Tag Archives: Sierra Club

Powelson leaves FERC with a split board as Sabal Trail loses legal cases 2018-07-02

Just one day before FERC admitted Sierra Club won in D.C. District Court, and a week after Sabal Trail Sabal Trail lost a jury trial in the U.S. Middle District of Georgia in Valdosta, something else at FERC put pause to further pipeline and LNG export rubberstamps.

Ellen M. Gilmer, Rod Kuckro and Sam Mintz, E&& News, 2 July 2018, Powelson’s departure means fallout for pipelines, policies,

Robert F. Powelson by FERC
Photo: FERC, of Robert F. Powelson, via E&E News

Robert Powelson’s decision to exit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission less than a year into his term could leave natural gas pipeline developers in the lurch and policy critics scrambling for how to approach the commission’s coming 2-2 partisan split.

That’s the consensus among Continue reading

FERC and Sabal Trail admit Sierra Club won 2018-07-03

One week after losing a jury trial in the U.S. Middle District Court of Georgia, the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline and its purveyor of federal eminent domain, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), declined to appeal their huge DC District Court loss of last August.

Sierra Club, Press Release, 3 July 2018, Fracked Gas Pipeline Company and Federal Regulator Will Not Seek Supreme Court Review of Landmark Ruling: Existing Decision Means FERC Must Consider Downstream Greenhouse Gas Emissions,

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Neither the builders of the fracked gas Sabal Trail Pipeline nor the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will ask the Supreme Court to review a landmark ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from last year. That decision required FERC to consider the effects of downstream greenhouse gases when deciding whether to approve proposed pipelines that transport gas.

In response, Sierra Club Staff Attorney Elly Benson released the following statement:

Elly Benson, Sierra Club Attorney
Elly Benson, Sierra Club Staff Attorney

“We are glad to see FERC accept its responsibility to consider greenhouse gas emissions from burning transported gas at downstream power plants. These dirty, dangerous, and unnecessary pipelines pose a threat to our communities and climate. They should not be proposed, much less built, at a time when clean, renewable energy sources are abundant and affordable. We will continue to monitor the pipeline permitting process to ensure the law is followed.”

The pipeline industry press was not thrilled. Charlie Passut, Natural Gas Intelligence, 5 July 2018, FERC Declines to Appeal Landmark GHG Case to Supreme Court, Continue reading

Judge rules Florida Amendment 1 funds must be used for land acquisition 2018-06-14

Acquiring lands in a springshed is one of the best ways to protect springs and rivers, and a judge just said the Florida legislature can’t divert funds from that purpose of Florida Amendment 1, which was passed by 75% of the people of Florida.

St. Johns Riverkeeper, blog, 14 June 2018, Legal Victory for Conservation Lands,

On June 15, 2018, Florida Circuit Judge Charles Dodson ruled in favor of environmental organizations that the land conservation constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2014 requires funding to be used for land acquisition, restoration and management, not for other purposes.

Map of county vote ranges on Florida Amendment 1

Earthjustice, Joe Litte of Florida Defenders of the Environment and the plaintiff organizations— Continue reading

FPL wants Martin-Riviera Pipeline folded into FSC

Update 2019-03-11: And of course FERC and FPSC approved it, this extension of FSC to within 300 feet of an LNG export port.

What is FPL hiding in all that confidential and redacted material in a 117-page petition for approval of folding FPL’s Martin-Riviera Pipeline into Sabal Trail’s downstream Florida Southeast Connection (FSC)? This has been planned at least two years. on the excuse of lower rates for customers. Yet FPL redacted what FSC would charge and future cost projections, so FPL’s customers and the rest of the public affected by these unnecessary pipelines have no way of knowing what they would cost, and emergency responders can’t see what’s on this pipeline.

Indiantown to Riviera Beach
Indiantown to Riviera Beach, in FERC 20180309-5230, Docket CP18-108.

Eagle-eye WWALS member Janet Barrow spotted this Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) Docket 20170231 (OPEN) — Petition for approval to transfer Martin- Riviera Lateral Pipeline to Florida Southeast Connection and implement associated rate adjustments, by Florida Power & Light Company.

FPSC let FPL redact most anything it wanted to, in Continue reading

Sabal Trail is shut down while DC Circuit Court delays again 2018-03-08

Sabal Trail is already shut down, while the DC Circuit Court delays its mandate to shut it down.

