Tag Archives: Hamilton County

Waiting for Ted Yoho FL-03 to ask the Corps for a SEIS like he said he would

Video of Congressman Ted Yoho addressing concerns and agreeing that a Supplemental Environmental Study must be done before Sabal Trail is allowed to proceed after he hiked the proposed Sabal Trail route at which the company claimed the nearest sinkhole was 750′ away of pipeline route.  This “omission” which claimed there were no sinkholes within 750′ of the boring of ST’s pipeline could and most probably will cause damage to Suwannee River, nearby springs, AND millions of people’s sole source of water from the Floridan Aquifer. The original environmental study was Continue reading Waiting for Ted Yoho FL-03 to ask the Corps for a SEIS like he said he would

Sabal Trail on agenda, Hamilton Co., FL, 6PM tomorrow, 2016-03-15

Sabal Trail is back on the agenda for the Hamilton County, Florida Commissioners tomorrow evening. Please go if you’re in the area.

When: 6PM Tuesday
March 15th 2016

Where: Room 112, Courthouse,
207 Northeast First St.
Jasper, Florida

Here’s the agenda.

-jsq

Movie online: At What Cost? Pipelines, Pollution and Eminent Domain in the Rural South

Now streaming online: At What Cost? Pipelines, Pollution and Eminent Domain in the Rural South, by Mark Albertin. And yes, he’s happy for it to be shown elsewhere; just ask, and you can set up a local viewing like in Live Oak last night, or the previous premieres along the Georgia coast.

Most of the issues are the same for Spectra Energy’s invading Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline as for Kinder Morgan’s invading Palmetto petroleum products pipeline that is the subject of the movie. Thanks to Push Back the Pipeline for getting this movie made about Kinder Morgan’s proposed petroleum products pipeline from South Carolina across the Georgia coast to Jacksonville, Florida. Special thanks to Eileen, Lori, and Debra and the Woman’s Club of Live Oak for the movie showing last night, to WWALS Watershed Coalition and the Woman’s Club of Live Oak for hosting, and to Our Santa Fe River, and Gulf Restoration Network for helping promote it.

Don’t forget the hike to the Suwannee River Sabal Trail crossing 8:15 AM Thursday 28 February 2016 with Suwannee and Hamilton County Commissioners.

Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas wants to gouge Sabal Trail from Continue reading Movie online: At What Cost? Pipelines, Pollution and Eminent Domain in the Rural South

We will accept Sabal Trail’s answers –FERC issues certificates

Property rights, environment, or safety? 14% pipeline company profit is more important! said FERC. But this fight is not over.

Page 1 Without ever appearing on FERC’s public calendar, and a month in advance of when FERC previously said, FERC yesterday issued certificates for Sabal Trail, the Transco Hillabee Expansion Project, and Florida Southeast Connection. Trial-style evidentiary hearing? Nope, FERC believes Sabal Trail. Consolidation of the three dockets into one? Nope, everybody should have opposed all three, says FERC. Environmental justice? Hey, demographics don’t matter, pipeline siting is all about engineering and “environmental” issues. And profit. Don’t forget profit for the pipeline companies. Solar power? Nevermind, Continue reading We will accept Sabal Trail’s answers –FERC issues certificates

Citizens oppose Sabal Trail in Albany, Moultrie, and Valdosta this week –WTOC, Albany, GA

Property rights, environment, health, and safety are why citizens oppose Sabal Trail, including tonight in Albany or Tuesday in Moultrie or Wednesday in Valdosta. Be sure to show up by 5:30 PM to sign up to speak.

Caitlyn Chastain, WTOC, 28 September 2015, Public meetings ahead for Sabal Trail Pipeline, starting today,

It’s a project that has gained a lot of attention and a lot of criticism.

Many people are concerned Continue reading Citizens oppose Sabal Trail in Albany, Moultrie, and Valdosta this week –WTOC, Albany, GA

FERC sides with Sabal Trail in DEIS: Surprise!

Anybody who thought FERC would do a real Draft Environmental Impact Statement is disappointed. But they shouldn’t be surprised: FERC, 100% funded by the industries they “regulate”, is a rubberstamp machine. But that’s no reason to give up. It’s reason to stand up, and take advantage of many more opportunities to stop the unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous Sabal Trail pipeline and get on with renewable solar and wind power.

