{"id":11775,"date":"2014-12-10T06:25:52","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T11:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=11775"},"modified":"2014-12-11T10:14:04","modified_gmt":"2014-12-11T15:14:04","slug":"we-all-live-in-lowndes-county-valdosta-draft-resolution-against-sabal-trail-pipeline-vcc-2014-12-09","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/12\/we-all-live-in-lowndes-county-valdosta-draft-resolution-against-sabal-trail-pipeline-vcc-2014-12-09.html","title":{"rendered":"We all live in Lowndes County: Valdosta Draft Resolution Against Sabal Trail Pipeline @ VCC 2014-12-09"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nLast night, while the Lowndes County Commission\r\nunanimously approved\r\n\r\n\"300x169<\/a>\r\ntheir\r\n\r\nresolution against the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline<\/a>,\r\nthe Valdosta City Council\r\n\r\ndiscussed a supporting resolution<\/a> at its Work Session.\r\nCouncil Tim Carroll\r\nsaid Valdosta had added\r\n\r\na clause about the Floridan Aquifer<\/a>.\r\nCouncil Robert Yost said he didn’t think such a resolution was something\r\nthe City of Valdosta should be doing, and he would not vote Thursday.\r\nNo other Council members expressed any reservations.\r\nCouncil Sonny Vickers said he thought it was worth doing to show unity.\r\nMayor John Gayle remarked, “We all live in Lowndes County.”\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"600x338<\/a>\r\n
\r\nCouncil discussing the resolution\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWhile the\r\nno benefit<\/a>\r\nWHEREAS says “at this time”, note that neither Valdosta nor Lowndes County\r\nare customers of MGAG,\r\nso\r\n\r\nSabal Trail’s agreement with the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia (MGAG)<\/a>\r\nwould not provide any benefit to Valdosta or Lowndes County.\r\nPlus Moultrie wasn’t asked<\/a> if it wanted any gas before that deal,\r\nand Moultrie is the county seat of Colquitt County, which\r\nisn’t an MGAG customer.\r\nThe other of the two counties Sabal Trail claimed would benefit\r\nfrom the MGAG deal, Dougherty County, had already\r\npassed a resolution opposing the pipeline in that county<\/a>\r\nor anywhere in the state of Georgia, as had its county seat Albany.\r\nPlus Terrell County<\/a>.\r\nSo “at this time” isn’t going to change any time soon.\r\n

\r\nVideo to come. Meanwhile, here is the text of the resolution, courtesy of Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll. (PDF<\/a>.)\r\n

\r\n

\r\nMeeting: 12\/11\/14 05:30 PM\r\n
\r\nDepartment: City Manager\/Mayor\r\n
\r\nCategory: Position Statement\r\n
\r\nPrepared By: Teresa S. S. Bolden\r\n
\r\nInitiator: Teresa S. S. Boiden\r\n
\r\n \r\n
\r\nDOC ID: 2117\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nValdosta City Council\r\n
\r\n216 East Central Ave.\r\n
\r\nValdosta, GA 31601\r\n
 
\r\nSCHEDULED\r\n
 
\r\nRESOLUTION NO. (ID # 2117)\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\r\nRESOLUTION NO. 2014—\r\n
 
