Imaging 42 inch pipelines thru mountains?
Feds deny anti-pipeline groups’ request for comprehensive review of multistate projects
This Article from the Daily Journal, Associated Press, December 10, 2015
ROANOKE, Virginia — Federal regulators have rejected a request to assess the overall environmental impact of several proposed multistate natural gas pipelines.
A coalition of pipeline opponents had sought the review, arguing that individual assessments by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would be piecemeal and conducted in a vacuum.
Norman Bray, chairman of the FERC, informed U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., of the commission’s decision in a recent letter. Bay said the commission had determined it would not be appropriate to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement for the Mountain Valley Pipeline that would consider other proposed interstate natural gas pipelines affecting Virginia and West Virginia, The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/1QxEVYl) reported.
Tamara Young-Allen, a spokeswoman for FERC, said the commission had never conducted such a review. She told the newspaper that the commission “does not engage in regional planning exercises that would result in the selection of one project over another.”
The commission’s policy has been to “allow market forces to influence where projects would be situated,” she said.
Bray’s letter said that a draft environmental impact statement being prepared for the Mountain Valley Pipeline will address concerns about cumulative impacts.
The $3 billion, 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline would run from West Virginia to Southside Virginia. Another proposed project, the 564-mile, $5.1 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline, would run from West Virginia, through Virginia and into North Carolina.
The pipelines, as well as others, would deliver natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale deposits in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Energy companies have said the pipelines would deliver energy that is cheap, abundant and cleaner than coal. They also have cited billions of dollars in economic benefits.
David Perry, executive director of the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy, said the FERC had previously rejected requests for additional public meetings and deadline extensions that would have allowed more opportunities for input about the Mountain Valley project.
“At every opportunity, FERC has turned a deaf ear to the people of Southwest Virginia and their elected officials,” Perry told the newspaper.
Allen-Young said the commission will consider and address all comments filed in proceedings for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline projects.
In Augusta County, the Board of Supervisors approved a letter on Wednesday night that asks the FERC to require the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s developers to identify wells within 500 feet of the proposed route in the county, and to provide a contingency fund for any damages to water quality to private wells. The board also is seeking a groundwater monitoring program prior, during and after the pipeline’s construction, along with a post-construction assessment of all wells being investigated, The News-Virginian (http://bit.ly/1U6ZIC5 ) reported.
Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com
See also: http://pipelineupdate.org/
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Subject: Protesters Continue Opposition to Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline – NBC29, WVIR, Charlottesville, VA on December 15, 2015
http://www.nbc29.com/story/30768016/protesters-continue-opposition-to-proposed-natural-gas-pipeline
Some central Virginians took to the street Wednesday to protest against a proposed natural gas pipeline.
About a dozen people carrying signs stood on the sidewalk at Dominion Virginia Power’s location on Hydraulic Road in Charlottesville. They are part of a group called Friends of Nelson.
“To take gas from West Virginia export it to Europe and take our property to make profits, to do that is just a terrible idea. We want everyone to know what a bad idea it is too, because ultimately it’s other people’s pressure in addition to ours that’s gonna make a difference,” said protester Ernie Reed.
The proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline would cut through Nelson County.
Protesters say they just want to remind people that this is an ongoing process and that they will continue to fight peacefully.
See also: http://friendsofnelson.com