Sabal Trail asked the judge to throw out my letter to the court yesterday,
but the judge said the contents were public record anyway.

Six minutes before yesterday’s eminent domain hearing in Leesburg, GA was scheduled to start
I submitted the letter you see below, noting that Sabal Trail was claiming
customers in counties and cities that had passed resolutions and otherwise
said they didn’t want Spectra’s fracked methane pipeline.
Naturally Sabal Trail’s attorneys didn’t like that, and asked the judge to
disregard and strike from the record “the Quarterman letter” because
they said I didn’t have standing, and you can’t just submit materials a few
minutes before a hearing.
The judge said he would entertain that motion, but he proceeded to leaf
through the attachments, noting resoutions by Lowndes County, by Valdosta,
a letter from Spencer Lee (Dougherty County attorney), a resolution by Terrell County, one by Albany, and one by Colquitt County.
The judge remarked that all this was public record anyway, so striking
the letter wouldn’t have much effect.

And it was pretty clear, at least to me (and remember I am not an attorney),
that attorneys for both sides and the judge did

find those resolutions
relevant to the basic question of whether Sabal Trail provides gas
“in the State of Georgia” and perhaps to a 2006 Georgia constitutional
amendment that may give local elected bodies eminent domain oversight.

See

other post.
Evidentiary briefs are being submitted, and amicus curiae are possible.

Re: Case number 14CV208RS

Judge Rucker Smith

To: Cindy Clark
Civil Deputy Clerk
County Courthouse
100 Leslie Highway
Leesburg, Georgia 31763

Here’s the text of the letter I sent.
I’ve added links to the news stories and resolutions referenced.

John S.
Quarterman
3338 Country Club Road #L336
Valdosta, GA 31605

Re: Case number 14CV208RS
Judge Rucker Smith

To: Cindy Clark
Civil Deputy Clerk
County Courthouse
100 Leslie Highway
Leesburg, Georgia 31763

If it please the court,

Sabal Trail in its

November 2014 application for a construction permit and in various news
media (Valdosta Daily Times
and WCTV) has claimed an
agreement to sell natural gas in Georgia through the
Metropolitan Gas Authority of Georgia (MGAG), and in that
FERC application it said:

‘‘MGAG
currently has seven member cities within 15 miles of Sabal
Trailâs proposed pipeline route in southwest Georgia
and has identified Dougherty and Colquitt Counties as having
the greatest potential to need additional gas supplies in
the future. Sabal Trail will install a side-tap on its
system in each of these counties to help facilitate future
interconnections. The installation of side- taps during the
initial construction of the Sabal Trail Project will
facilitate MGAGâs access to gas supplies without
interruption to transportation services provided to the
existing shippers. The exact locations of the side-taps have
not yet been identified and Sabal Trail will provide that
information when determined.’’

Yet already in March 2014 the

Colquitt County Commission passed Resolution 2014-R-6
objecting to Sabal Trail’s proposed path through that
county.

On WCTV 2 December 2014, Mayor
Bill McIntosh of Moultrie was heard by telephone saying:

‘‘There’s
been no discussion about any of the ramifications of whether
we’d want it, or whether we wouldn’t want
it.’’

Already in October 2014 the

Dougherty County Commission passed Resolution 14-019
objecting to Sabal Trail’s pipeline in that county or
anywhere in the state of Georgia.

The next day the

Albany City
Council passed Resolution 14-R 175 objecting to Sabal
Trail’s pipeline anywhere in its city, county, or the
state of Georgia.

So it appears Sabal Trail is
claiming customers that do not want its gas. It would seem
its deal with MGAG would not justify Georgia eminent
domain.

In addition,

Brooks County passed a resolution similar to Colquitt’s in April
2014.

Terrell County passed a resolution against Sabal Trail
5 December 2014.

Lowndes County passed a resolution 9 December 2014, as did the

City of Valdosta 11 December 2014.
That’s a string of all five counties from Terrell
County to the Florida line, and the two most populous cities
along Sabal Trail’s proposed pipeline in Georgia, all
objecting to Sabal Trail’s pipeline.

Sincerely,

John S.
Quarterman

Attachments:

Colquitt County Commission Resolution 2014-R-6

Dougherty County Commission Resolution 14-019

Albany City Council Resolution 14-R 175

I also attached the Lowndes, Valdosta, and Terrell County resolutions.

-jsq