Mighty Spectra stopped from drilling for now by local opposition
in Suwannee and Gilchrist Counties, Florida!
Why were they preparing to drill anyway,
when they don’t have a permit,
and haven’t even started the formal permitting process with FERC to get it?
Why have they also been
reported going on property without permission this week in Georgia?
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson,
president of Our Santa Fe River (OSFR),
reports:
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Sabal has started to stake the ground as to where to put what is
called a drilling station. There are plans to put one station in
Gilchrist and one in Suwannee. They intend to dig a tunnel under the
river bed
by directional bore drilling to connect the 2 sites. There have been
NO permits issued for any of this; experts have not had time to
review all the pertinent information on historical resources,
biology, geology, etc… Residents in Gilchrist have not even signed
papers allowing them access to their land for surveying purposes and
now they are staking for core drilling samples!
Sabal is presently staking Gilchrist Cypress Shores property and
plans to drill for core material so that they understand what is
under the ground when they plan to bring in the heavy drilling
equipment (years from now). Cart before the horse. The FERC has not
even decided this is the route. We have important information that
shows this is a Springs system and should not be put here and will
present at scoping meetings.
Deborah Hogan called me last night to tell me Sabal will “stand
down” till they have more information in the Suwannee County side.
Sabal believes they are in the clear to do bore hole samples for
directional drilling to put a drilling platform that will go under
the River and connect to other side.
Sabal has no need to do these core samples now. to find their site
location. There has been no approval of this route. The
Environmental Impact Study EIS, has not been completed. The scoping
meetings have not been done.
OSFR has also contacted Suwannee River Water Management District and
Gilchrist County Administrator, Bobby Crosby, to stop the Gilchrist
core sampling.
OSFR has called the following people for more info and to get them
to stop.
Deborah Hogan, Sabal survey representative, 1-305-433-1700
and
John Peconom, FERC, 1-202-502-6352
Merrillee adds:
Environmental lawyer that represents IREPA,
Christopher Byrd, also
takes credit for stopping Sabal for the moment.
Maybe people would like to mention this at the
Suwannee County Commission meeting 6PM Tuesday 18 March 2014.
The FERC Scoping Meetings
go to Florida that same day, starting in Lake Wales and heading up to
north Florida the following week.
And you can
file ecomments with FERC
at any time.
-jsq
On 14 November 2013 the U.S. DoE’s Office of Fossil Energy
approved LNG export authority for a company located
next to the end of the Transco-Sabal Trail-FSC pipeline
in Martin County, Florida,
right where FPL is already building another pipeline to the sea.
All the time since then Spectra and FERC have been saying the Sabal Trail
pipeline is not for export.
FERC’s whole rationale
for federal eminent domain
for this pipeline is that Florida needs the power.
If the methane is really for export,
what excuse is there for federal eminent domain?
Friday 15 November 2013, the next day after that LNG authorization, Continue reading Floridian LNG Export approved last November, before Sabal Trail Open Houses or FERC Scoping Meetings 
