Tag Archives: transparency

Sabal Trail announced pipe supplier contracts before filing with FERC

February 26, 2015FERC, History, LawAlabama, Berg Pipe, corruption, FERC, Florida, Georgia, History, John S. Quarterman, Law, Mobile, Panama City, Sabal Trail Transmission, Salzgitter, SpectraBusters, transparencyJohn S. Quarterman

Rubberstamp FERC process? Sabal Trail seems to think so, since it announced two contracts with Berg Pipe to manufacture pipe several days before it even formally filed with FERC for a permit, and the winning contractor announced a full week before that filing. Sabal Trail claimed economic benefits for Alabama and Florida, but apparently couldn’t come up any for Georgia. You can contact your local, state, and federal elected and appointed officials about this.

FERC published Sabal Trail’s formal filing 21 November 2015. Earlier that same week, 17 November 2015, Sabal Trail put out two press releases, one each for Alabama and Florida: Continue reading Sabal Trail announced pipe supplier contracts before filing with FERC →

Consider Panhandle route: page 2 of Dougherty County Sabal Trail resolution

November 11, 2014Compressor, Dougherty County, Economy, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Hazards, Safetyactivists, community, compressor, Dougherty County, Economy, FERC, Florida, FPL, Georgia, Hazards, need, Panhandle Route, Safety, SpectraBusters, Spencer Lee, transparencyJohn S. Quarterman

The page FERC lost of the Dougherty County resolution against the Sabal Trail pipeline asks FERC to move it completely out of Georgia:

SECTION III We ask that serious consideration and analysis be given to the alternative route through the Panhandle of Florida, a copy of which is attached hereto.

The missing page is now integrated into the previous post. Thanks to Dougherty County Attorney Spencer Lee for sending it. And below is that Panhandle route, as filed by Sabal Trail with FERC in November 2013. Continue reading Consider Panhandle route: page 2 of Dougherty County Sabal Trail resolution →

FERC nervous about being watched

November 6, 2014FE, FERC, Law, LNG, Maryland, New YorkCove Point, FE, FERC, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Maryland, Minisink, New York, Sabal Trail Transmission, SpectraBusters, transparencyJohn S. Quarterman

FERC can’t even say how many pipelines have been approved, rejected, or went forward even if approved; no wonder they’re being scrutinized.

Hannah Northey, E&E, 3 November 2014, FERC faces heightened scrutiny as gas projects proliferate,

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission these days is drawing a crowd of companies promoting projects linked to the U.S. natural gas boom and protesters who say the agency blithely greenlights too many pipelines, export terminals and other gas infrastructure.

Foes of a FERC-approved export terminal at Cove Point, Md., recently rallied Continue reading FERC nervous about being watched →

FERC lost half of Dougherty County Sabal Trail resolution

November 5, 2014Compressor, Dougherty County, Economy, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Hazards, Safetyactivists, community, compressor, Dougherty County, Economy, FERC, Florida, FPL, Georgia, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, need, Panhandle Route, Safety, SpectraBusters, transparencyJohn S. Quarterman

Update 2014-11-11: Thanks to Spencer Lee, Dougherty County Attorney, for sending the second page of the resolution, which does ask FERC to move the pipeline completely out of Georgia; see below. 2014-12-11: PDF of the two pages of the resolution and PDF of the entire FERC filing with the missing page interpolated.

FERC managed to lose the actual resolution on the second page of Dougherty County Commission’s FERC filing of today, but the WHEREASes are enough to see that DoCo says

….the health and welfare of our community will be severely compromised by the construction ofthe pipeline and any associated compressor stations within Dougherty County; and

WHEREAS, it is clear to the Board that, to this date, Sabal Trail has not articulated a justifiable need for the pipeline as it traverses Dougherty County.

Here’s a PDF on SpectraBusters.org of today’s DoCo filing, in case FERC manages to lose that, too.

