{"id":10660,"date":"2014-09-22T16:36:13","date_gmt":"2014-09-22T20:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=10660"},"modified":"2014-09-22T16:58:32","modified_gmt":"2014-09-22T20:58:32","slug":"suwannee-county-chairman-denied-his-sabal-trail-coments-after-fpl-talked-to-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/suwannee-county-chairman-denied-his-sabal-trail-coments-after-fpl-talked-to-him.html","title":{"rendered":"Suwannee County Chairman denied his Sabal Trail coments after FPL talked to him"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\n\r\n\"300x146<\/a>\r\nLast month, \r\n\r\nPhil Oxendine volunteered<\/a> that he and the county attorney were\r\nlooking into passing a resoulution against the Sabal Trail pipeline\r\nlike other counties were doing.\r\nYet at this months meeting of the\r\nSuwannee County Board of County Commissioners \r\nhe denied he even said that, after Florida Power and Light (FPL)\r\nshowed up.\r\n

\r\nAmber Vann wrote for the Suwannee Democrat 19 September 2014,\r\n\r\nGas pipeline concerns continue<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nAt the Sept. 2 BOCC meeting, Patricia Tayman urged the Suwannee BOCC\r\nto “join Hamilton County in their efforts to become proactive\r\nand informed before making decisions about the Sabal Trail\r\nTransmission pipeline.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nChairman Phil Oxendine stated the following in response during the\r\nBoard members’ opportunity for comment on Sept. 2:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“I have talked to the attorney [Jimmy Prevatt] and I have\r\ntalked to Mr. [Randy] Harris, to date, about looking into that and\r\nchecking on what we need to do to perhaps do the same thing that the\r\nother counties are doing. So we’re not just sitting down.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nHere’s a picture of him when he said that, taken from Suwanne County’s\r\nown video of that meeting, and you can\r\n\r\nhear and see for yourself<\/a>\r\nas already reported\r\n\r\nby Debra Johnson and LAKE 16 September 2014<\/a>:\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"Chairman<\/a>\r\n

\r\n

\r\nAlso at the Sept. 2 meeting, County Administrator Randy Harris\r\nstated that he had a copy of Hamilton County’s resolution along with\r\ntheir supporting materials, and would be willing to share that with\r\nthe board should they desire to do something similar.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nHere is\r\nHamilton County Resolution No. 14-10 with its supporting materials<\/a>.\r\n

\r\n

\r\nAt the Sept. 16 meeting of the BOCC, citizens questioned the status\r\nof a possible resolution for Suwannee County. Debra Johnson, a\r\nSuwannee County resident, brought up an e-mail that she had sent out\r\nto county and state officials, including the commissioners. She\r\nreminded the board of the possible negative consequences of the\r\npipeline outlined in the e-mail.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“Sabal Trail has proposed four different new routes, all of\r\nwhich come through Suwannee County,” Johnson said. “This\r\npipeline holds no economic benefits for the county, only costs in\r\nthe event that an accident occurs during construction or operation.\r\nWe should be looking into alternative sources of energy, like solar,\r\ninstead.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nActually,\r\n\r\nat least seven<\/em> (7) proposed Sabal Trail routes<\/a>\r\nwould cross the Suwannee River into Suwannee County, Florida.\r\n

\r\n

\r\nWhen Johnson questioned Oxendine about a resolution for Suwannee\r\nCounty, Oxendine denied his prior statements. Johnson said that\r\nthere is evidence of his statements in the video recording that is\r\ndone at every meeting, and Oxendine said that he has since changed\r\nhis mind about the resolution.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThe evidence being multiple eye-witnesses plus Suwannee County’s\r\nown video of that previous meeting; see above.\r\n

\r\n

\r\nLori McCraney, another citizen of the county, stood before the BOCC\r\nto voice her thoughts on the possible economic and environmental\r\nimpacts of Sabal Trail.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“The pipeline is unnecessary to meet the needs of\r\nFlorida,” McCraney said. “The two pre-existing pipelines\r\nin Florida already meet our needs. The gas in the Sabal Trail\r\npipeline is supposed to be used by FPL to power utilities. If FPL\r\ndoesn’t use it, they have the right to sell it. If they export that\r\ngas, domestic gas prices will increase. This will slow down\r\nmanufacturing in the U.S., which will decrease American jobs and\r\nhave an overall negative economic impact on the country. We have to\r\nlook at the bigger picture.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nSee Lori McCraney’s op-ed in the Suwannee Democrat 11 September 2014<\/a>.\r\n

