last update: September 3, 2008

RALLY IN DEFENSE OF THE EVERGLADES * SEPTEMBER 20

Gulfstream Pipeline
Commences Service

On August 21, 2008, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved Gulfsteam's July 25th request to begin service. The pipeline began operations on September 1. Check the Pipeline Status page for more details.

Emergency Injunction Filed against Pipeline

A Motion for Emergency Injunction was filed in Federal Court August 29, 2008 by the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) in response to an August 21 order to "commence operations" for gas pipeline fueling for the West County Energy Center.

With the accelerating climate change we have seen in recent years and the horrific and catastrophic changes in our planet's environment as a result of these changes, there is no more time for half-measures in dealing with this crisis. It is the height of irresponsibility for FPL to even consider spending billions of dollars for another fossil fuel power plant, simply to provide energy for people that are not even here and, according to recent demographic changes, perhaps never will be here.

After more than two years of battle, including 6 administrative legal challenges (five of which are still pending), dozens of demonstrations and more than 30 arrests for multiple civil disobedience actions, the PBCEC is asking Judge Middlebrooks to halt any further damage to regional ecosystems caused by construction while their Federal legal complaint is reviewed. This complaint alleges multiple counts of Federal and State violations, including: NEPA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, RICO, Sunshine Law, and others. Several of these violations pose immediate risks, necessitating the Motion for an Emergency Temporary Injunction.

A previous press conference in May of this year announcing the filing of this Federal Complaint ended in the arrest of plaintiff and PBCEC co-chair Panagioti Tsolkas on an alleged felony warrant in Martin County for trespassing on Gulfstream Pipeline property. Although the arrest caused hardships and delays for the group's work, it has solidified their commitment to fighting this project. The charges against Tsolkas, resulting from construction monitoring activities related to the group's litigation, were dropped by Martin County on August 13, 2008.

We refuse to be silenced by these energy giants. They are pulling the political strings across the world and driving the planet's remaining human and wildlife habitats into oblivion. No person with a conscience can stand by and watch it happen any longer.

We expect the court to grant the Injunction and require the permitting process to include a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will review cumulative and secondary risks associated with the segmented project.

We have a basic, fundamental demand. There is really not any way around it. Projects of this scale need an EIS." Florida Governor Charlie Crist, named as a Defendant, could revoke this power plant at anytime for violating the Final Certification approved by Governor Bush's Cabinet in December 2006.

Unfortunately we can't sit and wait for that.

Both PBCEC co-chair Panagioti Tsolkas and hyrdologist Dr. Sydney Bacchus have submitted affidavits in conjunction with the motion. They are available here: Tsolkas Affidavit, Bacchus Affidavit.

click on image above to download flyer

South Floridians have long stood by and allowed the Everglades to be drained, dredged, and destroyed by profiteers, developers, and politicians. The time has come to stand up in defense of our dying ecosystem and make your voice heard. Join Everglades Earth First! for a rally and protest on September 20th.

Starting 10am, meet at STA 1E in Western Palm Beach County (1 mile east of Lion Country Safari Rd., on the south side of Southern Blvd). We will rally and march to the entrance of FPL's West County Energy Center construction site inside the Palm Beach Aggregates rock mine-- which represent two of the greatest threats to the Everglades ecosystem.

FPL nuclear reactor taken off-line
Miami Herald
by John Dorschner

August 19, 2008

One of the two nuclear reactors at Turkey Point has been taken off-line
because of a leak, nuclear regulators reported Monday.

Roger Hannah, spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the problem was caused by a small leak in a pipe. The shut down started on
Friday afternoon and was completed on Sunday after several discussions
between NRC staff and FPL.

A repair crew for Florida Power & Light originally believed that they could
fix the leak while the reactor remained on-line, Hannah said. But phone
conservations with the NRC convinced them such a move was a ''misapplication
of a tech spec,'' meaning the manual of specifications under which the plant
is supposed to be conducted.

FPL spokesman Tom Veenstra said the action was taken on Unit 4 ``to repair a
connection between two small pipes leading to a valve that we use for
equipment testing when the units are off-line for refueling.''

