The pipeline: What happens from here
October 17, 2017
Federal regulators approved the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Friday evening, bringing the project one step closer to full approval for construction in Augusta County and elsewhere along its 600-mile route through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
Getting the go-ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) grants the pipeline developers the authority to use eminent domain to acquire property from landowners they can't reach agreements with — but the project's not a done deal yet.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) still must issue some key permits in order for the pipeline to be constructed on its planned route, which projects to cross more than 700 rivers and streams in Virginia.
The DEQ has the power to deny or permit the ACP from crossing those water bodies under the Clean Water Act. The agency has instituted some required conditions that will need to be met for the pipeline to be issued the necessary permits for construction.
Pressuring those state regulators not to issue the permits will be the focus moving forward for pipeline opponents on the ground here in Augusta County, said Jennifer Lewis, president and founder of the Friends of Augusta anti-pipeline group. They plan to go to upcoming DEQ public hearings to voice their concerns over the pipeline's potential effect on Virginia water.
“None of us are giving up and we’re going to keep fighting," she said. “I don’t think people understand the serious risk this project would have to our water."
The pipeline developers aren't stopping their fight on the other side either, of course. Getting approval from FERC was "the most significant milestone yet" for the pipeline, said Leslie Hartz, vice president of engineering and construction for Dominion Energy, the pipeline's lead developer...
Read entire article at News Leader.
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