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 →
If built, the ACP could mar the beautiful, unfragmented viewshed of the southern end of the proposed 90,000-acre Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area that stretches from Rt. 250 north to Rt. 33 on the western side of the Shenandoah Valley. A new utility corridor across the Braley Pond area and Continue Reading →
The Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition has objected to a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) proposal to issue a “Water Quality Certification” (WQC) that would give free rein to parties proposing to rip and blast through Virginia streams and wetlands to build utility lines. The DEQ has not conducted the Continue Reading →
FERC’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline provides inaccurate, incomplete, and incorrect information about impacts on our core forested areas, streams, wildlife, and recreation as it cuts a 21-mile permanent swath over rugged mountains and valleys in our National Forests. The route crosses 26 native brook trout streams 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 →
Governor McAuliffe pleads with us to believe he’s impotent to protect Virginians and our natural treasures from the harms that would accompany the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines. We know better. Why has the Governor claimed for so many months that only federal officials could affect the fates of Continue Reading →