Tag Archives: EPA

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 →

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

February 6, 2014Economy, Environment, FERC, Florida, Hazards, Law, Osceola County, Solarconservation, Duke Energy, EAOAU, Economy, efficiency, environment, Environmental Awareness Organization of Auburn University, EPA, FERC, Florida, Florida Power & Light, FPL, Hazards, Kissimmee, Law, Monica Martin, Occupy the Pipeline, Osceola County, PHMSA, profit, rate hike, S.A.V.E., Sabal Trail Transmission, Sane Energy Project: Shale Property Rights, Sierra Club, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Stop the Pipeline, Students Against Violating the Environment, WACE, Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy, WWALS Watershed CoalitionJohn S. Quarterman

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 →

Spectra Energy — Be the Best it Can Be –Mike Benard

December 16, 2013Dougherty County, Georgia, Lowndes County, Pennsylvania, Texas9 December 2013, Andrea Grover, Brian Fahrenthold, compressor, Dougherty County, EPA, Ethics, Georgia, Government, Greg Ebel, Gretchen Quarterman, History, Houston, John S. Quarterman, LAKE, Law, LCC, leak, Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, Lowndes County, Lowndes County Commission, Mike Benard, natural gas, Pennsylvania, PHMSA, pipeline, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Steckman Ridge, Texas, transparency, Valdosta, VDT, WALB, Work SessionJohn S. Quarterman

Mike Benard sent this today to Spectra’s Andrea Grover, copied to a long list of news media and local, state, and federal elected and appointed officials and employees. For local background, see Spectra reps unfamiliar with Spectra fines @ LCC 2013-12-09. -jsq

Ms. Grover:

Those of us property owners who are already Spectra Energy “stakeholders” (the company’s term), want Spectra Energy to be the best it can be, consistent with its publicly stated commitment to Stakeholder Engagement, Integrity, Transparency, and Accountability.

Reference link: http://www.spectraenergy.com/Sustainability/Economic/Acting-with-Integrity/

To that end, and regarding your activities as a “Director of Stakeholder Outreach” on behalf of Spectra Energy’s proposed Sabal Trail pipeline, property owners in Georgia report that you are asserting the following at public meetings:

• You assert that property owners at Spectra Energy’s Steckman Ridge compressor facility in Bedford County, PA are “happy” despite ongoing problems there and a consistent lack of response from Spectra Energy to its “stakeholders.”

FACT: I speak for more than a dozen families who live next to or near the problematic compressor facility; and your statement is incorrect and misleading. What facts do you have to support such a disingenuous allegation? A ring of health, water and operational complaints surround this facility that began operations in 2009. Based on unofficial record keeping by neighbors, there have been nearly 60 shutdowns, blowdowns and related incidents at the Steckman Ridge compressor station and underground natural gas storage facility between August 2009 and the present. And there is much more, as you know.

• You assert that uncontrolled releases of methane and other hydrocarbons that happen too frequently at the Steckman Ridge compressor facility are “normal.” Let’s hope not. Your assertion is uninformed and misleading.

FACT: Recall the March 9-10 incident Continue reading Spectra Energy — Be the Best it Can Be –Mike Benard →

Only 50 feet? Sabal Trail in Alexander City, AL

November 18, 2013Alabama, Dougherty County, Georgia, Lowndes County, Tallapoosa CountyAlabama, Alexander City, Andrea Grover, Anniston, Dougherty County, EPA, Georgia, Lowndes County, PCB, PHMSA, property damage, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Tallapoosa CountyJohn S. Quarterman

How is that “additional 50 feet of construction lane” temporary after you’ve torn down all the trees, Sabal Trail? And the route you’re showing Alexander City goes through Valdosta, while around here you’re telling us a different route. You told a Lowndes County resident you could also build feeder pipelines, yet the Alexander City story doesn’t mention anything about that. Which of your stories should we believe, Sabal Trail?

Robert Hudson wrote for alexcityOutlook.co 13 November 2013, Citizens hear about proposed gas pipeline,

The proposed corridor is 600 feet wide, but once surveys are done, that area will be decreased to some 50 feet.
“At the end of the day, should our project be approved, that comes down to only being 50 feet,” Grover said. “Then there will also be an additional 50 feet of construction lane that will be temporary so that they can build the pipeline in that easement.”

Let’s go back a month and a few hundred miles south to what Brad McEwen wrote in the Albany Herald 20 October 2013, Continue reading Only 50 feet? Sabal Trail in Alexander City, AL →