Someone reminded her County Commission they can do something about the
pipeline, only a few counties from here.
At least one county commissioner there gets it that
“it’s clearly not just a local issue.
It’s a Southeast issue.”
And the pipeline company has now promised public hearings in that county.

Dougherty County Chairman Jeff Sinyard

followed up within a few days on his promise to do something.
Carlton Fletcher wrote for AlbanyHerald.com 9 September 2013,

County Commission hears concerns about pipeline,

Dinorah Hall told commissioners at their business session that the
proposed $3 billion pipeline would pose danger to the environment
and to residents in the path of the 465-mile project.

“It is within your authority to advocate citizens’ safety
first by proposing an alternate site for the large, industrial
compression station that will be used to push the gas through the
pipeline and an alternate route away from more heavily populated
areas,” Hall said. “Just imagine the catastrophic impact
a pipeline disaster could have on our natural resources such as the
Flint River and our underground aquifer.”

Commission Chairman Jeff Sinyard encouraged Hall and other impacted
landowners to attend the commission’s work session Monday to discuss
their concerns with project representatives.

“It is very, very important that they meet every legal and
environmental requirement on this project,” Sinyard said of
Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp., which is building the pipeline
to supply gas to Florida Power & Light. “We expect them to use
professional, non-bullying dialogue when talking with our citizens,
and we’re going to do everything we can to see that this project
negatively impacts the least number of citizens.”

Local residents are still just NIMBY, but District 4 Commissioner Ewell Lyle
said,

“If there’s ever been an issue this commission should endorse,
this (monitoring the pipeline) is it. It’s supposed to go through a
large part of our county, and with 1 billion cubic feet of natural
gas going through it every day, it’s clearly not just a local issue.
It’s a Southeast issue.”

Why are we wasting Georgia’s land and risking Georgia’s rivers and
drinking water on a project to benefit Florida
when we could be installing solar panels that would help everyone in
the southeast?

Here’s something else to monitor:

Sinyard said that in addition to meeting with the County Commission
next week to discuss the pipeline project, Sabal Trail officials
would hold public hearings for stakeholders starting in early
October.

Will those ever happen?
And would they ever have even been promised without the local county commission
getting involved?

Where’s the Lowndes County Commission on this?
Oh, right:

Chairman Bill Slaughter said the Commission takes no responsibility
for the pipeline.
And

no letters from the county to Sabal Trail were returned in response
to an open records request.
Maybe our elected commissioners could at least try to represent us.

-jsq