Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline with Collection Header in WV & PA

Dominion Submits Pre-Filing Request to FERC for $500M Supply Header Project

By Charles Passut, Natural Gas Intelligence, November 5, 2014

Dominion submitted a pre-filing request to FERC on Tuesday, asking regulators to begin an environmental review of its proposed $500 million Supply Header project in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The Supply Header project calls for construction of about 34 miles of natural gas pipeline loop along existing rights-of-way. About four miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline would be built in Westmoreland County, PA, along with 30 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline in West Virginia’s Doddridge, Harrison, Tyler and Wetzel counties.

The project also calls for modifications and upgrades at two existing Dominion compressor stations in Pennsylvania (JB Tonkin Station in Westmoreland County and Crayne Station in Greene County), and two in West Virginia (Mockingbird Hill Station in Wetzel County and Burch Ridge Station in Marshall County). The modifications will result in approximately 75,000 hp of additional compression.

A Dominion subsidiary, Dominion Transmission Inc., would build and operate the Supply Header project, which would provide an additional 1.5 Bcf/d of firm transportation. One of the project’s main customers would be Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, a joint venture of Dominion, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources.

“The Supply Header project is another example of the many opportunities Dominion has to help fill the significant need for new infrastructure to bring prolific supplies throughout the Marcellus and Utica basins to market,” said Diane Leopold, president of Dominion’s energy unit.

According to Dominion, the review process that will be conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will include soliciting input “from numerous local, state and federal entities, and private citizens. Public safety, air quality, water resources, geology, soils, wildlife and vegetation, threatened and endangered species, land and visual resources, cultural and historic resources, noise, cumulative impacts and reasonable alternatives are fully examined. The project will need the approvals of federal, state and local environmental regulatory agencies before construction can begin.”

Dominion said it expects to file an application to FERC for the project in September 2015 and receive a certificate of public convenience and necessity in summer 2016. Construction would begin shortly thereafter.

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Volunteers form coalition to strictly monitor Atlantic Coast Pipeline project

From an Article by Sarah Tincher, State Journal, October 24, 2014

A group of environmental advocates have announced the formation of the Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition, which is one of many regional organizations taking a stand in opposition to Dominion’s proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

If approved, the pipeline would stretch about 550 miles from Harrison County, West Virginia to Greensville County, Virginia and then into eastern North Carolina.

The DPMC is primarily concerned about the project’s impact on water resources in the 100-mile mountain-and-valley section of the proposed pipeline route that extends from Cheat Mountain in Randolph County, West Virginia to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Nelson County, Virginia.

“It seems unlikely that Dominion officials have been properly informed about the problems associated with this proposed project. I don’t believe it can survive a legitimate environmental review or be constructed in compliance with state and federal environmental requirements,” said Rick Webb, coordinator for the DPMC.

The coalition intends to provide a new level of public oversight with respect to the proposed pipeline, which will be achieved through careful review of permit applications and site plans.

Should the project go to construction, the group added, members would also monitor the project for strict compliance with water-related regulations through ground and aerial surveillance. A key element in the DPMC surveillance program, volunteers with the DPMC’s Pipeline Air Force will observe and document construction from the air. At present the Pipeline Air Force includes three planes, and the DPMC is seeking the participation of additional pilots with planes.

In addition to aerial surveillance, the DPMC plans to promote and support the involvement of regional citizen water quality monitoring groups to obtain baseline and post-construction water quality data in relation to the proposed pipeline corridor and its associated infrastructure, such as transport roads and staging areas.

The DPMC effort currently involves numerous trained citizens and scientists who are engaged in research related to the regulatory review process, as well as in analysis of ecological conditions in the proposed pipeline corridor.

Several regional conservation organizations are participating in the coalition, including: West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, Allegheny Highlands Alliance, Virginia Wilderness Committee, Friends of Shenandoah Mountain, Highlanders for Responsible Development, Shenandoah Valley Network, Friends of Middle River, Augusta County Alliance, Greenbrier River Watershed Association, and Friends of Nelson County.

The DPMC is a member of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, a coalition of more than 25 organizations from Virginia and West Virginia organized to work on the pipeline issue.