Florida Activists Blockade Construction on Sabal Trail Pipeline

By Rabbit / Earth First! Newswire

This morning, protesters halted work at a Sabal Trail pipeline construction site near Florida’s Santa Fe River with multiple blockades.

At around 7:00 AM, about 30 people holding signs and banners gathered on a dirt road leading to the construction site, blocking workers and work vehicles from driving down the road for about half an hour. The workers, all of whom were brought in from out of state, were attempting to bore hole drill under the Santa Fe River to create a path for the pipeline.

Police arrived after a few minutes, ordered the protesters out of the road, and shoving demonstraters in the process. Despite the order, protesters continued down the road towards the work site. Around half of the protesters entered a piece of property adjacent to the work site and approached workers with signs and banners, then came back to the road where everyone gathered to block a large water truck from entering the site. The water is necessary for bore hole drilling, and preventing the water from entering the site meant stalling construction yet again. Police again approached, and one protester was pushed into a barbed wire fence by an officer, but the blockade held strong for an hour and a half, with a banner crossing the two-lane road. It is believed that other vehicles and equipment were also unable to access the site due to the blockade.

During this hour-and-a-half-long standoff, some protesters moved to another side of the site and blockaded yet another work truck for about an hour.

The blockades ended with no arrests.

This action took place on the first day of the Springs Not Pipelines! action camp, organized by the newly-formed Eternal Springs Earth First!, local land owners, members of the American Indian Movement, and Our Santa Fe River. If completed, the 515-mile Sabal Trail pipeline, partly owned by Spectra Energy, would carry fracked gas through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, threatening wildlife and water sources. The action camp has declared solidarity with the #NoDAPL movement. This was just the first day of the action camp, so stay tuned for more eco-resistance!