On the front page of the newspaper of record in the biggest city in the Suwannee River Basin, yesterday in the Valdosta Daily Times, is a story by Terry Richards about the GA-PSC report on the AGL pipeline and the August 2018 Homerville, GA explosion that destroyed a coffeeshop and sent three women to the hospital with third-degree burns.
![[Front Page]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-03-29--ga-psc-agl-report/frontcrop.jpg)
The VDT did a bit of reporting by contacting AGL and its contractor: Continue reading
Update 2019-04-04: Actually the gas did go through a sewer pipe; AGL didn’t locate or mark that pipe, either. And the GA-PSC report was on the front page yesterday of the newspaper of the largest city in the Suwannee River Basin.
Maybe the gas didn’t go up a sewer pipe to the coffee shop after all. And in its long-awaited report, Pipeline Safety at the Georgia Public Service Commission is not letting AGL hand the blame to its contractors. This recommended fine does not look like the previous slap on the wrist.
![[Filed]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-03-29--ga-psc-agl-report/2019-03-29--ga-psc-agl-report-filed-0001.jpg)
GA-PSC says AGL failed to locate and mark its pipeline in use
and failed to locate “their abandoned natural gas facility at 107 Courtland Ave.,”
which is the address of the Coffee Corner which blew up in August 2017 2018
and sent three women to the hospital with third-degree burns.
PROBABLE VIOLATION: AGLC failed to consider the use of a valve to stop the flow of gas, or to check the surrounding buildings and confined areas, during the response to this incident, as required by their procedures.
But those are just in the first two items, which only got a $15,000 recommended fine each. The same $15,000 level of fine is recommended for AGL’s failures to test its personnel for drug or alcohol after the incident.
The big item, with a $2,245,000 fine, is for AGL failing Continue reading
Two more months have passed, so I called Bill Edge to ask about progress on the GA-PSC’s investigation of the August 17, 2018, Homerville coffeeshop explosion resulting from AGL pipeline gas. Answer: still investigating, because so many parties are involved, and everyone has attorneys and disclosures to negotiate. He is quite aware many people would like to see a report.
I thanked him sincerely for his organization following up on this incident. He said it was their statutory duty. I said keep up the good work.
Meanwhile, here’s an example of the type of thing to expect:
Whereas, AGL enters into this Settlement Agreement without admitting Continue reading
Despite Bernard McNamee’s statement early in the meeting that his agenda was to listen, FERC didn’t seem to want to hear me mention Sabal Trail’s leaks or their lack of LNG oversight yesterday. More on that later. Meanwhile, here is the letter I sent FERC Wednesday 19 December 2018 via PDF as FERC Accession Number 201812195184, Sabal Trail Hildreth Compressor Station Leak 2018-09-29, Supplemental Information / Request of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. under CP15-17, et. al.
December 19, 2018
To: Chairman Neil Chatterjee and Commissioners
Cheryl A. LaFleur, Richard Glick, Kevin J. McIntyre, and Bernard L. McNamee
Cc: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE, Room 1A
Washington, DC 20426
Via email and e-filing
Re: Sabal Trail Hildreth Compressor Station Leak 2018-09-29
FERC Commissioners and Secretary,
Sabal Trail already leaked, despite years of safety assurances by Sabal Trail and FERC.
We only know about this leak at Continue reading
Sent today via email as PDF. -jsq
December 19 , 2018
To: Director James Urisko < James.Urisko@dot.gov >, 404-832-1150
Southern Region Office
PHMSA Office of Pipeline Safety
233 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 600
Atlanta, GA 30303
Cc: Community Liaisons:
James A. Kelly < James.Kelly@dot.gov >, 404-990-1848
Arthur Buff < Arthur.Buff@dot.gov >, 404-226-6153
Re: Sabal Trail Map and Hildreth Compressor Station Leak 2018-09-29
Dear Director Urisko,
On November 13, 2018, I sent you a list of sixteen questions about Sabal Trail’s leak at its Hildreth Compressor Station in Suwannee County, Florida, on September 29, 2018.
The only response I have received was Continue reading
Update 2018-12-19: No answers a month later, so today we sent another inquiry today.
Sent today, as PDF. -jsq
November 13, 2018
To: Director James Urisko <James.Urisko@dot.gov>, 404-832-1150
Southern Region Office
PHMSA Office of Pipeline Safety
233 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 600
Atlanta, GA 30303
Cc: Community Liaisons:
James Kelly <James.Kelly@dot.gov>, 404-990-1848
Arthur Buff <Arthur.Buff@dot.gov>, 404-226-6153
Re: Sabal Trail Hildreth Compressor Station Leak 2018-09-29
Dear Director Urisko,
For more than 20 hours starting Saturday, September 29, 2018, the Sabal Trail interstate natural gas pipeline leaked “26.40516 MMscf” of “Non-odorized natural gas“ and “10,405.5 lbs” of “VOC” (presumably Volatile Organic Compounds) at its Hildreth Compressor Station in Suwannee County, Florida. A week later Sabal Trail filed a report with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the text of which is appended to this letter.
I have several questions:
What happened since the August 17th Homerville, GA coffee shop explosion resulting from a leak from an AGL natural gas pipeline, reported as far away as New Orleans, Louisiana and Atlanta, Georgia? The three women airlifted to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida got skin grafts and are recovering, according to occasional updates by one of them on facebook. Let’s all be thankful for their continued recovery.
The Georgia Public Service Commission is investigating the explosion, which may be a good thing, considering this is what the federal Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) knows about that AGL pipeline in Clinch County:
PHMSA NPMS Public Viewer, Clinch County, Georgia, accessed 2018-11-05.
That’s right: PHMSA still doesn’t even show that pipeline exists, there’s no incident displayed, and apparently PHMSA’s map viewer no longer can even talk to google maps correctly.
Terry Richards, Valdosta Daily Times, 29 August 2018, PSC probing Homerville explosion, Continue reading
OSHA says the Mercaptan that was smelled miles from the leak “can cause problems for the respiratory system and the central nervous system” but Sabal Trail’s Andrea Grover says “there is no danger to the public”. Which do you believe?
Hint: this is the same Andrea Grover about which
the newspaper of record in Valdosta, Georgia wrote four years ago:
Letters submitted to the Valdosta Daily Times and to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could contradict a recent statement by Sabal Trail’s Andrea Grover.
Looks like we have Pinocchio with her nose growing doing PR for the Three Stooges.
Jessica Lipscomb, Miami New Times, 17 August 2017, Stinky Leaks From Florida’s Controversial Sabal Trail Pipeline Scares Residents, Continue reading
Sabal Trail did not notify state or local officials about their “odorant” leak at the Dunnellon Compressor Station site, and Sabal Trail’s response to WWALS failed to mention local people called the same stink in to 911 two days in a row. FDEP said there’s no need so long as Sabal Trail follows various permits, but gave no indication of who is checking to see if Sabal Trail does that. Apparently we the people have to keep doing what the state and federal agencies still aren’t doing: watch Sabal Trail like a hawk.
Google map of locations of Dunnellon High School and Sabal Trail Dunnellon Compressor Station.
You can see most of the 100-foot Sabal Trail right of way.
Below are responses from FDEP and more details from Marion County Public Relations and Fire and Rescue, and from Dunnellon Fire and Rescue: none of them were notified by Sabal Trail, and FDEP seems OK with that. For the rest, an emergency plan would be prudent: “Run like hell” as in Spectra compressor station incidents elsewhere, is probably not adequate. Continue reading