Tag Archives: Palm Beach Post

FPL supposedly unrelated pipeline to the sea rolled into FSC with Sabal Trail

FPL’s planned-for-a-decade pipeline to the sea just happens to connect Sabal Trail with an LNG export port. Nevermind that this MR-RV Lateral was never run through the FERC permitting process: FERC rolled it into Florida Southeast Connection.

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 10 March 2012 (updated 31 March 2012), FPL proposes 32-mile natural gas pipeline for Riviera Beach plant,

FPL is seeking state approval for a 32-mile natural gas pipeline to provide an uninterrupted supply to Florida Power & Light Co.’s new Riviera Beach plant.

RBEC Lateral in Palm Beach Post 2012
Map: Palm Beach Post, 31 March 2012.

The story said FPL was working with FDEP to determine the final route. It also said:

The project is not related to FPL’s proposed $1.5 billion, 300-mile natural gas pipeline that would have run from Bradford County to Martin County. The Florida Public Service Commission Continue reading →

News coverage of charges dropped against Sabal Trail protesters

From Martin County, FL to Charlotte, NC, news stories related to the WWALS PR of 16 July 2017. Some protesters still have court cases pending; more on that later.

Bruce Ritchie, Politico, 17 July 2017,

Charges dropped against some North Florida gas pipeline protesters,

On Monday, the State Attorney’s Office in Gainesville said charges had been dropped against 11 and that one case remained pending while two others entered pleas of no contest. The charges were dropped because of insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction, said Jeanne M. Singer, chief assistant state attorney.

The WWALS Watershed Coalition, which opposed the pipeline, issued a news release announcing that the charges had been dropped and criticizing police for the arrests.

“These exaggerated charges were intended to Continue reading →

Call U.S. Senate Energy Committee about Sabal Trail and FERC violations

Update 2017-08-03: The Senate already confirmed those two nominees. But there are more nominations to oppose and other things you can do.

Update 2017-06-15: On 6 June 2017 the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee forwarded two FERC nominees, but the full Senate has not voted on them, so you can lobby your Senators to vote no.

You can follow up after five people were arrested Thursday protesting confirmation hearings for FERC nominees in the U.S. Senate Energy Committee. The committee hasn’t made any decisions yet, so there’s still time to tell your Senator or members of that committee what FERC or its rubberstamped pipelines have done, so they can refuse to confirm any nominee who does not vow to turn FERC away from more pipelines and towards sun, wind, and a smart grid.


Photo: Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee considered the nominations of (left to right) Dan Brouillette to be deputy Energy secretary and Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson to fill vacancies on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

They’re also considering a nominee for deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy, which department’s Office of Fossil Energy rubberstamped half a dozen LNG export operations in Florida. You can tell the Senators that you don’t want him, either, unless he will turn to the sun.

You can ask the Senate Energy Committee to go beyond that: it can Continue reading →

Sabal Trail slips its in-service request to June; FERC classifies WWALS shutdown request as motion 2017-05-26

They finally admit to FERC the Sabal Trail boondoggle is a month late! And FERC reclassifies the WWALS filing as a motion for all three SMPP pipelines.

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 26 May 2017, Sabal Trail seeks new pipeline start date; group wants shutdown,

Sabal Trail Transmission on Friday asked federal regulators for an early June in-service date for its portion of the Alabama-to-Florida natural gas pipeline, a later date than it had requested earlier this month.

With segmented KMI FGT JEP to Jacksonville to Eagle LNG export:

On May 17 Houston-based Sabal Trail had asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to start sending gas through the pipeline by today — May 26.

Also Friday, the Georgia-based WWALS Watershed Coalition asked FERC to deny all requests to place the pipeline into service, and said FERC should revoke the permit and shut it down.

The Sierra Club recently asked FERC to delay the pipeline’s operation until after pending litigation is resolved.

FERC has yet to act on either of Sabal Trail’s start-up date requests or on The Sierra Club’s request.

Maybe FERC staff have noticed Continue reading →

Sabal Trail dispenses misinformation even in response to a shooting death

The Palm Beach Post heard of the shooting and did a story, in which Sabal Trail claims their construction is “on target” when clearly it is not.

