There are numerous updates to report from the last few weeks. As land agents for the hazardous liquids pipeline continue to attempt acquiring easements, opposition is growing from all corners of the state and beyond. Easement acquisition efforts began on October 1, and there are reports that offers are being structured with bonuses if the landowner will sign within a two-week time period. --------------------------------------- Video of a Landowners Exchange with a Pipeline Land Agent A video has just been released showing one landowners experience with a pipeline agent. The agent had shared over the phone that the company would avoid problem areas such as springs and caves but once the agent visited the property, he stated, theres nothing I can do about the cave and that whatever he says doesnt mean anything. Listen to the exchange here: Safety is Priority One? --------------------------------------- Representative Horlander Letter to the Editor The Lexington Herald recently published a letter from Representative Dennis Horlander, who expressed that the General Assembly should strengthen laws governing eminent domain. Here are a few excerpts from the letter: During the next legislative session, the General Assembly must strengthen laws governing eminent domain to protect property owners. Our constitution guarantees strong protections when it comes to property rights and we should reinforce the protection with clearly stated regulations. I have experienced the pressure of eminent domain. As I was just getting started in my real-estate business, the government took an apartment building I had renovated in order to widen the Watterson Expressway. I did not feel I was compensated fairly; I remember feeling powerless and without any good options. I call upon my colleagues in the General Assembly and the citizens of our commonwealth to become informed and engaged. We must speak with one clear voice that owners of the proposed pipeline should not use or threaten eminent domain to achieve their goals. --------------------------------------- 36,000 Petition Signatures Delivered to the Governor On November 6, a group of about 40 concerned citizens, including faith leaders, delivered more than 36,000 petition signatures to Governor Beshear. The petition was signed by Kentuckians and concerned citizens from across the country. As reported by the Courier-Journal: Sister Clair McGowan, a Dominican Sister of Peace, from Saint Catharine near Springfield, said that concerns of the sisters of Loretto and others caused the website Faithful America, to collect signatures for the petition asking Beshear to “Please oppose this pipeline and protect Kentucky’s homes, land and drinking water. McGowan described Faithful America as “an online community of people of faith striving to put principles of justice at work in the world. Rev. Cynthia Cain, minister with the Unitarian Universalist Church, said, “When people of faith around the country learned of our efforts here to care for Kentucky’s people, land, water and heritage and to oppose this dangerous liquids pipeline, they responded in large numbers. --------------------------------------- Pipeline Effort Criticism by the Kentucky Standard Editorial Board The Kentucky Standard Editorial Board has published an article about the hazardous liquids pipeline citing Kentuckys history and past experience with energy companies as a contributor to opposition in the state. The article asserted that Kentuckians arent going to be persuaded with platitudes and some suggestion that the company has ties to the state, nor will they be fooled by the economy and jobs line. Here are excerpts from the article: To say the rollout of the Bluegrass Pipeline was bungled in Nelson County is an understatement. To their credit, outreach has increased since June, as news coverage increased and opposition to the project galvanized in several corners of the state. But the companies’ solution to their communication problem seems ham-fisted at best. A series of “open houses,” where any attendee looking to find information from company officials were forced to sign their names and give contact information, seemingly did little to set the public at ease. Many residents who left one open house in Elizabethtown this summer said they had questions they felt had not been adequately answered. Still others left the venue saying they had been open-minded when they walked in, but had left deciding to oppose the project. Now the companies have turned to a less one-on-one approach. Direct mail pieces have started showing up in mailboxes and full-page advertisements in newspapers, including this newspaper. One marketing piece features a montage of wholesome-looking, smiling families interspersed with photos of historical main streets and tree-lined streets. And of course, the American and Kentucky flags are featured prominently. “Kentuckians work hard and play by the rules. So do we,” the mailer proclaims. The problem is, Kentuckians aren’t going to be persuaded with platitudes and some suggestion that the company has some sort of ties to the state. And they’re not going to be fooled by the “economy and jobs” line, when they know full well any economic benefits are going to consist of possibly short-term construction jobs while the pipeline is built. Motivation by profit is fine; it’s what makes our capitalist economy work. But the problem is that people are concerned that all too often, companies value profits over safety and the cost of good corporate citizenship. Too many corporations have found that it is more cost-effective to pay the fines if they get caught than to invest in preventive measures. Company officials have expressed confusion as to the reaction they have received in the Bluegrass compared to other states. Kentuckians are different, they seem to be