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We all won! Sabal Trail SR 954 easements lost in a landslide at GA House 2016-02-22 2016-03-22
Update 2016-03-22 10:30PM: The vote tally.
As reported by Georgia Sierra Club:
Thank you to everyone who contacted a legislator about SR 954 and their concerns about the Sabal Trail pipeline easements. The house voted down the bill 128-34 this afternoon!!! CONGRATULATIONS!
Thanks to everyone, especially Georgia Water Coalition, Georgia Sierra Club, Flint Riverkeeper, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, everybody else who helped, and of course all WWALS members and everyone else who called their state reps.
There still more you can do to stop Sabal Trail. See the op-ed blog post of today. Continue reading
Still possible to keep Sabal Trail out –WWALS in VDT 2016-03-22
Update 2016-02-22: We all won by a landslide in the Georgia House! There’s more to do tomorrow until Sabal Trail is ended for good; see below.
Please call your Georgia state representative and ask them to vote No today on SR 954 that would give Sabal Trail easements to drill under our rivers. Here’s why:
John S. Quarterman, VDT, 2016-03-22, Still possible to keep Sabal Trail out,
After two years going to Sabal Trail open houses and FERC scoping meetings, filing e-comments, guiding them to the river crossings and a legal hearing in Jasper, FERC still tells us customers for Spectra Energy from Houston, Texas, constitute a need that outweighs local property rights, environmental destruction, and hazards to our Withlacoochee and Suwannee rivers and the Floridan Aquifer, and to taxes, life, and limb.
Yet Georgia is the fastest-growing U.S. solar market, while solar Continue reading
Keep calling your GA House member to oppose SR 954: strip Sabal Trail easements
Your calls are working!
Sabal Trail’s allies failed three times to whip up
enough votes to pass this travesty.
Now please keep calling your state legislators and ask them to stay strong voting against SR 954 until Sabal Trail and Transco easements are taken out of it. It’s currently postponed until next Tuesday, March 22nd, so there’s time to call them through the weekend.
If Georgia Power, the EMCs, and GDOT want their easements, they should also be helping us strip Sabal Trail and Transco out of this bill. A fracked methane pipeline drilling under Okapilco Creek and the Withlacoochee, Ochlockonee, Flint, and Chatthahoochee Rivers is no advantage to anybody in Georgia. Or the Suwannee River in Florida: if you’re in Florida, you probably know somebody in Georgia you can ask to call their Georgia legislator.
Who to Call
Continue readingUrge your GA House member to oppose SR 954: strip Sabal Trail easements
Update 2016-03-17: Your calls are working! Please keep calling: details.
You can help stop Georgia eminent domain easements for Sabal Trail from passing the statehouse! (PDF handout)
Photo: TONY CASSADY, 31 May 2015, in Arkansas River pipeline blowout occurred on Sunday morning, cause still unknown, by Benjamin Hardy, Arkansas Blog, 3 June 2015
Sabal Trail (a project of Houston-based Spectra Energy) is a methane frack-gas pipeline that would run from east central Alabama to south-central Florida. Multiple route choices exist. The company has chosen one, despite massive amounts of public objection, that maximizes the public and private impact. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted a permit for the particular one the company wants, one which that places a large number of Georgian’s private property under threat of (federal) eminent domain, for private profit. The FERC permit process is under appeal by property owners and advocacy groups. The pipeline still does not have several major state and federal permits (water quality, air, and wetlands).
Yet the Deal Administration seeks Continue reading
High voltage DC evidence that solar and wind can make coal go away with no need for natural gas –WWALS to Suwannee BOCC 2016-02-01
Sent today to the Suwannee Board of County Commissioners (PDF):
Dear Commissioners,
It’s good to see you have a workshop about Sabal Trail’s proposed river crossings on the agenda for tonight. WWALS, including its members in Suwannee County, continues to oppose any such crossings of the Suwannee River or the Santa Fe River, or anywhere in the fragile karst terrain of central Florida and south Georgia containing our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer.