Here’s the WHEREAS page while we’re waiting on FERC to find the lost page, like it eventually did for Bill Kendall’s letter about lack of need, false pretense, and duress. Maybe FERC just can’t handle the truth?

14-019

A RESOLUTION
ENTITLED
A RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO THE 465 MILE INTERSTATE NATURAL GAS
PIPELINE PROPOSED BY SABAL TRANSMISSISON, LLC AS SAID PIPELINE
TRAVERSES THROUGH DOUGHERTY COUNTY; REPEALING RESOLUTIONS OR PARTS
OF RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Continue reading FERC lost half of Dougherty County Sabal Trail resolution →

Only the two Open Houses in Albany and Jasper –John Peconom

October 17, 2014Dougherty County, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Hamilton CountyAlbany, Dougherty County, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Hamilton County, Jasper, Jen Maloney, John Peconom, John S. Quarterman, Sabal Trail, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, transparencyJohn S. Quarterman

Not finding any news about other Open Houses, I called FERC’s John Peconom, who said there were no others scheduled of which he was aware. He added that these Open Houses were organizd by Sabal Trail. I pointed out that he was attending them for FERC, so presumably he would know if there were any others. He agreed that he would. I thanked him for saving me a lot of time trying to find others. So your two choices for Sabal Trail Open Houses this month are: Continue reading Only the two Open Houses in Albany and Jasper –John Peconom →

OpEd: Spectra Energy: Trust Facts Not Promises –Mike Benard

September 10, 2014Bedford County, Compressor, Connecticut, Ethics, Law, New York, PennsylvaniaAlgonquin Gas Transmission Pipeline, Andrea Grover, compressor, Connecticut, Ethics, Law, Marylee Hanley, Mike Benard, New York, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Shale Property Rights, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Steckman Ridge, transparencyJohn S. Quarterman

By Mike Benard today in the Peekskill, NY Daily Voice. -jsq

OpEd: Spectra Energy: Trust Facts Not Promises,

Speaking from experience with Spectra Energy, property owners and communities can expect the company (NYSE: SE) will not do what it says it will in terms of transparency and accountability; and the company will develop amnesia when questioned about its actual track record relating to safety and federal fines.

Managing by fact is simple. If communities and local governments want to know what to expect from Spectra Energy, ask folks who live with its facilities today.

For example, property owners in Bedford County, Pa. (about Continue reading OpEd: Spectra Energy: Trust Facts Not Promises –Mike Benard →

Inadequate insurance and safety plus eminent domain and environmental destruction by Sabal Trail –OSFR

July 22, 2014Alabama, Climate Change, Economy, Environment, Ethics, Explosion, FERC, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, Gilchrist County, Hazards, History, Law, Leak, LNG, Noise, PHMSA, Safety, Suwannee County, WaterAlabama, Andrea Grover, eminent domain, environment, Ethics, explosion, export, FERC, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, Gilchrist County, Hazards, insurance, leak, LNG, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, OSFR, Our Santa Fe River, PHMSA, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, Spectra Energy, Suwannee County, transparency, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson of Our Santa Fe River sent this letter yesterday to the same newspapers Sabal Trail has been in recently. -jsq

Sabal Trail’s spokesperson distributing large quantities of disinformation

“Safety, public input, federal monitoring, jobs, tax revenue, exceed federal safety requirements, reliability, affordable, clean, thorough review, latest proven technologies:” these are all good little meta tags and nice sounding words and phrases used by Andrea Grover, public relations employee for Sabal Trail, in her recent editorial about that company’s proposed natural gas pipeline which was carried by newspapers in the southeastern United States.