This month 2018-03-01 - 2018-03-09, Graphs
This month 2018-03-01 – 2018-03-09: Graphs by WWALS from Sabal Trail’s own FERC-required Informational postings.

Here’s the problem:

Courts rarely block pipelines, even if regulators are found to have fallen short of the National Environmental Policy Act, and they have never halted a pipeline for inadequate climate review.

It’s long past time to get the clammy grip of fossil fuels off not only Congress and the agencies, but also off the courts.

Ellen M. Gilmer, E&E News, 8 March 2018, Shutdown averted for Sabal Trail pipeline, Continue reading

Push the Florida fracking ban through 2018-03-01

WWALS joins Florida Sierra Club in asking you to this link push the Florida Fracking ban through to a vote:

Senate Bill 462— Advanced Well Stimulation Treatment by Senator Dana Young (R-Tampa)—has passed two committees and has one to go — but there are no more scheduled meetings. Its companion House Bill 237 by Rep. Kathleen Peters (R-Treasure Island) has not even been heard in its first committee.

But there’s still time — leadership can schedule more meetings or bring the bills to the floor for a vote.

Follow this link for a convenient form to send email to your Florida statehouse member.

WWALS is a member of Floridians Against Fracking

Floridians Against Fracking logo

Fracking and drilling associated with fracking for oil and natural gas poses a direct and immediate threat to the drinking water, air, food, health, wildlife, climate, and economy of communities across Florida….

What are the tenets of the coalition?

Continue reading

Green Amendment book talk in Gainesville, FL, Delaware Riverkeeper 2018-03-26

Join veteran environmentalist Maya van Rossum at the Working Food Community Center in Gainesville as she discusses her new book, The Green Amendment: Securing our Right to a Healthy Environment, followed by Q&A and signing. Come out and meet Maya, pick up a copy of the book, and learn about the future of environmental advocacy.

The Green Amendment: Securing our Right to a Healthy Environment

When: 6-8 PM, Monday, March 26, 2018 (doors open 5:30 PM)

Where: Working Food Community Center
219 NW 10th Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601

Event: facebook Continue reading

John Muir in Florida by Merald Clark, Cedar Key 2017-11-11

Thanks to Anna White Hodges for the tip about this video from the second day of the November 10-11, 2017, Sierra Club Conference in Cedar Key, Florida.

Palms and Pines, Stills

The first day was mostly about sea level rise. I had to leave after that, because Continue reading

Profit is not an emergency; Sabal Trail is crying wolf 2016-02-05

Profit is not an emergency, say landowners to FERC:

Sabal Trail hopes to cry wolf to get relief. No Emergency exists to warrant the relief they seek. No shortage or national energy crisis exists to warrant the relief that they seek.

Like WWALS and Sierra Club, GBA Associates point out the pipeline has been shut down much of the past six weeks. Like Sierra Club, the landowners cite federal law that requires at least thirty days after an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before issuing certificates, referring to the so-called Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) FERC filed yesterday after the WWALS motion to deny the Applicants’ cry of wolf.

Attorney Jonathan P. Waters cuts to the chase:

As the Circuit Court stated, “All of these pipelines, of course, are being built for a reason: to make a profit for their shareholders, and their shareholders’ shareholders.” This is the fact driving the Sabal motion.

Style, Letter

Less than two weeks ago, Sabal Trail partner and thus Applicant for the so-called “emergency” relief, Spectra Energy’s new owner Enbridge Energy of Alberta, Canada, told its shareholders and the public in a Quarterly Earnings Call that Enbridge is “the leading developer and operator of wind, solar, and battery storage projects.” While praising solar and wind power at length, that Earnings Call mentioned Sabal Trail only once, yet managed to contradict the public record twice in that one sentence.

Clearly FERC would be doing a favor to Enbridge’s shareholders by Continue reading

FERC rubberstamps FSEIS, FPL backstops, GA Rep Debbie Buckner and Sierra Club object 2018-02-05

In less than three hours since I submitted the WWALS motion to deny Sabal Trail’s sketchy request for emergency certificates, four more major filings appeared: FERC rubberstamped a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS), FPL cheered on the so-called emergency request, Georgia State Rep. Debbie Buckner objected, and Sierra Club objected. Sabal Trail said it best:

The Commission should decline the Applicants’ invitation to subvert the Court’s determination that the Project cannot operate pending compliance with NEPA.

Cover page, FSEIS

FERC rubberstamps Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS)

Continue reading