Tag Archives: Florida

New Brunswick natives win against fracking company

It sure looks like all Cowboys and Indians as far as fossil fuel companies are concerned, and the only Cowboys are the fossil fuel executives and investors. First Nations just won a temporary victory in New Brunswick, Canada against fracking company SWN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwestern Energy of Houston, Texas. Landowners and other pipeline opponents in the U.S. southeast maybe can stop a methane pipeline that could well connect all the way up to those same contested shale fields in New Brunswick.

APTN national news wrote yesterday, SWN ending exploration work in NB, will be back in 2015: Elsipogtog War Chief Levi,

ELSIPGOTG FIRST NATION, NB—A Houston-based energy company that has faced ferocious resistance from a Mi’kmaq-led coalition is ending its shale gas exploration work for the year, says Elsipogtog War Chief John Levi.

Levi said Friday that the RCMP informed him that SWN Resources Canada is ending its exploration work, but will return in 2015.

SWN is not Spectra Energy. SWN fracks for gas; Spectra mostly transports it in pipelines. But look at Spectra’s own map, Our Portfolio of Assets: Continue reading New Brunswick natives win against fracking company

Live Oak and Branford Open Houses: Suwannee County and Levy County

This newspaper didn’t mention Suwannee County, Florida may be getting a compressor station. And remember, the proposed pipeline path crosses the Withlacoochee River a second time just before crossing the Suwannee River to enter Suwannee County.

All of the Open Houses required by FERC, are listed on the calendar. They resume Monday evening in Lumpkin, GA and Williston, FL. Before that, Monday morning, the Lowndes County Commission, Georgia, is having Spectra speak at their 8:30 AM Monday 9 December Work Session, to answer questions submitted in advance by the public.

Suwannee Democrat, 30 November 2013, Public invited to proposed gas pipeline open house events,

Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC will be hosting two open house meetings for the interested public to learn more about the underground natural gas pipeline project that is proposed to come through Suwannee County.

The public is invited to attend the meetings on Tuesday, Dec. 3, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Coliseum (11th Street/Fairgrounds) in Live Oak and on Wednesday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Branford High School (405 S Reynolds St., Branford).

They also included “As previously reported by the Suwannee Democrat”:

Natural gas pipeline to extend 40 miles in Suwannee County

500 landowners could be affected

By Bryant Thigpen

bryant.thigpen@gaflnews.com

Sabal Trail Transmission has announced their intent to construct a natural gas pipeline which will run approximately 40 miles in Suwannee County, according to Andrea Grover, spokesperson for Sabal Trail Transmission. Plans are underway to construct a natural gas pipeline from North Alabama to Central Florida and could be constructed as early as Summer 2016.

If the proposed map remains unchanged, the pipeline is about 470 miles long and will make its way through four Alabama counties, nine Georgia counties and 12 Florida counties, including Suwannee and surrounding Madison and Hamilton counties.

The pipeline will extend for approximately 40 miles in Suwannee County and approximately 500 landowners will be affected by this project. About 100 landowners in Hamilton County will be affected by this project as well.

“The routing is very much not set,” Grover said.

According to Grover, the current proposed route could change, but it will stay within the 600 feet corridor. Grover said the pipeline will run along existing rights-of-way for about 80 percent of the route. When construction begins, the pipeline’s projection path will be narrowed down to a 50 feet corridor.

Really? In Lowndes County, Georgia, at least, “run along” means side-by-side but not on the same easement, so many landowners get a second pipeline gash through their property if we let this happen. And why did Sabal Trail file with FERC all those detailed alternative maps including one for a “Hildreth Compressor Station, Suwannee County, Florida”?


Hildreth Compressor Station, Suwannee County, Florida, in Alternatives, by Sabal Trail Transmission,
for FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, 15 November 2013, converted by SpectraBusters
SABAL TRAIL PROJECT, DRAFT RESOURCE REPORT 10, Alternatives, FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, Initial Pre-Filing Draft, November 2013

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Open Houses in Florida, and Spectra before the Lowndes County Commission in Georgia

There’s a tiny amount of news coverage about the Open Houses required by FERC, all of which are listed on the calendar. The resume Monday evening in Lumpkin, GA and Williston, FL. Before that, Monday morning, the Lowndes County Commission, Georgia, is having Spectra speak at their 8:30 AM Monday 9 December Work Session, to answer questions submitted in advance by the public.

Morgan Watkins wrote for Gainesville.com Wednesday, Public gets chance Thursday to learn more about proposed pipeline,

Sabal Trail Transmission, the company building a 474-mile natural-gas pipeline from Alabama into Florida, has begun a round of open houses for the public and will host one Thursday evening for Alachua and Gilchrist counties.

The open house will run from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Bell High School, located at 930 S. Main St. in Bell, and provide an opportunity for people in the community to learn more about the pipeline that eventually will run through the area.

Or won’t run through, if enough people oppose it. Continue reading Open Houses in Florida, and Spectra before the Lowndes County Commission in Georgia

I’d go ahead and let the gas go into the global market. –T. Boone Pickens

The co-founder of the company building the LNG facility at Jaxport is all for exporting natural gas, even if it means rising domestic prices.

Remember T. Boone Pickens is a co-founder of Clean Energy Co.? Paul Toscano wrote for CNBC 15 May 2013, Boone Pickens on Gas Exports: ‘Move It Out and Sell It’,

“The producers have gone out and drilled for the natural gas. They should be entitled to get the best markets in the world, so let them have it,” Continue reading I’d go ahead and let the gas go into the global market. –T. Boone Pickens

LNG export port at Jacksonville?

