Category Archives: Pipeline

Sabal Trail planting exotic invasive grasses

Landowners can ask for something else.

Right now in Mitchell and Colquitt County, Georgia, Troy Construction is heading south, covering up the pipe they planted with seed, which according to Sabal Trail’s documents is bermuda grass and bahia grass, both of which are exotic invasive species in Georgia. According to Sabal Trail’s documents, “Alternative seed mixes specifically requested by the landowner or required by agencies may be used.”

Now I’m told by at least one Georgia agency that both those grasses can be killed off with Roundup if they spread. But is that really what we want in and near our waterways and wetlands? And why should neighboring landowners have to fight exotic invasive species brought in by an invading pipeline?

So if you’re a landowner or Continue reading →

Sabal Trail requests variance to Colquitt County, GA creek 2016-10-17

Monday Sabal Trail asked FERC to add a contractor yard in Colquitt County, and to change routing under a small stream. No rush: Sabal Trail wants approval by tomorrow, Thursday, October 20th 2016. Presumably because they’re racing hell-for-leather to meet their May 2017 in-service drop-dead date, after which (according to FPL’s RFP) they could forfeit a $200 million bond or lose the contract.

Here, courtesy of Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), are Sabal Trail’s October 17th 2016 maps of that stream, plus Sabal Trail’s April 2016 maps of where it wants to cross the stream it flows into, Hog Creek and that stream’s downstream Okapilco Creek.

We’ve already seen where Sabal Trail is drilling under the Withlacoochee River between Valdosta and Quitman, Georgia and under the Suwannee River in Suwannee River State Park. Plus there’s an encampment of water protectors in Suwannee County.

Contractor Yard CY3-6

Continue reading →

Encampment against Sabal Trail in Suwannee County, FL

According to Gregory Payne, Sabal Trail only recently put up those No Trespassing signs on their easement, Gregory Payne outside Sabal Trail No Trespassing zone after Gregory moved in with a peaceful nonviolent encampment with permission from the landowner. While trying to stop the pipeline, the campers are making sure Sabal Trail does not block the landowner’s access. This is not a WWALS event or activity, but it is happening in WWALS watersheds, so I went to report on it yesterday, Sunday October 16th 2016.

Gregory Payne says Continue reading →

WWALS at Suwannee River Roots Revival 2016-10-15

Music and advocacy on the banks of the iconic Suwannee River!

Gretchen Quarterman and Dave Hetzel by Leeann Drabenstott Culbreath WWALS outings, rivers, Valdosta wastewater, agricultural runoff, and the issue half the people wanted to talk about was the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline: nobody wants it.

Thanks to Leeann Drabenstott Culbreath for the great picture of WWALS Treasurer Gretchen Quarterman and Ambassador Dave Hetzel, who engages everybody who walks past. Thanks to WWALS member Bret Huntley for camping overnight last night and setting up this morning. Gretchen took the other pictures of Dave and Bret. WWALS president John S. Quarterman took the one of the Shook Twins on the Amphitheater Stage in Spirit of Suwannee Music Park at Suwannee River Roots Revival on the banks of the Suwannee River.

Come on down to these upcoming WWALS events and outings: Continue reading →

FSC Alignment Maps from May 2016

Small, big, huge, and PDF versions of each and every one of the 144 alignment maps FSC filed with FERC in May 2016 are available online courtesy of Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

[21040-510-ALS-00132 STA: 6250+00 TO 6300+00, MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA]
21040-510-ALS-00132 STA: 6250+00 TO 6300+00, MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA
PDF

The map shown here is where FSC crosses SW Martin Highway (FL 141) between Okeechobee City and Juno Beach, Florida. There will be a rally against this pipeline in Juno Beach at FPL HQ Friday and another in Okeechobee City Saturday.

Follow the link for details of what, and how you can help.

For maps of the rest of the Southeast Market Pipelines Project (SMPP), see SMPP.

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Rush Hour Rally at FPL HQ to Stop Sabal Trail Pipeline 2016-10-14

Taking it to the source: the headquarters of FPL, whose ratepayers are on the hook for $3 billion for the Transco → Sabal Trail → FSC fracked methane pipeline boondoggle through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, Sierra Club and Indian Riverkeeper are holding a Rush Hour Rally this Friday, October 14th 2016 in Juno Beach, Florida; see press release for details. If you can’t get there, there are other events all over Florida and beyond. Remember, FPL admits no need for new electricity until 2024, so there’s no more excuse for Sabal Trail.

At FPL HQ, Juno Beach, FL

The facebook page Protect Florida Against Sabal Trail attempts to keep track of upcoming rallies against Sabal Trail or its ugly stepsisters, which are popping up practically daily. Here are some events scheduled starting this weekend: Continue reading →

All 527 Sabal Trail alignment maps from April 2016

Courtesy of Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, you can now see small, big, huge, and PDF versions of all 527 alignment maps Sabal Trail filed with FERC in April 2016: follow this link.

[STA. 11870+00 TO STA. 11923+00, (UT OKAPILCO CREEK), 11881+44 CL SPAIN ROAD, 11871+70 CL GOLDING ROAD, BROOKS COUNTY, GEORGIA]

Having these maps online like this makes it easier to see what’s in them. Sabal Trail told FERC Okapilco Creek was not among the streams for which the Georgia legislature denied river-drilling easements (and for which Sabal Trail got the easements later anyway by suing the state in county Superior Courts). Yet Sabal Trail’s alignment maps from April 2016 seem to say that fracked methane pipeline crosses Okapilco Creek a couple of times in Brooks County, Georgia.

Here’s one of those times, in which the road names don’t match Continue reading →

Sabal Trail begins at Hillabee Power Plant

Where Sabal Trail connects to Transco: the head of the black snake, Sabal Trail, Hillabee Power Plant, Exelon Corp., Brick Plant Rd., 33.0045260, -85.9051100 at Hillabee Power Plant, owned by Exelon Corp., near Alexander City, Alabama. We were driving by, so we took some pictures. Here are Sabal Trail’s Alignment Maps for this area, the photographs I took yesterday, and a google map with links to the pictures, plus what you can do to stop this unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous fracked methane pipeline boondoggle.

Update 2016-10-10: All 527 of Sabal Trail’s April 2016 alignment maps are now available in small, big, huge, and PDF formats, courtesy of Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

What you can do

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail preparing to drill under Withlacoochee River in Georgia 2016-10-05

Update 2016-10-23: Aerial photography and videos: US 84 HDD Withlacoochee River Sabal Trail 2016-10-22: what is that yellow thing in the river, and is that round thing you’ve marked a sinkhole?

Approved Access Road, CAUTION, No Trespassing, 30.7873010, -83.4457610 Where would you guess Southeast Directional Drilling is based? Nope: Arizona. And the TRW truck has a Texas license plate. So much for local jobs where Sabal Trail is preparing to drill under the Withlacoochee River in Lowndes and Brooks Counties, Georgia, between Valdosta and Quitman.

Here is a playlist of WWALS videos, followed by a google map, and still pictures: Continue reading →