Mea Culpa, or ‘What happens when you don’t hear what you thought you heard’

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Friday, March 14, 2014 — In every journalist’s career there are times when we probably each have been guilty of hearing something and not understanding the full context of the conversation.

The right thing to do in these cases is to take time and question the subject about his or her statement to confirm or dispel what the writer heard — or thought was heard.

That was my situation at the recent Bardstown-Nelson County Chamber of Commerce luncheon that featured a presentation about the Bluegrass Pipeline by Scott Carney and a column I wrote about a conversation I overheard while waiting to talk with Carney.

What I apparently overheard was just part of the total conversation, Carney told me during a phone call Friday afternoon.

Carney explained that he wasn’t denying the pipeline’s partners have lobbyist working on behalf of Williams and the Boardwalk Pipeline Partners. The comments I heard him make addressed the lobbying efforts by other groups, like the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky Oil & Gas Association, Kentucky Association of Manufacturers, etc.

He was explaining specifically that their lobbying efforts regarding House Bill 31 are based on a variety of concerns about the legislation’s potential impact. While the Bluegrass Pipeline’s partners may be members of one or more of those groups, he assured me the groups’ concerns go beyond those of just the pipeline.

In my hurry to get back to my computer that day and then to another appointment, I failed to take time to talk with Carney about these statements.

In my column about the luncheon, I was hard on Carney and asserted he outright lied to a local realtor in his answer to her question. I failed to talk to Carney specifically to get the statement’s context correct. It was an error on my part and I offer Carney my apology.

Carney also took issue with my observation about the luncheon’s format that prohibited questions from the group. Attendees with questions were asked to approach pipeline representatives individually.

The format wasn’t set by the pipeline representatives, he said.  There was no intent to avoid answering questions from the audience.

Carney also expressed frustration with the level of media skepticism regarding the pipeline’s tax revenue estimates. The estimates are prepared by experts hired by the pipeline partners and are legitimate, he said.

As a journalist, the problem is that I have a multitude of knowledgeable sources — including elected officials with sources inside and outside state and local government — who have told me for months now those revenue numbers are overly optimistic.

According to the Bluegrass Pipeline website, there a number of factors that determine tax revenue generated by underground pipelines, and those factors vary from one state to another. For the sake of our schools and local government, I hope those revenue forecasts are spot-on. With that said, I reserve the right to remain skeptical until the actual figures are available.

Do the pipeline partners have the right to use eminent domain? The partners say “yes”; House Bill 31 is a legislative attempt to narrow eminent domain to prevent its use for projects outside the scope of public utility like roads, bridges, utilities, etc.

As I said in my earlier editorial, I see HB 31 as legislation that protects the rights of property owners. It isn’t intended to stop the Bluegrass Pipeline, only close a loophole in eminent domain law. But as an increasing number of floor amendments are filed, its chances of passage remain unclear.

The partners say they are committed to hiring Kentucky firms to build the Kentucky portion of the pipeline. It is another claim rejected by most pipeline opponents.

I’ll admit I too was skeptical of that claim. But then I recently received a call from the owner of a Kentucky company that does horizontal boring for pipelines. He assured me his firm will be one of those in-state contractors seeking to contribute to the pipeline construction.

The Bluegrass Pipeline is a nearly $7 billion project, and it would be great to see some Kentucky-based companies getting a share of that construction money.

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