\r\n

\r\n“There’s also plans to build a compressor station for the\r\npipeline here in Suwannee County,” McCraney continued.\r\n“The station will need to be cooled with water, and that puts\r\na huge strain on our aquifer systems. Further, the pipelines will\r\nneed to be cleaned periodically and aquifer water will be used to\r\nflush them out, straining and possibly contaminating the aquifers.\r\nThe aquifers are Florida’s source of drinking water; we have to\r\nprotect them.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThat’s\r\n\r\nHildreth Compressor Station<\/a>.\r\nIt’s proposed to be much like the Spectra compressor station\r\nin Searsmont, Maine, where residents said\r\nthey’d been lied to<\/a>\r\nafter they were promised 24\/7 monitoring and instead they had\r\n\r\nwhen it leaked in January 2014<\/a> and\r\n

\r\n“I thought it was an earthquake. Then it sounded like a jet was\r\nabove my house. I looked outside. I thought there was a fire.”\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\n

\r\n

\r\nDave Kyle, an external manager for FPL from their Lake City offices,\r\nspoke up in favor of Sabal Trail.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“There is an economic benefit to the pipelines,” Kyle\r\nsaid. “The tax base will increase. Most importantly, there is\r\nan actual need for the pipeline. FPL is growing and our power needs\r\ncall for additional generating capacity. The pipeline is a more\r\nreliable source of natural gas. It is coming from an interior\r\nlocation, unlike the other Florida pipelines which pass through the\r\nocean and are subject to hurricane damage. FPL is also the lowest\r\ncost electric company in Florida, and the Sabal Trail pipeline will\r\nhelp us keep it that way.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\nFPL’s own ten-year projection to FL-PSC<\/a> only estimates 13% increase\r\nin electricity demand: how does that add up to adding a third\r\nyard-wide fracked methane pipeline, or a 50% increase?\r\nAs for “an interior location”, he neglected to mention\r\nFPL is buying an Oklahoma fracking operation\r\nits parent NextEra bought into in 2010<\/a>.\r\nDavid Kyle didn’t do any better at answering Lori McCraney\r\nthan\r\n\r\nhis FPL CEO did when he failed to answer Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson in the\r\nGainesville Sun<\/a>.\r\n

\r\n

\r\n“As for the solar energy suggestion, FPL does use some solar\r\npower,” Kyle continued. “However, our studies have found\r\nthat the greatest energy needs are at 6 p.m. in the summer, after\r\nthe sun has set, and at 6 a.m. in the winter, before the sun has\r\nrisen. So solar energy, when energy needs are at maximum capacity,\r\nis only available 25 percent of the time; gas, at capacity, is\r\navailable 95 percent of the time.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nHe neglected to mention that Florida already has plenty of capacity\r\nfor that.\r\nAs for “FPL does use some solar power”, comparing FPL’s 2011 and 2014\r\nprojections to FL-PSC shows\r\n\r\nFPL has added zero solar capacity in that time<\/a>.\r\nWhile Germany, with far less sun and far colder winters,\r\nis the world leader in solar power.\r\nFPL’s excuses leave the Sunshine State in the dark.\r\n

\r\n

\r\nThe last speaker of the evening on the subject of the Sabal Trail\r\nTransmission pipeline was Tayman, who addressed Oxendine’s change of\r\nmind since the last time she spoke at the Sept. 2 meeting.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“Do not ever say something for appeasement again,”\r\nTayman said. “You said you would act to protect the land, and\r\nthat was apparently said to placate me. I don’t think that the board\r\ngets the pulse of the people. When it comes down to it, we have to\r\nthink about our water and our aquifers.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nShe doesn’t sound happy about Oxendine’s flip-flop or FPL’s half-truths.\r\nAre you happy?\r\nOr are you going to do something about it?\r\n

\r\n -jsq\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last month, Phil Oxendine volunteered that he and the county attorney were looking into passing a resoulution against the Sabal Trail pipeline like other counties were doing. Yet at this months meeting of the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners he denied he even said that, after Florida Power and Light (FPL) showed up. Amber […]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[203,6687],"tags":[7320,7939,7901,143,8751,1763,8701,7938,8702,7937,12,7,649,7936,7935,6076,6597,7940,6966,223,7934,6],"class_list":["post-10660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-florida","category-pipeline-2","tag-compressor","tag-david-kyle","tag-debra-johnson","tag-duke-energy","tag-florida","tag-fpl","tag-georgia","tag-hildreth-compressor-station","tag-lake","tag-lori-mccraney","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-maine","tag-patricia-tayman","tag-phil-oxendine","tag-pipeline","tag-sabal-trail-transmission","tag-searsmont","tag-spectra-energy","tag-suwannee-county","tag-suwannee-county-board-of-county-commissioners","tag-valdosta"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-2LW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10660"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10664,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10660\/revisions\/10664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}