{"id":17310,"date":"2016-09-15T18:17:37","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T22:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=17310"},"modified":"2016-09-15T18:17:37","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T22:17:37","slug":"sabal-trail-destruction-at-bell-property-mitchell-co-ga-2016-09-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2016\/09\/sabal-trail-destruction-at-bell-property-mitchell-co-ga-2016-09-13.html","title":{"rendered":"Sabal Trail destruction at Bell property, Mitchell Co., GA 2016-09-13"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nSee for yourself what Jeb Bell was talking about to GPB, in these videos he sent\r\nof the destruction Sabal Trail is doing on his property.\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nHis father, James Bell, says it started immediately after a small protest Monday,\r\nand is plowing through gopher tortoise burrows, rare pitcher plants, large pine trees bulldozed and burned, and today within 300 yards of his house.\r\nJames Bell the elder will be at the US 84 Withlacoochee River bridge 9AM this\r\nSaturday, September 17th 2016, to join the\r\n\r\nWWALS Watershed Coalition protest against Sabal Trail and the Dakota Access Pipeline<\/a>,\r\nwhich are now\r\n\r\nowned by the same companies<\/a>.\r\nThat’s between Quitman and Valdosta, GA; see you there.\r\n

\r\nSam Whitehead, GPB News, 15 September 2016,\r\n\r\nSabal Trail Pipeline Plows Through Southwest Georgia, Local Opposition<\/a>,\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\nJames “Jeb” Bell’s 100 acres of land in Mitchell County\r\nis typical southwest Georgia: groves of spindly pines patch open\r\nfields, cicadas whine, gnats bite.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“This ain’t a whole great pile of land, but it’s ours, and\r\nit’s been ours for 30 years,” said Bell stepping out of his\r\npickup truck on a recent morning….\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“I wrote them a letter within days of getting their first\r\nletter that said: \u0098Stay off my land. I do not want this pipeline on\r\nmy land,’” Bell said.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nBell had a litany of concerns ranging from the safety of living near\r\na three-foot wide, highly pressurized pipeline to the impact the\r\nproject would have on the value of his property. He also had issues\r\nwith a for-profit company using his land for their gain.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nSpectra eventually filed an eminent domain lawsuit against the Bells\r\nto get the right of way they needed for the project. At the same\r\ntime, the Bells sued the company for trespassing.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe Bells lost both cases. In the trespassing case, a judge ordered\r\nthey pay $47,000 to cover Spectra’s legal fees.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n