Tag Archives: Law

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 →

Oil (Palmetto) vs. gas (Sabal Trail) pipelines at FERC

March 26, 2015FERC, Georgia, Law, PHMSAEIA, eminent domain, FERC, Georgia, John S. Quarterman, Law, OR15-13, PHMSA, price, regulation, shipping, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

FERC’s role for oil pipelines is different than for natural gas pipelines. FERC doesn’t actively promote petroleum products pipelines through federal eminent domain like it does for fracked methane; instead it leaves oil pipeline eminent domain to the states, which for Georgia seems to mostly mean the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).

FERC’s website says about Regulating Oil Pipelines:

The Commission’s responsibilities include:

Regulation of rates and practices of oil pipeline companies engaged in interstate transportation;
Establishment of equal service conditions to provide shippers with equal access to pipeline transportation; and
Establishment of reasonable rates for transporting petroleum and petroleum products by pipeline.

So Kinder Morgan’s Palmetto petroleum products Project does fall under FERC, but not the same way as for Sabal Trail’s fracked methane pipeline.

These FERC oil roles help explain why Continue reading Oil (Palmetto) vs. gas (Sabal Trail) pipelines at FERC →

Grasping at semicolons: Sabal Trail fail in Leesburg

March 25, 2015Georgia, Law, Lee Countyeminent domain, evidentiary, fraud, Georgia, hearing, John S. Quarterman, jury, Law, Lee County, Mitchell County, propaganda, puppeteer, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

Semicolons and disjunctive ands vs. propaganda, subterfuge, and fraud yesterday in Leesburg, GA, and evidentiary briefs will be received by the judge over the next 20 days.

After patiently listening to Spectra attorneys detail how a 1920s version of Georgia pipeline eminent domain law had a semicolon that they claimed separated “in the State of Georgia” from their pipeline, Judge Smith later remarked that the legislature passing a bill that removed the semicolon could be used to infer that they intended to remove the semicolon. Sabal Trail also tried to argue that the “and” in the same sentence was a disjunctive that similarly separated. The judge seemed more interested in the basic question: does Sabal Trail provide gas to customers within the State of Georgia?

The landowners’ attorney made it even more interesting, referring to Continue reading Grasping at semicolons: Sabal Trail fail in Leesburg →

Return to Leesburg, GA for Sabal Trail legal hearing against landowners

March 22, 2015Georgia, History, Law, Lee CountyAlton Paul Burns, Bell, eminent domain, Georgia, History, John S. Quarterman, Law, Lee County, Mitchell County, SpectraBusters, Superior Court, Thomas CountyJohn S. Quarterman

Last summer Sabal Trail limped away from Leesburg, Georgia without any ruling about eminent domain. They’re heading their pipeline posse back to town this Tuesday, 24 March 2015, for an 11:30 AM hearing on a motion of summary judgment against the same landowners, the Bells. This is an opportunity for pipeline opponents to show up at the hearing or write a letter of support for the Bells. Send your letter here and we’ll probably also publish it.

If you can’t come in person, for letters here is contact information Continue reading Return to Leesburg, GA for Sabal Trail legal hearing against landowners →

Yes, Palmetto Pipe Line falls under FERC

March 21, 2015FERC, LawFERC, Florida, Georgia, John S. Quarterman, Kinder Morgan, Law, Palmetto Pipeline, Push Back the Pipeline, South Carolina, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

There’s never been any doubt that Kinder Morgan’s Palmetto Project to gouge through South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to Jacksonville is an interstate pipeline and therefore under the jurisdiction of FERC. It does aready have one FERC docket. ~~The only reason it doesn’t have a pre-filing or regular filing FERC docket is it just hasn’t gotten that far in the FERC process yet.~~

Update 2015-03-26: Actually, FERC doesn’t have nearly as much authority over oil pipelines.

FERC’s own docket OR15-13, was Continue reading Yes, Palmetto Pipe Line falls under FERC →

Justice was served at last for the Seneca Lake protesters

March 19, 2015Fracking, Hazards, History, Law, New York, Trees, WaterFracking, John S. Quarterman, Law, New York, Reading, Sabal Trail Transmission, Schuyler County, Seneca Lake, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Watkins GlenJohn S. Quarterman

This, Sabal Trail, is what a historical precedent looks like. They protested fracked methane storage, were arrested, charged, and the charges were just dismissed with prejudice, which means they case can’t be brought back on those charges. Everything they said about Seneca Lake applies equally to the Sabal Trail pipeline, the Palmetto Pipeline, Elba Island LNG export, and the rest of the whole cash-out-before-the-carbon-bubble-pops fossil fuel boondoggle.

