The communication professionals working for Dominion are campaigning to convince everyone that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a done deal – despite the fact that challenges are mounting and the project has received none of the required state and federal approvals. An article just published in Southeast Energy News highlights some of Continue Reading →
Dominion intends to blast away, excavate, and partially remove mountaintops along 38 miles of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia. The magnitude of this undertaking has been described in a fact sheet, New Data: Atlantic Coast Pipeline Would Trigger Extensive Mountaintop Removal. The fact sheet was Continue Reading →
The editorial writers of the Richmond Times-Dispatch go to extremes in their support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Their April 8th editorial, Time to move forward on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, is a classic. DPMC Investigator, David Sligh, provided the following response (published in the RTD on April 15th). Your Continue Reading →
An update to our last article – Timely Access to Critical Information: The DEQ has changed its story. DPMC wants to know why legal action was required to get what we trust is an accurate story. In response to DPMC’s April 7 request for public records related to construction of Continue Reading →
For the second time in less than a year, the Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition (DPMC) has started a legal proceeding to compel the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to obey the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). DPMC seeks information justifying a DEQ decision that affects regulation of utility Continue Reading →
Congress explicitly reserved states’ authorities to veto federally-permitted projects, to protect state waters. That authority comes from section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which empowers states to grant or deny a “water quality certification” and forbids federal approval without that certification. The following op-ed by DPMC Regulatory System Investigator, Continue Reading →
A new overview of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the ACP is now available. DEIS: What is it? What’s in it? What you can do! is a 16-page overview of the DEIS process, prepared by Lew Freeman, Chair and Executive Director of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance. It features highlights Continue Reading →
The DPMC has submitted a report to FERC on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the ACP and the proposal to drill through the Blue Ridge Mountains under the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the George Washington National Forest. Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act requires Continue Reading →
Before the ACP can be built across the national forests, the US Forest Service must issue Special Use Permits and amend forest management plans. Dominion has repeatedly requested “expedited” review of this complex project which has so much potential to negatively impact both public and private lands. The Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance Continue Reading →
Two documents that substantiate the dramatically increased probability of precipitation-induced landslides following the extensive excavation associated with construction of the proposed ACP and related roads were recently submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. One, submitted by the DPMC, concerns the Little Valley area in Bath County, Virginia. The other, Continue Reading →
The following was published in the December 16, 2016 ABRA Update (No. 109). The National Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management have raised objections to FERC’s permitting timetable for the proposed Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines. In letters to FERC, the agencies state that they must follow their own review process Continue Reading →
Dominion officials acknowledge that the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline faces significant environmental challenges due to construction across steep, highly-erodible, and landslide prone mountain landscape. They assure us, however, that project construction will adhere to the highest standards, and that the company will go “above and beyond” legal requirements. Yet they will Continue Reading →
If permitted, both the ACP and the MVP will cross steep-sided, highly erodible and landslide-prone mountains, sensitive and complex karst hydrology, high-integrity forests, and high-quality streams and wetlands. The scale of the projects and the risks are unprecedented. Yet the companies propose to wait until after completion of environmental review, until after Continue Reading →
The native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is a symbol of the best of what remains of wild landscape and intact mountain forests in the central Appalachian Mountain region. Naturally reproducing trout streams are associated with healthy ecosystems, clean water, and above all, relatively undisturbed and undeveloped watersheds. Brook trout are Continue Reading →
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement, to inform decisions by regulatory and land management agencies concerning the ACP. The Forest Service will use information provided in the EIS when deciding whether to revise management plans to accommodate a new utility corridor and the related access Continue Reading →