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 →
A new study of the mid-Atlantic’s demand for natural gas reveals that two proposed and highly controversial interstate pipelines are not needed because existing pipelines can supply more than enough fuel to power the region through 2030. A report on the study, prepared by Massachusetts-based Synapse Energy Economics, was released Continue Reading →
Announcing the latest in the ACP Story Map series: DOMINION’S PIPELINE THREATENS PROTECTED PRIVATE LAND Dominion has asked Virginia Outdoors Foundation to give up stewardship on 10 conservation easements to make way for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Dominion has gone too far with this unprecedented request. At its September 2016 Continue Reading →
Atlantic Coast Pipeline proponents assert that Dominion has repeatedly moved the proposed route in a good-faith effort to accommodate environmental and landowner concerns. Yet irrational pipeline opponents are never satisfied. This complaint was recently made by Richmond Times columnist Bart Hinkle. The following response to his commentary was distributed as an open letter: Continue Reading →
The ACP-EMS is an online interactive map depicting environmental risks and sensitivities associated with the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The purpose of the ACP-EMS is to organize and provide access to environmental information and to support engagement in ACP permitting and oversight. The geographic focus of the ACP-EMS includes approximately Continue Reading →
Dominion has announced that it plans to pursue an alternative route for the ACP in response to Forest Service concerns about harm to protected species and habitats in the Cheat Mountain area of West Virginia and the Shenandoah Mountain area of Virginia. The change in plans addresses concerns about endemic Continue Reading →
The Forest Service has rejected the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline route through the Monongahela and George Washington National Forests. The Forest Service specifically determined that the proposed route does not meet minimum requirements of initial screening criteria for special use of National Forest System lands in West Virginia and Virginia. The decision Continue Reading →
The proposed ACP will cross the greatest concentration of high-integrity forest and ecological core areas in both Virginia and West Virginia. (1) Concerns about increasing fragmentation of these forest areas and damage to ongoing restoration efforts were raised in scoping comments submitted by the DPMC to FERC in April 2015. (2) One of Continue Reading →
Dominion has responded to concerns about impacts to the rare Cow Knob salamander with an extreme proposal to drill though Shenandoah Mountain. The so-called horizontal directional drilling would involve two separate sections of 1.3 and 1.1 miles. Damage to Cow Knob salamander habitat would not be completely avoided, a native Continue Reading →
The Southern Environmental Law Center has appealed a FERC decision to deny access to detailed route maps for the proposed ACP. The appeal also objects to arguments made by Dominion against providing even restricted access to the maps. This is a critical issue, and it is emblematic of our overall problem with Dominion, FERC, and other Continue Reading →
The following is a letter to the Richmond Times-Dispatch published on May 7th. It was submitted by Greg Buppert, a Senior Attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. Mr. Buppert observes that Dominion started the project with a straight line from West Virginia to Virginia. It’s not too late, he Continue Reading →