennsylvania Scoping Meetings, so you can see the show for yourself.

Don’t believe me that Atlantic Sunrise is to feed Sabal Trail; believe Housley Carr in Oil & Gas Financial Journal 17 january 1014, MIAMI 2017 – MARCELLUS GAS HEADING TO FLORIDA, Continue reading Williams Atlantic Sunrise to feed fracked methane to Sabal Trail: Videos of Scoping Meetings →

Community Bill of Rights against pipelines

July 20, 2014FERC, Law, PennsylvaniaAtlantic Sunrise Pipeline Project, CELDF, Community Bill of Rights, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, corruption, FERC, FPL, Law, Sane Energy Project, Shale Justice Coalition, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Williams Company, zoningJohn S. Quarterman

Local governments can fight pipelines, even though FERC is funded by the companies it regulates and basically acts as a marketing firm for them, which is why FERC has only denied two pipelines. Pass a community bill of rights. And dare Spectra or FPL or Williams or whoever to challenge it in court.

John Trallo wrote for Sane Energy Project 7 July 2014, FERC and the Regulatory Trap

That is not to say that citizens should not get involved with the FERC regulatory process. You should, to get on record. You just have to also act outside the FERC process on the local municipality level to zone it out, or make it too expensive for the operator.

The ideal way to stop pipelines is by establishing a Community Bill of Rights that essentially “zones out” this kind of activity, or restricts it and establishes safety standards and set-backs in such a way that it is no longer economically worthwhile for an operator to build. The concept of a Community Bill of Rights has been championed by Continue reading Community Bill of Rights against pipelines →

Arrests at anti-fracking FERC sit-in protest

July 20, 2014FERC, Law, LNG, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginiaarrest, ccan, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Cove Point, DC, FERC, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Politics, protest, Sane Energy Project, sit-in, SpectraBusters, VirginiaJohn S. Quarterman

225 years after the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, an activist dressed as the Statue of Liberty, a French gift to the United States, was one of 24 arrested in front of FERC, protesting fracking, pipelines, and LNG export.

Brandon Baker wrote for EcoWatch 14 July 2014, 24 Anti-Fracking Activists Arrested in Washington at First-Ever FERC Sit-In Protest,

Twenty-four anti-fracking activists were arrested Monday morning in Washington D.C. in protest of proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals in the U.S., according to environmental groups tweeting from the scene.

The protest centered on Cove Point, an export terminal that Continue reading Arrests at anti-fracking FERC sit-in protest →

March on FERC against Cove Point LNG exports 2014-07-13

July 20, 2014FERC, Law, LNG, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginiaccan, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Cove Point, DC, FERC, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Politics, Sane Energy Project, SpectraBusters, VirginiaJohn S. Quarterman

Opposition to fracking, pipelines, and LNG export is nationwide and growing. One week ago, activists from Maryland, DC, and Virginia marched on Washington to demand an end to plans for exporting fracked methane from Maryland.

Mike Tidwell wrote for Chesapeake Climate Action Network (ccan) 15 July 2014, ALL ABOUT UNITY: THANK YOU AND ONWARD FROM THE STOP GAS EXPORTS RALLY,

Wow. On Sunday, the heat scorching the streets of DC was palpable. But, even more so, was the passion and power of our movement. THANKS to everyone who turned out to say NO to fracking, NO to gas exports at Cove Point, NO to runaway climate change, and YES to real clean energy solutions.

Click here to check out all the photos on Facebook, and share them to spread the word!

We know the gas industry is all about division — blasting apart the rock beneath our earth, running pipelines through our towns, and further disrupting our fragile climate — now to ship the gas overseas for higher profit.
Continue reading March on FERC against Cove Point LNG exports 2014-07-13 →

Pipeline EIA insufficient without interstate highway option –EPA

June 16, 2014Constitution Pipeline, EPA, FE, FERC, Hazards, Law, New York, PennsylvaniaConstitution Pipeline, EPA, FERC, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Judy-Ann Mitchell, New York, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

If FERC needs to consider an interstate highway route for the Constitution Pipeline through Pennsylvania and New York State, it also needs to consider running down I-75 through Georgia and Florida for the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline. Just as numerous state and federal agencies insisted on that in New York and Pennsylvania, state agencies in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida and the same federal agencies can insist on the same for the Transco -> Sabal Trail -> FSC 100-foot-wide gash to the sea.

Joe Mahoney wrote for The Daily Star 17 April 2014, EPA deems pipeline study ‘insufficient’,

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that a draft report on the environmental impacts of the proposed Constitution Pipeline is “insufficient,” and that a potential option of co-locating the transmission line along Interstate 88 “has Continue reading Pipeline EIA insufficient without interstate highway option –EPA →

FERC has to consider cumulative pipeline effects

June 7, 2014Alabama, Environment, FERC, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, Law, LNG, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, SolarAlabama, court, cumulative, Delaware Riverkeeper, environment, FERC, Florida, Florida Southeast Connection, Fracking, Georgia, Hillabee Expansion Project, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Sierra Club, solar, SONAT, Southeast Market Pipelines Project, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

Would this U.S. Court of Appeals ruling mean FERC needs to consider the cumulative effects of the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline on the same properties as the existing SONAT pipeline? And what about those LNG export authorizations FERC has repeatedly claimed it knows nothing about? And how can FERC justify that project at all, given that solar power is faster, cheaper, and far less environmentally damaging?