Sometimes, in good conscience, citizens must engage in non-violent acts of civil disobedience to protect our sacred trust.

Surveying for the unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline is not “imperative”, no matter how many threatening letters Sabal Trail sends. These are our sacred trust: Continue reading Justice was served at last for the Seneca Lake protesters →

Eminent domain final notice from Sabal Trail

March 17, 2015Georgia, Law, Lowndes Countyeminent domain, Georgia, John S. Quarterman, Kitty Maidens, Law, Lowndes County, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

How many landowners has Sabal Trail sent final notices like this?

Update 2015-03-23: Added transcription; see more background here and you can write to the Clerk of Superior Court in Leesburg, GA against a possible summary judgement for surveying eminent domain in a hearing Tuesday morning 11:30 AM March 24th 2015.

It is imperative that Sabal Trail begin performing the remaining surveys. Please consider this letter as Sabal Trail’s final request for permission to conduct the surveys on a portion of your property…. Please note that Georgia statute O.C.G.A. 22-3-88, sets forth survey authority as related to this Project which has been affirmed in Georgia Court.

Imperative for a company from Houston to profit by gouging through local land and under our rivers and maybe into our aquifer. Not imperative for those of us who live here.

And the only Georgia court decision I’ve heard of is Continue reading Eminent domain final notice from Sabal Trail →

Post a bond if Palmetto Pipeline is not for export –Steve Willis to Kinder Morgan in Savannah

March 14, 2015Chatham County, Duval County, Economy, Florida, Georgia, Law, LNGChatham County, Claudia Collier, demand, Duval County, Economy, Elba Island, Florida, Georgia, Jacksonville, John S. Quarterman, Kinder Morgan, Law, LNG, Palmetto Project, prices, Sabal Trail, Savannah, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Steve WillisJohn S. Quarterman

Calling their bluff at their very first “public hearing”, longtime environmental activist Steve Willis told Kinder Morgan that if they didn’t want the public to believe that their pipeline is for export, when it so conveniently runs past KM’s proposed Elba Island LNG export terminal and to Jacksonville where Jaxport is gearing up for LNG export, they should post a $100 million bond. Watch the KM rep’s face as soon as Steve says “export”; sure looks like “OMG, he’s on to us!”

Steve noted there is no local demand for KM’s petroleum products, and exports drive up local prices anyway. You don’t have to believe Steve, you can believe Continue reading Post a bond if Palmetto Pipeline is not for export –Steve Willis to Kinder Morgan in Savannah →

Revoke pipeline eminent domain –bill by Nebraska state Senator

March 14, 2015Law, Nebraskaeminent domain, Ernie Chambers, John S. Quarterman, Keystone XL, Law, LB473, Nebraska, Sabal Trail, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, TransCanadaJohn S. Quarterman

It’s time to revoke laws that support the foreign aristocracy of invading fossil fuel companies.

Unicameral Update, 13 March 2015, Bill would revoke eminent domain for pipelines,

Oil and gas companies could no longer exercise eminent domain in Nebraska under a bill heard by the Judiciary Committee March 11.

LB473, introduced by Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, would repeal two provisions of the Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act: the right of eminent domain granted to oil and gas companies and the requirement that they seek approval of the governor when siting a major oil pipeline….

The act, approved by the Legislature during a 2011 special session, was designed to provide a regulatory framework for siting oil pipelines in the state. It was amended in 2012 to give the governor authority to approve major oil pipeline routes.

Concern over the state’s pipeline regulations was prompted by TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada to Gulf Coast oil refineries. The pipeline’s original route would have traversed the Ogallala Aquifer and Nebraska Sandhills.

And why should eminent domain apply anywhere to Spectra Energy’s proposed Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline to LNG export in Florida, through our drinking water Floridan Aquifer?

Chambers said his bill is Continue reading Revoke pipeline eminent domain –bill by Nebraska state Senator →