Tag Archives: Dougherty County

Silent protest against Sabal Trail in Albany, GA

July 12, 2015Compressor, Dougherty County, Explosion, FERC, Georgia, LeakAndrea Grover, Chad Warbington, compressor, Darrel Ealum, Dinorah Hall, Dougherty County, Ewell Lyle, explosion, FERC, Georgia, John S. Quarterman, leak, Maine, Roger Marietta, Searsmont, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

Albany and Dougherty County are more opposed than ever to the invader from Houston.

Carlton Fletcher, Albany Herald, 11 July 2015, Silent protest focuses on pipeline issues: Citizens gather to oppose natural gas pipeline, compressor station,

Even as a group of around 50 anti-pipeline activists gathered Saturday for a “silent protest” near the proposed site of a compressor station that would be part of the 460-mile Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline, an assumed candidate for Continue reading Silent protest against Sabal Trail in Albany, GA →

Deny Sabal Trail, said U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, and FERC ignored him

June 19, 2015Agriculture, Alabama, Compressor, Dougherty County, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Hazards, Law, Lee County, Safety, Stewart County, WaterAgriculture, Air, Alabama, Albany, aquifer, compressor, Dougherty County, eminent domain, FERC, FGT, Florida, Florida Gas Transmission, GDOT, Georgia, Georgia Department of Transportation, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, karst, Kinder Morgan, KMI, Law, lawsuit, Lee County, Mitchell County, noise, Palmetto Pipeline, pollution, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, Sanford Bishop, sinkhole, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Stewart County, Transco, trespass, Water, Webster CountyJohn S. Quarterman

Citing the GDOT denial of KMI’s Palmetto Pipeline and numerous specific hazards of Spectra Energy’s proposed Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline (sinkholes in karst limestone and a compressor station next to Albany’s water wells, all for no benefit to Georgia, by a company with a poor safety record), U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA-02) wrote to FERC (PDF):

I believe that FERC should deny STT’s application for a Certificate of Public Necessity.

And he told FERC to tell Sabal Trail to stop suing his constituents for eminent domain.

A year after Rep. Bishop listened in Albany for two hours to complaints about Sabal Trail, Dougherty County and Albany, Georgia filed followup letters to their resolutions against that pipeline. Neither FERC nor Sabal Trail answered them, so their Representative in the U.S. Congress forwarded their letters with that sharp cover letter. Three weeks later, FERC still hasn’t even filed his letter in their e-comment system, much less responded to it.

Just how lawless is FERC, anyway? Doesn’t a member of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations give them pause? Continue reading Deny Sabal Trail, said U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, and FERC ignored him →

FERC still stonewalling Dougherty County Commission and landowners about Sabal Trail

June 19, 2015Agriculture, Dougherty County, FERC, Hazards, Law, Safety, Trees, WaterAgriculture, air quality, Dougherty County, Dougherty County Commission, economic justice, FERC, forests, geology, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Law, Ned, noise, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, soil, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Trees, Water, wetlands, wildlifeJohn S. Quarterman

It’s not a short list; basically nothing Dougherty County previously asked has been answered by Sabal Trail or FERC:

They have not addressed the issues of (1) potential effects on geology and soil, (2) impacts on water resources and wetlands, (3) impacts on vegetation, forests, fisheries, wildlife and threatened species, (4) cumulative impacts, (5) public safety concerns, (6) purpose and need for the proposed pipeline, (7) alternatives to the preferred route, (8) air quality and noise and (9) socioeconomic factors – environmental justice.

Filed with FERC 6 April 2015 as Accession Number: 20150406-5144, “Comment of Dougherty County, Georgia under CP15-17.” Continue reading FERC still stonewalling Dougherty County Commission and landowners about Sabal Trail →

Albany wells in Sabal Trail’s path

June 19, 2015Dougherty County, FERC, Hazard, WaterAlbany, Dougherty County, FERC, Hazard, John S. Quarterman, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Water, water supply, wellsJohn S. Quarterman

Does FERC care about Albany and Dougherty County’s water supply?

Filed with FERC 19 May 2015 as Accession Number: 20150519-5141, “Letter of concern for City of Albany’s water supply under CP15-17”:

City of Albany
POST OFFICE BOX 447
Albany, Georgia
31702-0447
Via Electronic Filing
May 19, 2015
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, N.E., Room 1A
Washington, D.C. 20426
RE: Southeast Market Pipelines Project
Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC
Docket No. CP15-17-000
Docket No. CP14-16-000
Docket No. CP14-554-000
Dear Secretary Bose:
We wish to point out a special feature Continue reading Albany wells in Sabal Trail’s path →

Sabal Trail repeatedly sent letters to landowners claiming Georgia eminent domain authority –SpectraBusters to judge

April 17, 2015Brooks County, Colquitt County, Dougherty County, Georgia, Law, Lee County, Lowndes County, Stewart CountyAlton Paul Burns, Bell, Brooks County, Case number 14CV208RS, Colquitt County, criminal trespass, Dougherty County, eminent domain, Georgia, John S. Quarterman, Judge Rucker Smith, Law, Lee County, Leesburg, Lowndes County, Mitchell County, O.C.G.A. 22-3-88, SpectraBusters, Stewart County, trespassJohn S. Quarterman

SpectraBusters sent examples of Sabal Trail’s many threats of eminent domain, in this letter to Leesburg for the ongoing eminent domain and criminal trespass trial.

