Here’s why it’s good the Mesaba Project was not built!
June 14th, 2015
Remember the Excelsior Energy Mesaba Project (see Legalectric posts and Citizens Against the Mesaba Project’s “Camp Site”), the boondoggle coal gasification plant that almost was, the project that got every legislative perk possible, got financing and grants based on wishful thinking and that “something else” that we just can’t identify (without which, who would think this was a good idea? That plant that was to be built, according to the special legislation for this project, on a site WITH INFRASTRUCTURE? This site… dig the infrastructure!
Anyway, it wasn’t built here. But a similar plant WAS built in Indiana, the Edwardsport plant owned by Duke Energy. As with the Mesaba Project it was proposed at a reasonable price, legislators were first told $700 million, and then it went upwards of $2.11 billion. For Edwardsport, same story, and that price kept going up, up, up, and in Indiana, it was so extreme that costs recoverable from ratepayers were capped by the Indiana Public Utility Commission at $2.9 BILLION. It was allowed to be built, and it started operating, sort of… Average output has been 41%, when an 80+% capacity factor was promised. Repairs? That’s putting it mildly. Now they’re going to try to get cost recovery for that.
Now, let’s not all forget all the money given by the Joyce Foundation to support this nonsense.
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Here’s a specific and eloquent comment from Michael Mullet, very involved in opposition to the Edwardsport fiasco:
Senators and Representatives stand up for the people!
June 9th, 2015
WOW! Hot off the press, U.S. Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton from Arkansas, Senator Lamar Alexander from Tennessee, and U.S. Representatives Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack, and Bruce Westerman have all signed on to a letter to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz to extend the comment period on the Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project.
And here’s their press release:
Federal Lawmakers Request More Time for Comment Period on Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project
In their press release, they make it easy for all of you to send your request too… so just do it!
Written comments should be addressed as follows: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), 1222 Program, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. Electronic comments can be emailed to plainsandeastern@hq.doe.gov. [and also send to the DOE assigned staff person, Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov] The Department will make comments available as they are received. Additional information from the Department is available at http://energy.gov/oe/downloads/plains-eastern-clean-line-transmission-line-part-2-application
Please take a few minutes and send them a hearty THANK YOU!!!
Senator Boozman (AR) Contact Page
Senator Cotton (AR) Contact Page
And in the Arkansas News:
BLOCK Plains & Eastern Clean Line docket filings
June 8th, 2015
QUICK — take a few seconds and send a missive to BOTH plainsandeastern@hq.doe.gov AND Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov and ask for 1) an extension of time to file comments, at least to September 11, 2015; and 2) public hearings across the affected area, as they did for the DEIS.
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Hot off the press, here are the BLOCK Plains & Eastern Clean Line: Arkansas and Oklahoma Initial Filings to the DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in the Plains & Eastern Clean Line docket:
And to add a little frosting on the cake:
Meanwhile, Clean Line is putting its efforts into ASTROTURF!!! You’d think they’d have a clue how that goes over.
And here’s the Citizens First Congress Champions for Change luncheon, where BLOCK Plains & Eastern Clean Line: Arkansas and Oklahoma’s Alison Milsaps spoke to the crowd:
Arkansas natural gas pipeline fails
June 7th, 2015
A Spectra Energy owned backup line to the Texas Eastern natural gas pipeline ruptured, last Sunday or Monday. It’s a 24″ pipeline, and 4 million cubic feet of gas leaked out. That’s a lot of gas, one article says it’s enough for 60+ homes for a year!
What’s most odd about this is the lackadaisical attitude about reporting this problem, see that last article on the list below. One article reported:
Arkansas River pipeline blowout occurred Sunday morning, cause still unknown
Then within a couple minutes, the turbulence dissipated and disappeared. Metzler said he drove down to the river that afternoon, but to his puzzlement could find nothing amiss. He and others talked about contacting the Coast Guard, he said, but decided against it because “we didn’t know what to tell them. Something had happened, but nobody knew what.”
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Metzler said there was concrete scattered across the deck of the Chris M, skid marks across the boat’s surface, and handrails and an exhaust stack knocked over. “The concrete still had the form of a pipe,” he said, and parts of it were “covered in soot — I decided this thing must have been on fire.” He is convinced the Texas Eastern exploded. “I believe a big piece of pipe blew out of the river and flew through the air,” he said.
The towboat Chris M, owned by Jeffrey Sand Co. in North Little Rock, was damaged Sunday morning when a natural gas pipeline i… (Credit: Special to the Democrat-Gazette)Pipeline in Arkansas River Ruptures, Releases Natural Gas
Natural Gas Released as Pipeline Ruptures in Arkansas River
Arkansas pipeline shut after rupture
63-year-old gas line that blew had a ‘smart pig’ check in ’12
Officials close Arkansas River after natural gas line ruptures
Gas Pipeline Ruptures in Arkansas River
Natural gas line ruptures in river near LR airport
CHECK THIS ONE: News of pipeline rupture called slow
From the “WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING” file…
May 25th, 2015
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The miracle was he was brought to the hospital, treated, and released. WHEW!
Who would hold an event with fly-ins of any type next to a big honkin’ transmission line?
From Scripps Channel 5 News
Skydiver Treated, Released From Hospital After Hitting Powerlines
And another version:
And in the Winchester Herald Chronicle:
Skydiver lines jolts Memorial Day event landing in power
Posted on Monday, May 25, 2015 at 9:27 am
STAFF WRITER courtney stachel
A skydiver drifting into a power line from a wind gust Saturday at the Red, White and You Memorial Day event in Winchester was followed by a happy ending when word was given that he had been treated and released from the hospital.
More than 400 spectators witnessed the incident when skydiver John Pitts, of the Fly It Like You Stole It skydiving team, was the first of three divers to exit an airplane and came down toward the ground gracefully while the National Anthem was being played.
A wind gust hit Pitts, causing him to drift into the electrical lines where he was left hanging for less than a minute. He dropped from the lines and fell onto a rocky area next to Tims Ford Lake.
Zachary Colescott, Winchester Municipal Airport manager, said right after the fall that Pitts was conscious and being airlifted.
Colescott said the team was concerned about the wind flow the day of the event.
“That was one thing we were worried about was the wind — being so close to the water and the power lines,” he said. “I’m really glad he is okay.”
Despite the scary interruption to the show, acclaimed country singer Lee Greenwood went on to perform as scheduled.
The event lasted all day and held plenty of entertainment for spectators, including the traveling Vietnam memorial wall, musical entertainment and a boat parade.
Jayson Davis, Moore-Cortner Funeral Home family services counselor, said the outcome at the event was surprising.
“There were a lot more people who came out than we expected,” he said. “I’m proud that so many people came out to enjoy the day with us.”
Greenwood was the main attraction. He spoke from the heart in a talking to the Herald Chronicle about small town U.S.A. and how he was looking forward to coming to Winchester and preforming.
“I love the small town flavor as it reminds me how I grew up in California,” he said. “Little towns are becoming big towns, and big towns are becoming big cities. Somewhere in the transition, we are losing the face of America. Winchester, Tennessee, is a reminder of all that is good with the United States.”
For Greenwood, Memorial Day provided the perfect opportunity to spread his message of patriotism.
“Memorial Day is not just about the good food, drinks and fireworks, which thrills the crowds — it’s about remembering those who have sacrificed through the years to give us that chance,” he said. “There are memorials all across the nation that bear witness to the struggle America has had in gaining and maintain our independence. It’s that thought I reflect on when I sing and when we observe this holiday.”
