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 →
DPMC has been insisting for months that the Virginia DEQ speak clearly and in writing about the status of Dominion’s application for a Clean Water Act (CWA) review, which the State is responsible for completing. We feared that without such a statement Virginia might lose its chance to properly act 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 →
The DPMC has written to Governor McAuliffe asking him to act immediately to avoid forfeiting Virginia’s responsibilities under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and state laws for oversight of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Despite promising that the ACP would be environmentally responsible, the Governor has repeatedly and wrongly claimed 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 →
The U.S. Forest Service has raised concerns about the impacts of proposed ACP pipeline and access road construction on wild trout streams in the George Washington National Forest (GWNF). In preliminary comments submitted to FERC on September 1, 2016, the Forest Service identified several brook trout streams in the National Forest Continue Reading →
Dominion has proposed 206 miles of access roads for the western section of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline between Buckingham County, Va. and Harrison County, W.Va. Access roads can be as problematic as the pipeline itself and may be subject to even less regulatory oversight. Some roads are new. Others involve Continue Reading →
The DPMC has submitted comments to the US Army Corps of Engineers requesting that gas pipeline projects proposed for construction in the mid-Atlantic mountain region be excluded from the Corps’ general permitting program. The general permits are intended to apply to projects with minimal environmental impact. The DPMC argues that Continue Reading →
Continuing the ACP Story Map series: FOREST FRAGMENTATION AND THE ACP The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would cause irreversible harm to some of the largest tracts of unfragmented forest in Virginia and West Virginia. These large core forests provide critical habitat for a high biodiversity of species, support valuable ecosystem services, 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 →
DPMC has initiated an ACP Story Map Project to promote informed decision making for the proposed pipelines across the central Appalachian mountains and valleys. Story Maps provide a means to integrate online GIS maps with text, photos, graphics, and videos to tell a story, make a case, summarize an issue, etc. Continue Reading →
Thousands of Virginians are concerned about the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines. There is vigorous discussion and debate — the kind of open, public conversation that should surround proposals affecting the lives of so many people. But there’s a problem with this conversation. Officials in Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration Continue Reading →
In what seems to be a step in the right direction, the Virginia DEQ has advised ACP and MVP developers that “project-specific” erosion and sediment control plans will be required. The move to require project-specific plans, while seeming to be an improvement, is really a smokescreen that obscures a continued Continue Reading →