Re: Case number 14CV208RS
Judge Rucker Smith

To: Cindy Clark
Civil Deputy Clerk
County Courthouse
100 Leslie Highway
Leesburg, Georgia 31763

If it please the court,

SpectraBusters, Inc. is a Georgia nonprofit corporation with board members and other participants in all three states directly affected by the Sabal Trail proposed pipeline: Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. The SpectraBusters board voted Monday March 30th 2015 to send this letter to the court to express our concerns about Sabal Trail’s attempts to claim Georgia eminent domain long before it tried to claim customers in Georgia, as well as possible ill effects throughout the pipeline route, especially in Georgia, if the judge were to rule in this case for application of Georgia eminent domain. Even with Sabal Trail’s claimed agreement with the Metropolitan Gas Authority of Georgia (MGAG), Sabal Trail is still “a long way” Continue reading Sabal Trail repeatedly sent letters to landowners claiming Georgia eminent domain authority –SpectraBusters to judge →

Georgia has no use for new pipelines –AJC

April 6, 2015Colquitt County, Compressor, Dougherty County, Environment, Georgia, Law, Lowndes County, WaterAtlanta, Atlanta Gas Light, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Colquitt County, compressor, conservation, Coweta County, Dalton Expansion Project, Dan Chapman, Dan Coleman, Don Theime, Dougherty County, environment, Georgia, Greenlaw, Houston, John S. Quarterman, Law, Lowndes County, Palmetto Pipeline, Palmetto Project, pipeline, Push Back the Pipeline, river, Sabal Trail Transmission, Savannah Riverkeeper, south Georgia, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Steve Caley, Ted Turner, Texas, Transco, Water, watershed, Williams Company, Withlacoochee River, WWALS, WWALS Watershed CoalitionJohn S. Quarterman

Four pipeline projects surround Atlanta, and Georgia’s governor won’t comment. Spectra’s Andrea Grover did, though, saying the Albany compressor station would be no louder than “a modern-day dishwasher.”

Dan Chapman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3 April 2015, Pipeline project fuels fight on state’s future,

VALDOSTA — Southwest Georgia is roiling mad over a proposed gas pipeline to Florida that virtually nobody in Atlanta, except Ted Turner, has heard about.

John Carlton looks over a gopher tortoise hole a few feet away from a 1954 easement for an 8 inch natural gas line on his property at Morrison Pines Plantation in Moultrie. The planned Sabel Trail pipeline would run 50 feet over from the existing line. Carlton is undecided on the proposal.
Photograph credit: Curtis Compton, AJC

Electric Power & Light has more of the text: Continue reading →

EPA natural gas greenhouse gas reporting proposed rule 2014-12-09

January 14, 2015Climate Change, Compressor, Environment, EPA, Law, LeakAlbany, Climate Change, compressor, Dougherty County, environment, EPA, FPL, Georgia, Government, greenhouse gas, John S. Quarterman, Law, leak, pipeline, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

There’s still time to comment on one methane rule proposed by the EPA, which was partly prompted by outside comment to start with. So far, the only comments are by fossil fuel industry consortiums. Why should they have all the fun? Here’s how to post your own comments. And there may be another rule announced today.

Posted by the EPA, 9 December 2014, Greenhouse Gas Reporting: 2015 Revisions and Confidentiality Determinations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems,

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing revisions and confidentiality determinations for the petroleum and natural gas systems source category of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. In particular, the EPA is proposing to add calculation methods and reporting requirements for greenhouse gas emissions from gathering and boosting facilities, completions and workovers of oil wells with hydraulic fracturing, and blowdowns of natural gas transmission pipelines between compressor stations. The EPA is also proposing well identification reporting requirements to improve the EPA’s ability to verify reported data and enhance transparency. This action also proposes confidentiality determinations for new data elements contained in these proposed amendments.

Pipelines between compressor stations would affect the compressor stations proposed for the Sabal Trail pipeline. The proposed rule also spells out in numerous places that it’s about distribution pipelines, too. And the proposed rule was partly motivated by requests from concerned parties: Continue reading EPA natural gas greenhouse gas reporting proposed rule 2014-12-09 →

Sinkholes and compressor hazardous waste: motion to intervene against Sabal Trail –GCCC

December 29, 2014Compressor, Dougherty County, Environment, FERC, Georgia, Law, WaterAlbany, Chattahoochee River, compressor, Dougherty County, environment, FERC, Flint River, GCCC, Georgia, Georgia Climate Change Coalition, John S. Quarterman, Law, SpectraBusters, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

Sinkholes opening under the Flint or Chattahoochee Rivers, more hazardous waste from the proposed Albany, Georgia compressor station, these are a few of the things the Georgia Climate Change Coalition moved to intervene to prevent Sabal Trail Transmission from doing wiht its proposed pipeline.