\r\nA RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE LOWNDES COUNTY\r\n
\r\nBOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGARDING THE SABAL\r\n
\r\nTRAIL PIPELINE PROJECT\r\n<\/h4>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"300x400<\/a>\r\nWHEREAS<\/strong>, Spectra Energy of Houston, Texas has proposed to build a\r\n$3.7 Billion, 460-mile natural gas line known as Sabal Trail; and\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWHEREAS<\/strong>, the City of Valdosta wishes to support the Lowndes County\r\nBoard of Commissioners in the concerns they have expressed regarding\r\npersonal property rights of citizens along with the limited use of\r\nright-of ”ways, while maintaining the responsibility for taxes\r\nand liability where the Sabal Trail pipeline is proposed to be\r\nlocated; and\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWHEREAS<\/strong>, like the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners, the City of\r\nValdosta does not oppose pipelines as the best way to move natural\r\ngas, oil, or other products that may be needed for the continued\r\neconomic stability of our nation; and\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWHEREAS<\/strong>, the City of Valdosta supports the concerns expressed by the\r\nLowndes County Board of Commissioners for the safety of our citizens\r\nand children at Clyattville Elementary School who will be located\r\nnear Sabal Trail pipeline, some which will be located within a\r\npotential blast zone in the event of a pipeline failure; and\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nWHEREAS<\/strong><\/a>, the City of Valdosta has concerns regarding any potential\r\neffect the proposed pipeline or its construction might have on the\r\nFloridan aquifer, the primary source of the drinking water supply\r\nfor our City, County and the south Georgia area; and\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nWHEREAS<\/strong><\/a>, the State of Georgia, Lowndes County, and the City of\r\nValdosta has not been shown to benefit from the availability of\r\nnatural gas\r\nfrom the Sabal Trail pipeline to the City, County and State at this time; and\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"300x400<\/a>\r\nWHEREAS<\/strong>, Sabal Trail pipeline originates in the State of Alabama and\r\nwill ultimately serve the State of Florida and without documented\r\nbenefit to the State of Georgia, construction should by-pass the\r\nstate of Georgia and the small area affected in Georgia could be\r\neasily avoided by bypassing the southwestern corner of the State;\r\nand\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWHEREAS<\/strong>, the City of Valdosta has monitored various public\r\ndiscussions on this subject, some held by the Lowndes County Board\r\nof Commissioners, including discussions with affected property\r\nowners, and the overall burden to the property owners of Lowndes\r\nCounty who strongly oppose locating the Sabal Trail pipeline in\r\nLowndes County;\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nNOW THEREFORE<\/strong>, be it resolved that the City of Valdosta supports the\r\nLowndes County Board of Commissioners in their opposition to the\r\nconstruction of the Sabal Trail pipeline in any portion of Lowndes\r\nCounty. The City’s support includes concerns with fundamental\r\nproperty rights, the manner in which eminent domain might be\r\nutilized, and the lack of demonstrated benefit to the City and\r\nCounty. Furthermore, the City of Valdosta supports the Lowndes\r\nCounty Commission in their formal request to the Federal Energy\r\nRegulation Commission (FERC), and to State and Federal Legislators\r\nin the effort to have Lowndes County and the State of Georgia\r\nbypassed in the construction of the proposed pipeline.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nSO RESOLVED<\/strong>, this _____ day of December, 2014.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n_____\r\n
\r\nJohn Gayle, Mayor\r\n
\r\n City of Valdosta\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nAttest:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n_____\r\nTeresa S. Bolden, City Clerk\r\n
\r\nCity of Valdosta\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n -jsq\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last night, while the Lowndes County Commission unanimously approved their resolution against the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, the Valdosta City Council discussed a supporting resolution at its Work Session. Council Tim Carroll said Valdosta had added a clause about the Floridan Aquifer. Council Robert Yost said he didn’t think such a resolution was something […]","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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[14,15,8,2,6124,6687,73,449,54,55],"tags":[8106,8704,8705,785,8701,8699,548,8702,12,7,562,6076,8731,8767,6,8726,8727,90],"class_list":["post-11775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economy","category-education","category-georgia","category-government","category-natural-gas-2","category-pipeline-2","category-safety","category-transportation","category-valdosta-city-council","category-water","tag-9-december-2014","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-ferc","tag-georgia","tag-government","tag-john-s-quarterman","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-natural-gas","tag-pipeline","tag-safety","tag-transportation","tag-valdosta","tag-valdosta-city-council","tag-water","tag-work-session"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-33V","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11775","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=11775"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11795,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11775\/revisions\/11795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}