Tag Archives: Jefferson County

Fracking and pipeline bans start at the local level

July 15, 2015Fracking, Georgia, Jefferson County, LNG, New York, Pennsylvaniaban, Fracking, Georgia, Jefferson County, John S. Quarterman, Kinder Morgan, KMI, LNG, New York, ordinance, Palmetto Pipeline, Pennsylvania, pipeline, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

Local ordinances lead to state laws banning fracking and pipelines. And don’t forget Sabal Trail has to get permits from the Georgia Department of Transportation for road crossings and an air quality permit from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for the Albany compressor station, or no pipeline. There is plenty local, state, and federal elected officials can do to stop this invading fracked methane destruction and hazard. Rev. Ezekiel Holly called on local officials to act. Here are some ways how.

How about a county ordinance rooted in the Comprehensive Plan? A local ordinance was used by Jefferson County, Florida to keep Nestle out of the same Floridan Aquifer. Local ordinances have been used in Pennsylvania to stop pipelines, and upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Local ordinances were used across New York State to ban fracking, and upheld by the state Court of Appeals, until the state government finally took up the cause and banned fracking statewide.

Now New York state residents are saying Continue reading Fracking and pipeline bans start at the local level →

A methane pipeline company sues a newspaper about publishing open records

September 18, 2014Alabama, FERC, Jefferson County, Law, PHMSA, SafetyAL PSC, Alabama, Alabama Gas Co, Alabama Public Service Commission, Alagasco, DIMP, Distribution Integrity Management Plan, First Amendment, freedom of the press, Jefferson County, John S. Quarterman, Law, Montgomery Advertiser, open records, PHMSA, prior restraint, public records, Safety, SpectraBusters, Tom Clifford, USA TodayJohn S. Quarterman

How desperate is the pipeline industry getting? One has gone so far as to demand a court grant it veto power over public open records.

Kala Kachmar, Montgomery Advertiser, 17 September 2014, Alagasco sues Advertiser to stop use of pipe safety plan,

Alabama Gas Corporation has taken legal action to attempt to stop the Montgomery Advertiser from publishing or writing about the company’s document that outlines a plan to ensure the safety of gas pipes.

The document, Alagasco’s Distribution Integrity Management Plan (DIMP), was obtained in June through a public records request to the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC), which oversees the state’s utilities.

All gas companies are required by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to file a plan that assures pipeline safety and integrity with the state entity that oversees utility companies.

The regulation requires Continue reading A methane pipeline company sues a newspaper about publishing open records →

Jefferson County, FL stopped Nestle; counties can stop Sabal Trail

August 20, 2014Economy, Environment, Florida, Jefferson County, Law, Waterbottled water, Economy, ecosystem, environment, Florida, Jefferson County, Nestle, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, springs, Wacissa, Wacissa River, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

A foreign company wanting to take local resources and not even provide any local jobs, only in “preliminary stages”: sound familiar? Swiss company Nestlé used the same playbook to try to grab water from the Wacissa River that Houston company Spectra Energy is trying to gouge its hundred-foot right of way for its yard-wide fracked methane pipeline through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Wacissa and Jefferson County, Florida fought back and won. Counties can do the same to stop that pipeline.

Brett Adler wrote for the Florida Independent 2 December 2010, Nestle draws fire for plans to pump more water from North Florida springs,

Citizens in North Florida are gearing up for what many foresee as a drawn-out battle with Nestle Waters North America, the country’s largest water bottler, which recently completed test wells Continue reading Jefferson County, FL stopped Nestle; counties can stop Sabal Trail →