Here’s more evidence that solar and wind can make coal go away with no need for natural gas. A new study shows adding interstate high-voltage DC electric power lines to load-balance across the U.S. would enable a very rapid shift to solar and wind power, dropping CO2 emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2030, five years from now. Florida needs to do its part by deploying solar power for local production during sunny days, rather than wasting $3 billion on yet another natural gas pipeline.
“Better power lines would help U.S. supercharge renewable energy, study suggests,” by Continue reading
The future of energy and Sabal Trail pipeline at Suwannee Cuonty Commission –Jasper News
Several Suwannee County Commissioners are studying the difficult and constantly-changing subject of energy, although the Chairman said he had already made up his mind,
Carl McKinney’s droll legend refers on his picture refers to Chris Mericle
as “Jasper man”.
The map shows sinkholes near the proposed pipeline path across the Suwannee River
and the Falmouth Cathedral Cave System.
at the Suwannee County Board of Commissioners meeting last night.
They did nothing about a further resolution against Sabal Trail,
although numerous citizens (many of them WWALS members)
from Suwannee County and nearby counties helped discuss the situation.
Carl McKinney, Suwannee Democrat, 16 December 2015, The future of energy: Debate takes over Suwannee commission meeting,
Following the Suwannee County Commission’s decision last week not to formally oppose the Sabal Trail pipeline entering its jurisdiction, the public engaged commissioners in a debate over the future of energy.
At Tuesday evening’s commission meeting, several members of the public discussed with commissioners the advantages of solar power, Florida’s energy needs and environmental stewardship.
During public comment, local resident Debra Johnson asked Continue reading
Videos: Suwannee BOCC backs down against Sabal Trail 2015-12-10
They did
fix the two typos,
but they didn’t approve or send the letter, as you can see in
their own video.
Here’s more discussion of why they should send such a letter, and pass another resolution.
For more details, see previous blog post and Carl McKinney, Suwannee Democrat, 10 Dec 2015, County not sending pipeline opposition letter.
Regarding
Commissioner Gamble Wainwright’s comment that
“my business depends increasingly on energy”
OK, but
“energy is going to cost more and more money”,
sorry, not so.
See Continue reading
WWALS cites dangers to environment and conflict of interest against Sabal Trail –Miami Herald via Florida Bulldog
A major Miami newspaper picked up a Florida Bulldog story after a week. Meanwhile, CBS Miami covered FL-DEP asking for an administrative law judge. And see previous post for what’s safer than any pipeline: solar power, ready now for the Sunshine State.
Dan Christensen, Miami Herald, 6 September 2015, Pipeline foes ask DEP to deny key permit, cite ‘conflict of interest’ by Gov. Rick Scott,
Opponents of a proposed natural gas pipeline in North Florida are asking Florida regulators to reject the project, citing both dangers to the environment and a “conflict of interest” by the regulators’ boss, Gov. Rick Scott.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced in July its intention to award a crucial environmental permit and rights to drill beneath riverbeds that would allow Houston-based Spectra Energy to construct the controversial, $3 billion Sabal Trail Transmission.
State records show Spectra Energy’s investors have included Scott.
Continue reading
Why is Florida DEP trusting this company with our valuable natural resources? –WWALS to FL-DEP in Florida Bulldog
The reporter quoted extensively from the WWALS amended petition, and got responses from Spectra Energy and the Florida governor’s office. Spectra claimed it’s safer than other pipeline companies, which is like saying one cigarette is safer than another. You know what’s safer? Stop smoking! And stop building pipelines: go straight to solar power for the Sunshine State.
Dan Christensen, Florida Bulldog,
Pipeline foes ask DEP to deny key permit; Cite ‘conflict of interest’ by Gov. Scott,
Opponents of a proposed natural gas pipeline in North Florida are asking Florida regulators to reject the project, citing both dangers to the environment and a “conflict of interest” by the regulators’ boss, Gov. Rick Scott.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced in July its intention to award a crucial environmental permit and rights to drill beneath riverbeds that would allow Houston-based Spectra Energy (NYSE:SE) to construct the controversial, $3-billion Sabal Trail Transmission.
State records show Continue reading