FERC ruling all but ends Dougherty County pipeline battle

ALBANY — There was no denying the hurt, the disappointment in Dinorah Hall’s voice.

“I really don’t have a lot to say at this point,” Hall said. “I will make one simple statement, though. I am deeply saddened, deeply disappointed that FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) has chosen to ignore our comments and is allowing this unneeded and risky project to move forward. Dougherty County will absorb all the risk and reap none of the benefits from the project.

“We are currently evaluating our options.”

The “we” Hall referenced includes herself and other landowners and concerned citizens who fought for the better part of three years to keep the Sabal Trail Transmission natural gas pipeline from coming through Dougherty County on its way from central Alabama to central Florida. On Wednesday, that group’s efforts proved to be in vain as the aforementioned Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized a certificate of public convenience and necessity that allows for the construction and operation of the 516-mile pipeline.

Andrea Grover, a spokeswoman for Houston-based Spectra Energy, which with NextEra Energy and Duke Energy is jointly developing the $3.2 billion project, said Thursday there is much work to be done before work begins in May or June.

“We are very pleased to have reached this major milestone in the project,” Grover said in an email to The Albany Herald. “The FERC certificate is the final approval for the overall environmental determination and need of the project. It validates our almost three years of meetings and discussions with community members, landowners, public officials and permitting agencies. These discussions and our field work led to many community accommodations and adjustments to routing or design of the pipeline. The FERC certificate reflects Sabal Trail’s efforts to address the raised questions and concerns and the subject matter expertise of our team.

“There is still a lot of work to be done and other permits to be finalized before the pipeline construction commences — including hosting local contractor fairs in the near future for local vendors and suppliers. This is a very positive step in the process, and we look forward to being a good community business member for years to come.”

Sabal Trail Transmission hopes to begin delivering up to 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily by May 1, 2017. A contract is already in place for much of that delivery to go to Florida Power and Light to provide energy for a large section of north Florida.

Five compressor stations used to move the natural gas through the pipeline will be built along its path, the only one in Georgia scheduled to be located in Dougherty County. Noise and air quality around the compressor station were among the primary concerns mentioned by Hall and others who opposed the pipeline.