It is highly likely that this pipeline would suffer from malfunction and damage, as the region it would cross is typically prone to the spontaneous opening of sink holes, such that would cause an infrastructure project of this type to fail….
The construction and operation of the compressor facility in Albany Georgia would contribute to the hazardous waste produced by Georgia’s existing electricity infrastructure.

Here’s how to file a motion to intervene with FERC.

GCCC filed with FERC 26 December 2014 as Accession Number: 20141226-5005, “(doc-less) Motion to Intervene of Georgia Climate Change Coalition under CP15-17, et. al..”

Submission Description: (doc-less) Motion to Intervene of Georgia Climate Change Coalition under CP15-17-000, et. al..
Submission Date: 12/24/2014 10:56:07 PM
Filed Date: 12/26/2014 8:30:00 AM
Dockets
CP15-17-000 Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC submits its Abbreviated Application for Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity and Related Authorizations for the Sabal Trail Project – Volumes I, III, and IV. CP15-16-000 Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC submits an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for its Hillabee Expansion Project CP14-554-000 Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and for Related Authorizations of Florida Southeast Connection, LLC under CP14-
Filing Party/Contacts: Filing Party, Signer (Representative), Other Contact (Principal)
Georgia Climate Change Coalition athenscompost@gmail.com
Basis for Intervening:
The Georgia Climate Change Coalition seeks to intervene in the permitting process of the Sabal Trail Transmissions natural gas pipeline because of many obvious threats the construction poses to our natural environment in Georgia, and in other states as well. In Georgia the Sabal Trail pipeline would cross both the Flint and the Chattahoochee Rivers, and their watersheds. The Flint river is the most endangered river in Georgia. Construction of the pipeline would greatly disturb these water systems. Both these river systems provides drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people as well as providing wildlife habitat.
It is highly likely that this pipeline would suffer from malfunction and damage, as the region it would cross is typically prone to the spontaneous opening of sink holes, such that would cause an infrastructure project of this type to fail. The region is known as the Karst limestone aquatic system, and the aquifer would be polluted by a natural gas spill from this pipeline.
Another pressing concern of the Georgia Climate Change Coalition regards the proposed compressor station in Albany Georgia. As a statewide coalition we are concerned with the effects of climate change and pollution on Georgia as a whole. We are most concerned by the fact that the facility would operate on electricity generated by Georgia’s coal-fired power grid. Georgia is home to the dirtiest coal fired power plants in our nation, and is among the ten dirtiest places in the world due to the particulate ash and water pollution generated by our coal fired power plants. The construction and operation of the compressor facility in Albany Georgia would contribute to the hazardous waste produced by Georgia’s existing electricity infrastructure.

-jsq

Albany, MGAG, and Brooks County, GA moved to intervene with Sabal Trail

December 24, 2014Brooks County, Dougherty County, FERC, Georgia, LawAlbany, Brooks County, Dougherty County, eminent domain, FERC, Georgia, intervene, John S. Quarterman, Law, MGAG, Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

Yesterday’s crop of intervenors included Brooks County, Georgia, Albany Audubon Society, and Albany, Georgia, the county seat of Dougherty County, which filed the previous day, Today’s the deadline! Here’s how to file a motion to intervene.

Plus yesterday the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia (MGAG) filed. MGAG is the customer Sabal Trail claimed in Georgia so it could try to exercise Georgia eminent domain. Sabal Trail said Dougherty and Colquitt were the counties despite both Dougherty County and Albany having already passed resolutions wanting no Sabal Trail in their city, county, or state, Colquitt County having passed a resolution against the pipeline, and the Mayor of Moultrie saying on WCTV that Moultrie had never been asked if they needed or wanted any gas.

Maybe today we’ll see motions to intervene by Lowndes County and Valdosta, both of which have passed resolutions against the pipeline.

That Brooks County motion is hard to find, being filed as Continue reading Albany, MGAG, and Brooks County, GA moved to intervene with Sabal Trail →

A flood of motions to intervene filed: still two days to go to Sabal Trail deadline

December 22, 2014Alabama, Dougherty County, FERC, Florida, Georgia, LawAlabama, Dougherty County, Duke Energy, FERC, Florida, Florida Southeast Connection, FPL, FSC, Georgia, Hillabee Expansion Project, John S. Quarterman, Law, motion to intervene, Sabal Trail Transmission, Southern Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

The trickle turns to a flood of motions to intervene being filed for the FERC dockets of Sabal Trail, Transco’s Hillabee Expansion Project, and Florida Southeast Connection. Two elected county governments have filed, one of them in all three dockets. Other counties and cities and even states can dod the same.

Be sure to file in all three dockets: CP15-17, CP15-16, and CP14-554. It’s not enough to list them in your filing documents or description: you must file them on each docket. If you don’t find your filing in FERC’s docket search for each of the three dockets, you need to go back and file again in the other dockets. Here’s how to file for multiple dockets in a single Continue reading A flood of motions to intervene filed: still two days to go to Sabal Trail deadline →