Why are Jaxport tenants buying LNG ships and a company that already has an LNG export license? And why is Jaxport so interested in becoming a major player in natural gas? All reports agree this liquid natural gas (LNG) facility is for supplying methane-fueled trucks and buses, and some say its gas will come from a pipeline. But are trucks and buses really the only destination for that pipelined gas, or is it also intended for export, as the U.S. House subcommittee chaired by Ted Poe of Houston (home of Spectra Energy) recently advocated at great length?

Timothy Gibbons wrote for Jacksonville Busines Journal 31 October 2013, LNG plant puts Jacksonville at head of ‘tsunami’ of alternative fuel growth, Continue reading LNG export port at Jacksonville?

Georgia pipeline safety record worse than in Florida

Should we add to Georgia’s string of serious pipeline accidents (worse than Florida’s) by letting a pipeline company with fines for corrosion and leaks from PHMSA and a record fine for PCB spills from EPA gash an even bigger pipeline through our farms and past our towns, churches, and schools?

The data on Florida pipeline accidents in Ichetucknee Alliance’s position paper against the pipeline (the position that got Spectra’s Andrea Grover to say the “preferred” route had moved and “currently” there was no threat to the Ichetucknee River or Columbia County, Florida); that pipeline accident data came from Pipeline Safety Tracker, which finds an even worse pipeline safety record for Georgia: 89 incidents, 7 fatalities, 36 injuries, and $56.3 million in property damage.

Among those Georgia incidents was one near Albany, Georgia, 29 May 2004, caused by “Environmental Cracking Related” which caused $209,447 in property damage. That could be a concern about a proposed pipeline put in by a company whose employees told federal inspectors it never conducted key test for corrosion.

Even worse was this one, Continue reading Georgia pipeline safety record worse than in Florida

Georgia Hillabee (Tift County, Cook County, and Valdosta) route by Sabal Trail

Watch out, Valdosta and Tifton! The Hillabee Georgia alternative route avoids Albany and Russell County, Alabama, by starting in Harris County, Georgia, passing through Muscogee, Talbot, Chattachoochee, Marion, Schley, Sumter, Lee, Worth, Turner, Tift, Cook, and Lowndes Counties before entering Florida in Hamilton County much like Spectra’s preferred route. This is the rest of the Option B that was first proposed to Lowndes County residents back in June.

Hillabee (Valdosta and Tift County) Route Alternative, Georgia

Extracted from Sabal Trail’s one big PDF document, here is PDF and JPG of the Hillabee Georgia alternative route map.

Hillabee (Valdosta and Tift County) Route Alternative, Georgia
Hillabee (Valdosta and Tift County) Route Alternative, Georgia, in Alternatives, by Sabal Trail Transmission, for FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, 15 November 2013, converted by SpectraBusters
SABAL TRAIL PROJECT, DRAFT RESOURCE REPORT 10, Alternatives, FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, Initial Pre-Filing Draft, November 2013
http://spectrabusters.org/ferc/pf14-1-sabal-trail-transmission/update-2013-11-15/draft-resource-report-10-alternatives/

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Florida Panhandle route by Sabal Trail to FERC last Friday

The Florida Panhandle alternative route appears to cross several Georgia rivers by hugging the Georgia-Florida line to avoid the Apalachicola National Forest and the Lake Talquin State Forest in Florida. This looks like the route published in Florida newspapers back in June. It adds Choctaw, Clarke, Monroe, Conecuh, Covington, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, and Houston Counties in Alabama, and Jackson, Gadsden and Jefferson Counties in Florida.

Station 85 Panhandle Alternative, Florida

Extracted from Sabal Trail’s one big PDF document, here is PDF and JPG of the Florida panhandle alternative route map.

Station 85 Panhandle Alternative, Florida
Station 85 Panhandle Alternative, Florida, in Alternatives, by Sabal Trail Transmission, for FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, 15 November 2013, converted by SpectraBusters
SABAL TRAIL PROJECT, DRAFT RESOURCE REPORT 10, Alternatives, FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, Initial Pre-Filing Draft, November 2013
http://spectrabusters.org/ferc/pf14-1-sabal-trail-transmission/update-2013-11-15/draft-resource-report-10-alternatives/

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Alternative routes by Sabal Trail to FERC last Friday

Transportation System Alternatives, Alabama, Georgia, Florida Two, not one, alternative routes, one bypassing Georgia through the Florida Panhandle, and the other through Tift County, Cook County, and Valdosta in Georgia.

Extracted from Sabal Trail’s one big PDF document, here is PDF and JPG of the overview map.

Transportation System Alternatives, Alabama, Georgia, Florida
Transportation System Alternatives, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, in Alternatives, by Sabal Trail Transmission, for FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, 15 November 2013, converted by SpectraBusters
SABAL TRAIL PROJECT, DRAFT RESOURCE REPORT 10, Alternatives, FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, Initial Pre-Filing Draft, November 2013
http://spectrabusters.org/ferc/pf14-1-sabal-trail-transmission/update-2013-11-15/draft-resource-report-10-alternatives/

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Detailed project overview map from Sabal Trail

Project Overview Map in General Project Description Spectra’s filing last Friday with FERC included this PDF overview map that shows more detailed context than was visible in the photographed versions we had before. JPEG image appended for convenience.

More maps will appear in the Draft Resource Report 1 page, extracted from SABAL TRAIL PROJECT, DRAFT RESOURCE REPORT 1, General Project Description, FERC Docket No. PF14-1-000, Initial Pre-Filing Draft, November 2013. Continue reading Detailed project overview map from Sabal Trail