Pipeline project halted ... for now
The Georgia General Assembly’s 11th-hour decision to hit “Pause” on the controversial Kinder Morgan pipeline project was an exercise in discretion that is more than just the better part of valor. It was also good politics — and perhaps a nod to good science as well.
Texas-based KM announced Wednesday on the company website that it has suspended work on the project, after sustained and vocal opposition by environmentalists and landowners in eastern Georgia, supported by no less an eminence than Gov. Nathan Deal.
The Palmetto Pipeline, as designed and mapped, would transport large quantities of diesel fuel, gasoline and ethanol over a roughly 200-mile stretch of coastal Georgia. Objections not just from environmental groups but also from property owners affected by KM’s access to their land prompted lawmakers to approve an approximately year-long moratorium until next year, during which time a study commission will take a closer look at the issues, risks and rights involved.
Kinder Morgan has argued — with the support of some of the affected landowners — that the project is a cost- and energy-saving measure for Georgia, reducing tanker truck transport to and from Savannah.
But, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, other property owners who “have already given up swaths of their property for towering transmission cables and roadways … draw the line at a pipeline for an area with no shortage of fuel.”
Putting the whole thing on hold for a year to take a closer look, and to let all the interested parties make their respective cases, is almost certainly the best course for now.
Big-league talent
Most area baseball fans in their 20s or younger never knew a bad Atlanta Braves team until recently. More than any other single figure, John Schuerholz is responsible for that stretch of blissful ignorance.
The organization’s front office announced this week that Schuerholz, 75, the team’s longtime general manager who moved into the role of president a few years ago, will be stepping down to serve as vice chairman and an adviser to baseball operations. Asked by reporters if the move is the equivalent of retirement for Schuerholz, Braves chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk quickly responded, “Heck no.”
Right answer.
Certainly the deep pockets of former owner Ted Turner made it possible for the Braves to reach and maintain the level of excellence that resulted in 14 straight division titles, five National League pennants and a World Series championship. But Turner had already owned the team for 15 years, with only sporadic on-field success (mostly the Braves were just plain awful), when he lured Kansas City Royals GM Schuerholz to Atlanta.
The rest, as the saying goes …
Braves fans should hope McGuirk’s description of Schuerholz’s continued involvement is accurate. The team is basically starting over from the bottom — which is right where they were when John Schuerholz first came to town.
This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Pipeline project halted ... for now."