Filed with FERC 21 April 2014. -jsq
April 19, 2014
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE, Room 1A
Washington, DC 20426RE: Sabal Trail Project: Docket No.PF14-1-000
Continue reading Florida and the public have a fee interest in these lands –Florida Sierra Club to FERC
Florida SE Connection Project: Docket No.PF14-2-000
Hillabee Expansion Project: Docket No. PF14-6-000
Robert W. Hastings, Alabama Sierra Club contact for
the joint Alabama, Georgia, and Florida Sierra Club statement
against the pipeline,
and author of
a FERC ecomment against the pipeline,
was elected Chairman of the Alabama Chapter 9 March 2014.
He wrote in the April Alabama Sierran about the Sabal Trail pipeline,
Seems like everyone wants to build a pipeline these days. I’m sure almost everyone has heard about the Keystone XL pipeline, and our Mobile Group has done a good job of publicizing their opposition to the oil pipeline to be constructed through a major water supply area for the city of Mobile. But there are several other pipelines being proposed for Alabama. One of these is the so-called Sabal Trail Pipeline that would carry natural gas extracted through hydraulic fracturing from Pennsylvania and Texas through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. The new pipeline would begin in Alexander City, where it Continue reading Alabama Sierra Club against the Sabal Trail methane pipeline
Update 9PM 16 April 2014: Cancelled due to flood-stage water levels in the Withlacoochee River, with more rain expected Friday. To be rescheduled.
7:30 AM Saturday 19 April 2014 on the Withlacoochee River
between Valdosta and Quitman,
put in at Old Quitman Road
on the Brooks County side (just south of US 84):
Paddle past where the proposed Sabal Trail methane pipeline
would cross the Withlacoochee River, digging into our fragile
karst limesone, above our drinking-water Floridan Aquifer.
This is a joint event of Continue reading Cancelled! Paddle Against the Pipeline on the Withlacoochee River
Bob Hastings of the Alabama Sierra Club reports from the
Alabama FERC Scoping Meetings. -jsq
I attended both the Alexander City and Butler hearings, and was disappointed in both. There was apparently a lot of apathy and/or intimidation among people affected.
There were about 50-75 people at Alex City but only about 7 people spoke. I read the Alabama-Georgia-Florida Sierra Club statement, and got a few compliments after the meeting.
At Butler, there were only 7 people present (plus about 15 “company” employees who answered questions, but there were not many questions). Because of the small group, we sat in a circle with the FERC reps and listened to their statements and asked a few questions. No landowners made statements and I agreed to submit mine online. It was a long drive for not much information.
I was also told that about 25 people attended the Seale hearing but no one submitted comments (according to Bill Braun, a “first zero” for FERC hearings).
Bill Braun was the FERC representative (a contract environmental consultant) from Minnesota who described the projects at all three hearings in Alabama, along with Kara Harris.
Filed with FERC
14 March 2104
by Bob Hastings for
Alabama Sierra Club about
PF14-6. -jsq
Comments on the proposed Transco Pipeline Hillabee Expansion Project:
The Sierra Club is a national environmental organization promoting
the protection of our natural environment and quality of life for all citizens. The Club has more than 1.5 million members and includes chapters in all states. The Alabama Chapter has approximately 3000 members.
The Alabama Chapter of the Sierra Club has joined with the Georgia and Florida Sierra Club Chapters to oppose the proposed 650 mile Sabal Trail Pipeline that would carry natural gas extracted through hydraulic fracturing from Pennsylvania and Texas through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Since the purpose of the Hillabee Expansion project is to supply gas to the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline, we also oppose the Hillabee Expansion project, and consider it undesirable and not needed.
Williams Partners, Inc., owners of the Transco pipeline, has a poor record of pipeline safety, and has had at least 35 reportable accidents since 2006, including the pipeline rupture and explosion on December 3, 2011, near Linden in Marengo County, Alabama. Fortunately this explosion, which devastated 65 acres of forest land, did not occur in a populated area where loss of life could have been tragic. Williams Partners should focus on upgrading the existing pipeline for improved safety rather than expanding its capacity.