saying. Maybe we are. Maybe we take a more suspicious view of corporations. Perhaps we value our rolling hills and clear streams more than others. The pipeline officials need to remember that Kentuckians have a long history with energy companies, stretching back into the previous century in the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky. Perhaps they should read Harry Caudill’s “Night Comes to the Cumberlands.” It might help them understand where we’re coming from. --------------------------------------- Planning and Zoning Efforts Citizens in many counties are looking to planning and zoning to pass ordinances that would protect citizens from the threat of incidents associated with the hazardous liquids pipeline should it be built in the state. As reported by the Lexington Herald, efforts are beginning in several counties. Tom FitzGerald, an attorney with the Kentucky Resources Council, will discuss regulation through zoning with members of the Pendleton County Joint Planning Commission in Northern Kentucky. I will be talking about the range of authority that counties have, and I will be presenting my recommendations that could be taken to get out ahead of proposed pipelines, he said. Under state law, counties have authority to set fixed standards of where pipelines could be routed, FitzGerald said. Planning administrators in several counties have contacted him and expressed interest in this issue, he said. One method would be to require that companies seeking to build a natural gas liquids pipeline get a conditional use permit for those activities, which, because of their nature, would pose an unacceptable risk unless certain conditions were met. That would give counties flexibility for more frequent monitoring or a monitoring system that would detect leaks more effectively. In Woodford County, residents have drawn up a 14-point model ordinance that outlines a host of things a company must do before it can construct a natural gas liquids pipeline. The document suggests minimum setbacks or distances from houses, schools, other structures, electric transmission lines and ponds; requires groundwater monitoring; sets bond amounts and impact fees that fiscal court would administer to cover any negative effects to roads, livestock or property; requires a written risk-management plan; and includes penalties for failure to comply. --------------------------------------- Easement Efforts Journalists along the proposed route have begun reporting county specific easement efforts, and some newspapers have even printed the names, addresses, and compensation paid to landowners who have granted right-of-ways. So far, it doesnt appear that major progress is being made relative to the coverage needed to bring the pipeline through the state. The Kentucky Standard has reported that 12 landowners in Nelson County that have been paid $161,000 for a right-of-way. Its estimated that 120-150 landowners would need to grant an easement in the county. In Larue County, the clerks office has recorded six deeds totaling $116,000 in value. There are reports that 9 easements have been granted in Anderson County, and its estimated that 90 landowners would need to grant right-of-ways. --------------------------------------- Upcoming Meeting Bluegrass Pipeline representatives will attend a public forum on the proposed pipeline in Pendleton County on Monday, November 18 at 6:30 PM. All are welcomed to attend. The meeting is being held at the old courthouse (upstairs), and the address is 233 Main St., Falmouth, KY. The last public forum was a heated meeting held in Scott County. WAVE3 reported on that meeting. --------------------------------------- About the Pipeline The proposed Bluegrass hazardous liquids pipeline could run roughly 1,200 miles through eight states from producing areas in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania to the Gulf of Mexico. The route would consist of: 1) about 550 miles of new construction and 2) an existing Texas Gas pipeline, which is proposed to be repurposed for hazardous liquid use. The Texas Gas portion, which was built in the 1950s, would begin in Hardinsburg, KY and extend to the Eunice, Louisiana. The proposed pipeline route, both new and existing, would run 340 miles through Kentucky - 160 miles of converted pipeline and 180 miles of new pipeline, including counties with caves, springs, and tens of thousands of sinkholes, according to a leading karst hydrogeologist. The overwhelming majority of Kentucky counties along the proposed new construction portion of the route have passed resolutions related to the pipeline. The pipeline would cross about 700 waterways, including the Mississippi River in 3 areas. Kentucky stream crossings would number in the hundreds, and the pipeline would run under the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers. The maximum operating pressure of the 24 new build section, which is proposed to be buried 2-4 feet underground, would be 1,480 psig, while the maximum operating pressure of the 26 existing section would be 810 psig. Learn more at nobluegrasspipeline, https://facebook/bluegrasspipeline.blockade, and stopthebluegrasspipeline.us -- Note: You are receiving this message as a result of attendance at a local meeting or due to your interest in the proposed Bluegrass NGL Pipeline. If you no longer wish to receive updates or believe you were added mistakenly, simply reply to this message to be removed from distribution. If you know of others wishing to subscribe, they may do so by sending a message to nobluegrasspipeline@gmail requesting to be added. To get involved in efforts to address the concerns of this pipeline, you may respond to this message expressing interest.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 04:18:20 +0000
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