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 3 March 2017, Sabal Trail pipeline shooter killed by law enforcement in Citrus County,

The $3.2 billion natural gas pipeline is slated to begin bringing fuel to Florida Power & Light’s South Florida plants by June. The pipeline has been the subject of numerous protests by people who say its construction and presence will harm the environment and threaten the water supplied from the Floridan Aquifer, but this is the first death known to have occurred in connection to pipeline opposition.

And the opposition has never killed or injured anyone.

Bell Lago, 14130 SW 121st Court, Dunnellon, FL 34432,
Bell Lago, 14130 SW 121st Court, Dunnellon, FL 34432, 29.0170900, -82.3227090
Photograph by Continue reading →

Audubon speaks for the Florida legislature now?

Even as Our Santa Fe River and others held a demonstration in Gainesville yesterday against fracking bills in the Florida legislature, especially Senate Bill 318 now that House Bill 191 passed, Audubon Florida published a letter concluding:

“So my request to you right now: hold off of the emails to the committee, they know you are paying attention.”

This has not sit well with many opponents of fracking in Florida. WWALS is among the members of Floridians Against Fracking that call for Floridians to call their state legislators.

WWALS remembers when Continue reading →

Florida state regulators grant hearing at unknown data for WWALS v. Sabal Trail –Palm Beach Post

You’ve mostly been hearing about WWALS v. Sabal Trail lately because of all the news coverage related to the petition to FL-DEP, which is great. STA. 13083+00 TO STA. 13136+00, GA-FL Line, Hamilton Co., FL, Jumping Gulley Creek But of course WWALS does a lot more than that and WWALS has been around before anybody ever heard of Sabal Trail.

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 4 September 2015, State regulators grant hearing to anti-pipeline group,

WWALS Watershed coalition and WWALS-Florida which advocate for conservation of Suwannee River and other rivers in south Georgia and North Florida believe the proposed pipeline is not in the public interest and could have severe adverse effects on fish, wildlife, public recreation and navigation.

The pipeline would also go through the fragile karst limestone containing Continue reading →

FL-DEP grants hearing to WWALS against Sabal Trail pipeline under Suwannee River

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FL-DEP grants hearing to WWALS against Sabal Trail pipeline under Suwannee River

September 4nd, 2015, Jasper, Florida — Yesterday the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL-DEP) asked for an administrative law judge (ALJ) “to conduct all necessary proceedings required by law and to submit a recommended order to the Department”. Certifiate of Service FL-DEP apparently interprets its Order of the previous day as dismissing only the petition of WWALS-FL, a Florida nonprofit corporation, and not that of the parent corporation, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS). So it seems WWALS gets a hearing after all.

WWALS president John S. Quarterman remarked:

“Everyone told us we’d never get a hearing, so apparently we interpreted the previous day’s FL-DEP dismissal too broadly. But sometimes if you try, you succeed. And WWALS continues to try to stop the unnecessary, destructive, and hazardous Sabal Trail pipeline.”

And it seems FL-DEP is reading the news about this case, because Continue reading →

WWALS to get hearing with FL-DEP about Sabal Trail –Palm Beach Post

FL-DEP is reading the news about the WWALS petition, we know because DEP sent a copy of yesterday’s FL-DEP request for an administrative law judge directly to the Palm Beach Post. The Post had already published a story saying the WWALS petition had been dismissed, and changed it to say WWALS has been granted a hearing. (See also WWALS press release.)

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 3 September 2015, Florida DEP says anti-pipeline group’s case to be heard,

A conservation group seeking to stop the proposed 465-mile Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline from boring under the iconic Suwannee River has now been granted its request for a hearing.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said late Thursday Continue reading →

Sabal Trail faces opposition in Florida and Georgia –Palm Beach Post

The evidence stacks up against the three-part pipeline, Sabal Trail, Florida Southeast Connection, and Hillabee Expansion Project, despite rote denials by FPL and Sabal Trail. And this article ties the WWALS petition against drilling under the Suwannee River with the Georgia opposition to a compressor station in Albany.

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 31 August 2015, Gas pipeline slated to supply FPL’s plants faces opposition,

A proposed $3.5 billion natural gas pipeline is either essential to Florida’s energy future or a looming disaster that has the potential to damage the iconic Suwannee River and the state’s fragile limestone Floridan Aquifer on its way to Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast….

In recent months, concerns have been raised Continue reading →