The existing Transco pipeline cuts through Continue reading FERC should be promoting solar and wind, not new pipelines –Alabama Sierra Club
The nation’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization opposes the Sabal Trail pipeline. Sierra Club PR today (and read to FERC):
TRI-STATE SIERRA CLUB CHAPTERS OPPOSE GAS PIPELINE
Statement of the Georgia, Florida, and Alabama Sierra Club
Chapters Opposing the Sabal Trail Pipeline
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Contact:
Seth Gunning, Georgia Sierra Club, (404)-607-1262, seth.gunning@sierraclub.org
Bob Hastings, Alabama Sierra Club, bhastings@knology.netATLANTA, GA—The Georgia, Florida, and Alabama Chapters of the Sierra Club oppose the 650 mile Sabal Trail Transmission natural gas pipeline
The proposed pipeline would cut a wide swath through pristine lands with resulting negative impacts on
endangered species, critical wildlife habitat, invaluable wetlands, Continue reading Sierra Club Chapters Oppose Sabal Trail Gas Pipeline
This victory for landowners against eminent domain by an out-of-state company for the Keystone XL oil pipeline is relevant to the Sabal Trail methane pipeline, which is just as big a boondoggle for remote companies at the expense of local landowners and taxpayers.
Alison Sider and Alicia Mundy wrote for WSJ yesterday, Nebraska Judge Blocks Governor’s Keystone XL Decision: Court Decision a Victory for Opponents of the Pipeline Project
A Nebraska judge ruled Wednesday the law allowing the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline to be built across the state is unconstitutional, a move that could further delay the project.
Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy sided with three landowners who argued Nebraska’s governor shouldn’t be able to sign off on the pipeline’s route. The governor, Republican Dave Heineman, was handed that power in a law the state Legislature hastily passed in 2012. But the court ruled that under the state’s constitution, only Nebraska’s Public Service Commission could approve such a pipeline route.
The judge ruled the Legislature overstepped its bounds and the governor’s approval “must be declared null and void,” because it was based on an unconstitutional law.
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, who defended the law in court, said he would appeal the decision.
Georgia’s Public Service Commission hasn’t approved any route for Spectra’s Sabal Trail methane pipeline, and I don’t think Alabama’s has, either.
TransCanada said it was disappointed Continue reading Judge strikes Nebraska Keystone XL pipeline law
Update: 10 Feb 2014: Watch it online or go to one of several other upcoming county commission meetings.
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
Andrew Morris posted yesterday for the organization started by Lois Gibbs of Love Canal fame, the Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ), Disney Finally Backs Down from Pro-fracking Collabertation with Oil and Gas Industry,
Radio Disney finally backed down from its pro-fracking school tour this week after a petition on CREDO Mobilize reached its goal of 75,000 signatures calling on Disney to cease its public support of the fracking industry. Pressure on Disney also came from groups like the Sierra Club, which called on its supporters to create mash-ups of Disney movies with oil and gas jargon.
In a statement to the Northeast Ohio Media Group, Disney said: Continue reading Disney backs off fracking
In the same coastal plain that contains the Floridan Aquifer with our drinking water, a commission just rejected a natural gas pipeline that would have gone through a pine fire forest with blueberries and bobcats much like ours. FERC should reject the Sabal Trail pipeline.
Wayne Parry wrote for AP 10 January 2014, Natural gas pipeline for N.J. Pinelands rejected,
Pemberton Township, N.J. — A New Jersey agency tasked with protecting the ecologically fragile Pinelands region narrowly defeated a proposal Friday to run a 22-mile natural gas pipeline through it….
“This is a great victory for the Pinelands and the environment of the region,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Today the commissioners said the Pinelands are not for sale.”
“The Pinelands is host Continue reading Methane pipeline rejected in New Jersey