The pipe and connector are inside the containment building, and there was
never any danger to the public, Veenstra said.

The event report filed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the
shut-down was ''required by technical specifications'' after a leak
developed from a ``structural weld crack. . . . The cause of the crack is
being evaluated.''

Veenstra said the utility makes no estimates about when off-line nuclear
reactors will come back into service.

Fuel pressure line ruptures at FPL power plant facility
Palm Beach Post Staff report

Friday, August 1, 2008

INDIANTOWN — A fuel pressure line ruptured at a Florida Power and Light Co. power plant facility late Wednesday, spilling between 5,500 and 6,000 gallons of petroleum and causing a small fire to start, Martin County Fire Rescue officials said Thursday.

The incident in the 25900 block of Southwest Warfield Boulevard happened about 11:20 p.m. No one was injured and the fuel was contained to the site, said Jon Belding, Martin County Fire Rescue bureau chief.

Fire Rescue units remained at the scene for several hours, said Hoss Wiggins, a Martin County Fire Rescue battalion chief.

"It made a bigger mess than it did anything else," Wiggins said.

Belding said the ruptured 2-inch line has more than 1,000 pounds per square inch worth of pressure and provides fuel to one of the plant units.

The spill did not affect any FPL customers, and the company should have everything cleaned up by Saturday, said Heather Kirkendall, FPL spokeswoman.

Palm Beach Post Staff report

Pipeline Nearing Completion

The Gulfstream Pipline extension is nearing completion, and has requested to begin operating on August 7, 2008, although it appears that the request has not been granted yet. Gulfstream was cited for 2 violations by the FDEP. Check our Pipeline Status page for more information.

We are working to get an injunction against the pipeline's operation, but we need help!

Environmental Impact Statement for LNG Facility Released

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Floridian Natural Gas Storage project was released on July 11. We are currently reviewing the document. To view it yourself, click here.

FPL Protestor Trials

Trial for four of the activists arrested at the February 18th direct action against the West County Energy Center took place August 11-14. This was the trial originally scheduled July 15th that was pushed back because one of the arresting officers scheduled to testify was ON VACATION! The facts that one of the defendants and had flown down from New England and that our expert witness drove down from Georgia were completely disregarded.

The trial went well, with great testimony from the defendants. The final verdict was not guilty on the count of unlawful assembly, and guilty on the counts of trespassing and resisting arrest without violence. Sentencing will be handed down August 29. Dates for the additional eight activists awaiting trial have not been set.

For more information on the trials, please see the FPL Trials page.

Monitoring Camp July 11-12

The camp that took place July 11-12 was a great success. We were able to gaining close view of the construction sites by taking canoes out onto the public waterway of the L-8 Canal, as well as hand out flyers to dozens of construction workers as they left the job site, talk to many local fishermen, and bring awareness to the hundreds of cars that drove by over the weekend.

Gulfstream was on edge and assigned many people to monitor us, both at our camp, and as we viewed the construction site from the road and the canal.

West County Energy Center Construction Worker Killed on the Job

Palm Beach Post reported:

A 61-year-old construction worker building FPL's WCEC power plant in western Palm Beach County was killed on June 27 after a pipe fell on him.

The 24-inch-wide pipe fell on the man while he was working on a scaffolding about 20 feet high, said county Fire-Rescue Capt. Don DeLucia. FPL employees used a crane to lower the worker to the ground, on a stretcher. But the man, whose name has not been released, was dead by the time rescuers arrived, DeLucia said.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Sgt. Pete Palenzuela said the sheriff's office was investigating, standard procedure for all industrial accidents resulting in deaths in the county.

The man, was an employee of the Zachary Construction Company, a contractor hired to help build the West County Energy Center, said FPL spokeswoman Heather Kirkendall. The natural gas-burning plant is rising off Southern Boulevard, west of Loxahatchee.

"Our thoughts go out to the family of the Zachary Construction Company worker," FPL spokeswoman Kirkendall said. "An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the accident. At FPL the safety of our employees and our contractors is our number one priority."

Kirkendall said that constructions workers were sent home for the day, but she did not know if construction would be put on hold during the investigation.