Another energy project causing ruckus in region
A second major fuel pipeline project involving Georgia is attracting a lot of negative attention. And for people in our area, this one is a lot closer to home.
Across the state, the Kinder Morgan Palmetto Pipeline, a major petroleum conduit that would run from Florida to South Carolina along the entire length of coastal Georgia, has drawn opposition all the way up to the governor's office: Gov. Nathan Deal is one of many state leaders trying to scuttle the project.
The chemistry of the Sabal Trail pipeline is different. So is the geography. So -- to this point, at least -- is the political dynamic.
The Sabal project is a proposed natural gas pipeline that would run from Alabama (crossing parts of Chambers, Lee and Russell counties), through southwest Georgia and into central Florida.
Like the Kinder Morgan project, it has raised concerns among residents and property owners in the areas on and around its route, though it hasn't yet engaged the active attention of state leaders in Atlanta. But it has the attention of state leaders in Washington and, maybe even more significant, the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency.
All four Georgia Democrats in the U.S. House -- Sanford Bishop, Hank Johnson, David Scott and John Lewis -- have expressed concerns about the project, and specifically about a proposed compressor station in Dougherty County. Opponents want the congressional delegation to lean on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to give the whole plan a thumbs-down.
And on Monday, the EPA announced that it has "very significant concerns" about the proposed route, which involves the Floridan aquifer, more than 1,000 acres of wetlands and "other environmentally sensitive areas."
It's an interesting situation with interesting timing. The EPA has been an especially unpopular entity lately with Georgia's political leadership, which has challenged, among other things, stricter federal interpretation of clean water regulations that provoked the ire of farmers, developers and other landowners both residential and commercial.
Now the EPA says the Sabal project is a potential threat to, among other natural assets, an aquifer that supplies drinking water to millions, at a time when the state is involved in high-profile water negotiations (and litigation). Its proposed path also would affect a largely residential and minority population.
On what side will state officials -- including the governor -- who are simultaneously fighting the EPA on water and Kinder Morgan on oil weigh in on this one? Or will they be tempted just to stick their hands in their pockets, look the other way and whistle happy tunes in the hope that it just goes away?
It's not going anywhere any time soon. Spectra Energy, the company that would build the pipeline, has not officially commented on the latest developments, but has maintained from the start that its technology and materials are environmentally sound.
More to come.
This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Another energy project causing ruckus in region."