Katie Colaneri wrote for NPR 6 June 2014, Court rules federal regulators must consider cumulative impacts of pipeline project,

Regulators violated federal law by not considering the cumulative environmental impacts of multiple upgrades to a natural gas pipeline that runs from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, a federal appeals court said on Friday.

Three environmental groups argued the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should not have been allowed to conduct an environmental review for one expansion project on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline without considering three other proposed upgrades on the same line.

The U.S. Court of Appeals agreed.

The judges ruled that FERC failed “to include any meaningful analysis of the cumulative impacts of the upgrade projects.” The judges also found Continue reading FERC has to consider cumulative pipeline effects →

Explain why the gas is needed –EPA to FERC

April 23, 2014Environment, FERC, Florida, Law, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Watercaves, Clean Air Act, CO2, environment, EPA, export, FERC, FGT, Florida, Florida Gas Transmission, Gulf of Mexico, Gulfstream, John S. Quarterman, karst, landfill, Law, limestone, LNG, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Port Dolphin, SpectraBusters, swamp, Tennessee, Texas, Transco, Water, wetlands, WilliamsJohn S. Quarterman

EPA isn’t buying FPL’s need for new power in Florida,

or that methane is better than many alternatives (including that renewable energy sources should be considered together, not separately), or that a pipeline is the best way to get gas (specifically suggesting Port Dolphin instead), or that any of the proposed routes are appropriate, not to mention catching inconsistent numbers of compressor stations and asking to see any non-FPL customers. And EPA asked for GIS data, as well as further information on water withdrawals and water re-emitted into the environment. My favorite is this one:

EPA recommends FERC provide in the EIS readable and comprehensible maps and figures, and clearly describe all potential impacts with the proposed action upon children’s health. For example, maps of schools, day-care facilities, multifamily housing, and hospitals should have different legend colors and be created at scales providing appropriate information, i.e., proximity of sensitive receptors to the navigation and transportation corridors.

FERC shows EPA’s comments as filed 23 April 2014, although they are dated two days earlier. -jsq

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Continue reading Explain why the gas is needed –EPA to FERC →

Spectra fined $18.6 million + $200 million cleanup for PCBs by Pennsylvania in 1991

April 21, 2014Corrosion, Economy, Environment, Fracking, Health, Law, Leak, Pennsylvania, Safety10-K, cancer, contamination, corrosion, Economy, environment, EPA, fine, Fracking, Health, John S. Quarterman, Law, leak, Marcellus Shale, PCB, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, SEC, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Texas Eastern Pipeline, toxicJohn S. Quarterman

That 1989 $15 million fine against Spectra for leaking PCBs at 89 pipeline locations was a record for EPA at that time, but Pennsylvania topped it a few years later.

Russell E. Eshleman Jr. wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer 15 May 1991, Pipeline Firm To Pay $218.6 Million For Pcb Contamination Across Pa.,

Texas Eastern Pipeline Corp. has agreed to pay Pennsylvania $18.6 million in penalties and $200 million in cleanup costs for dumping PCBs at 19 sites across the state, the Casey administration announced yesterday….

Remember, Texas Eastern is part of Spectra Energy now.

Penn. had asked for even more than it got, so it got enough: Continue reading Spectra fined $18.6 million + $200 million cleanup for PCBs by Pennsylvania in 1991 →

Sierra Club Chapters Oppose Sabal Trail Gas Pipeline

March 4, 2014Alabama, Economy, Environment, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, Hazards, Pennsylvania, Solar, Texas, Trees, Watercritical wildlife habitat, drinking water, efficiency, electricity, endangered species, Floridian Aquifer, forests, longleaf pine, property rights, rivers, Sabal Trail Transmission, shale, Sierra Club, Spectra Energy, springs, streams, wetlandsJohn S. Quarterman

The nation’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization opposes the Sabal Trail pipeline. Sierra Club PR today (and read to FERC):

TRI-STATE SIERRA CLUB CHAPTERS OPPOSE GAS PIPELINE
Statement of the Georgia, Florida, and Alabama Sierra Club
Chapters Opposing the Sabal Trail Pipeline
Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Contact:

Seth Gunning, Georgia Sierra Club, (404)-607-1262, seth.gunning@sierraclub.org
Bob Hastings, Alabama Sierra Club, bhastings@knology.net

ATLANTA, GA—The Georgia, Florida, and Alabama Chapters of the Sierra Club oppose the 650 mile Sabal Trail Transmission natural gas pipeline that would carry fracked natural gas extracted from Pennsylvania and Texas through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC is a joint venture between Spectra Energy Partners, LLC and and NextEra Energy, Inc. Spectra Energy and its related companies have been fined repeatedly for safety and environmental violations throughout the United States including one fine of $15,000,000.

The proposed pipeline would cut a wide swath through pristine lands with resulting negative impacts on endangered species, critical wildlife habitat, invaluable wetlands, Continue reading Sierra Club Chapters Oppose Sabal Trail Gas Pipeline →