Carlton Fletcher, Albany Herald, 13 September 2015, FERC Sabal Trail ruling comes amidst protest: Group holds fasting vigil outside federal agency’s offices,

ALBANY — Even as a group started a fast in front of the agency’s Washington, D.C., offices and questions arose in Florida over the safety record of Spectra Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission made it clear this week that it had no intention of standing in the way of construction of the proposed Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline in Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

Local opponents Continue reading FERC sides with Sabal Trail in DEIS: Surprise!

FL Gov. Scott Sabal Trail permit conflict of interest –FloridaBulldog

Florida’s Governor Rick Scott owns Williams Co. and other pipeline company stock, and that’s an issue with FL-DEP’s intent to issue a permit for Sabal Trail, says the reporter who broke the Rick Scott conflict story a year ago.

Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog, 4 August 2015, Gov. Scott’s pipeline investment gets a boost from Florida environmental regulators,

The Board of Trustees of Florida’s Internal Improvement Trust Fund owns the submerged lands, according to DEP’s notice. The board is comprised of the governor and Cabinet — Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and state chief financial officer Jeff Atwater.

There’s much more in the story, including that WWALS Watershed Coalition intends to file a protest with FL-DEP by this Friday, August 7th. WWALS confirms that, and adds: Continue reading FL Gov. Scott Sabal Trail permit conflict of interest –FloridaBulldog

Anti-fracking resolution suggested to Thomas County, Georgia

Shale basins lie under our Floridan Aquifer in most of south Georgia and much of north Florida, plus northwest Georgia, so it’s time for Georgia counties to join Florida in passing anti-fracking resolutions.

Alton Burns wrote:

I submitted a request for a resolution to ban fracking in Georgia to the Thomas County Board of Commissioners on 3/15/2015. So please, I would like the people of Thomas County to reinforce this and the people of all counties in Gerogia to do likewise. Together we can stop this crime!

Here’s the text of the request he sent to the Thomas County Commission: Continue reading Anti-fracking resolution suggested to Thomas County, Georgia

Time to comment to FERC on Sabal Trail ignoring springs on Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers

Here’s why you should ecomment to FERC and your elected officials right now. Sabal Trail filed key materials after FERC’s stated deadline, a Suwannee County, FL landowner points out in a FERC ecomment, also revealing Sabal Trail still didn’t address key springs upstream and down from its proposed new pipeline path, and said nothing about connecting caverns beneath the Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers.

Here’s a call to action from Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson:

Good Morning,

I realize many of you have seen me (and a few others) navigate through a enormous amount of meetings, letters, social media announcements to stop the Sabal Trail Gas (fracked)Transmission Pipeline cutting through one of our most vulnerable areas of our World, the Florida Springs Heartland.

You have watched and read from the sidelines for nearly 2 years. It is time for you to act. Call it my Continue reading Time to comment to FERC on Sabal Trail ignoring springs on Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers

No eminent domain for water-threatening unnecessary Sabal Trail pipeline –GA Rep. Dexter Sharper District 177

The state representative for Valdosta and parts of Lowndes County cited their two resolutions and enumerated lack of need for a pipeline, threatening letters from Sabal Trail, alternative routes next to a school, ill effects on business including on forestry and agriculture and private property valuations, potential sinkholes due to drilling under the Withlacoochee River, including on the preferred route, or anywhere in the fragile karst limestone containing the Floridan Aquifer, plus Spectra Energy’s own SEC filings say it doesn’t have insurance to cover the kinds of safety problems in Spectra’s own history nor those pointed out by Southern Natural Gas Company. Dexter Sharper noted local evidence that solar power is cheaper and safer, and echoed the Lowndes County Democratic Party in writing:

“…we have a moral obligation to leave our children and grandchildren with an earth as safe, beautiful, and majestic as the one bequeathed to us by our parents and grandparents.”

For all these reasons, on behalf of my constituents and the citizens of Lowndes County and the state of Georgia, I oppose the Sabal Trail pipeline anywhere in the County of Lowndes or the State of Georgia.

I urge that FERC reject any permit for the Sabal Trail pipeline, or at the very least move it entirely out of the State of Georgia.

Filed 7 January 2015 with FERC as Accession Number: 20150107-5100, “Comment of Dexter Sharper, Georgia State Representative, District 177, under CP15-17.” Continue reading No eminent domain for water-threatening unnecessary Sabal Trail pipeline –GA Rep. Dexter Sharper District 177