But let us point out a few facts that this editorial fails to mention. There were plenty of public input meetings (we attended seven of these, and we read the minutes from others) and the input was overwhelmingly negative. Issues of concern include Continue reading Inadequate insurance and safety plus eminent domain and environmental destruction by Sabal Trail –OSFR →

See the FERC rubberstamp machine in action

June 25, 2014Agriculture, Colquitt County, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Gilchrist County, Hazards, Law, LNG, Lowndes County, TreesAgriculture, Colquitt County, eminent domain, export, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Gilchrist County, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Lowndes County, Moultrie, public benefit, Scoping Meetings, SpectraBusters, transparency, Trees, Trenton, ValdostaJohn S. Quarterman

You’ve heard the song, now see the FERC rubberstamp machine in action in videos of Sabal Trail interrogated in Gilchrist County, Florida @ GCC 2014-02-20, of the Valdosta FERC Scoping Meeting @ FERC 2014-03-04, and of the Moultrie FERC Scoping Meeting @ FERC 2014-03-05. See FERC refuse to release a tax-paid RFP and tax-paid-staff-reviewed proposals for an environmental contractor, and then see that very same contractor admit that the Sabal Trail pipeline would take twice the acreage to produce as much power as solar PV, while FERC refuses to consider that the pipeline would be far more environmentally damaging, more expensive, and would take much longer.

Nevermind landowners get only a one-time payment from the pipeline company, not rent and FERC has no Continue reading See the FERC rubberstamp machine in action →

FERC refuses to release RFP for environmental contractor

March 5, 2014Environment, FERC, Lawenvironment, Ethics, FERC, Georgia, John Peconom, John S. Quarterman, LAKE, Law, Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, Lowndes County, Merjent, Request for Proposals, RFP, Sabal Trail Transmission, South Georgia Regional Library Board, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, transparencyJohn S. Quarterman

FERC is less transparent about a $3 billion project than a local library board was about a $10 million project. Last night in Valdosta FERC again failed to provide the RFP used in selecting the environmental contractor to be used on all three of the proposed connected methane pipelines. I’ve never heard of any other tax-funded agency refusing to release an RFP of which they have a copy. Have you?

FERC Kevin Bowman environmental protection specialist (pictured on the left) said he’d never heard anyone request an RFP before. He should talk to his FERC co-worker John Peconom (pictured on the right), because, as I mentioned when I stood up to talk, Peconom had already refused to release that RFP.

At the make-up Open House in Moultrie I asked John Peconom for: Continue reading FERC refuses to release RFP for environmental contractor →

Sabal Trail solar and wind misinformation

February 27, 2014Alabama, Economy, Environment, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Solar, TreesDuke Energy, eminent domain, FERC, FPL, Georgia Power, John S. Quarterman, rooftop, Sabal Trail Transmission, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, transparency, Williams Transco, windJohn S. Quarterman

A few weeks ago John Peconom of FERC referred me to Sabal Trail’s comments on solar power; something about all the area you’d have to clear to provide as much energy as that 36-inch pipeline. OK, I’ve looked, and it’s the same kind of disinformation Georgia Power used to spout about you’d need to clear an area the size of Atlanta to power Atlanta with solar power. Nevermind you already have an area that size: it’s called Atlanta! Rooftops, parking lots, streets, etc.: plenty of room. And Sabal Trail’s disinformation completely ignores that solar power (and wind) are growing far faster than methane energy production. If this is FERC’s justification for eminent domain to get fracked gas to Florida, it’s a very flimsy justification indeed. We shouldn’t expect anything more from a company that would profit by that eminent domain. But we should expect more from a tax-funded federal agency that is supposed to represent we the people.

Bear in mind that all new U.S. electric generation in September 2012 came from wind and solar. In October 2013 72.1% of all new U.S. capacity came from solar, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), using data from FERC itself. And FERC doesn’t even count the million solar rooftops that are going in.

In 10.3.3 Non-Gas Energy Alternatives in its Draft Resource Report 10: Alternatives (RR10), Sabal Trail correctly dismisses dirty and expensive coal, oil, and nuclear, and even hydro as major energy sources for flat Florida. However, what’s in there about wind and solar is just plain bogus. Continue reading Sabal Trail solar and wind misinformation →