Near Blue Ridge Parkway &. Appalachian Trail
News Alert from Blue Ridge Life Magazine, March 6, 2018
Tree cutting is now underway at Beech Grove near Wintergreen in Nelson County, Virginia.
Early Tuesday morning – March 6, 2018 – Crews were seen assembling to begin cutting trees near the entrance to Wintergreen Resort and property adjoining The Fenton Inn B & B on Route 664 just below the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Passing motorists say that a heavier than normal Virginia State Police presence was observed in the general area of Wintergreen Resort and The Fenton Inn’s entrance early Tuesday morning. Over the past several days crews marked trees that had been approved for removal as part of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Construction.
This morning WPOA’s Executive Director, Jay Roberts released the following statement:
“ACP contractors arrived this morning to begin cutting trees on WPOA property. The Wintergreen Property Owners Association (WPOA), while opposed to the location of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, understands and abides by the legal process that has led to the commencement of tree removal on WPOA property. While disappointed, the beginning of construction only increases our resolve to hold Dominion accountable for the financial and non-financial implications placed on our community by the presence of the pipeline. WPOA is committed to the best possible outcome for our community; one that provides fair treatment and security for our owners, employees and guests.”
“WPOA remains committed to holding Dominion accountable for the taking of our property and the burden this project places on our community going forward.”
Point Your RSS Reader to FrackCheckWV.net/feed/
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
On Mar 26, 2018: ‘Maury Johnson’
Stop The Pipelines WVVANC
I just talked to our local OSHA Office and they said that Logging Regulations do not apply to “tree cutting” and that they have no standards to cover this activity… I would call anyway, Maybe if they get enough reports they will do something…
Maury Johnson
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hello all,
In light of inclement weather conditions, OSHA’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards for Logging Operations (Section 1910.266(d)(5)) states the following:
Environmental conditions. All work shall terminate and each employee shall move to a place of safety when environmental conditions, such as but not limited to, electrical storms, strong winds which may affect the fall of a tree, heavy rain or snow, extreme cold, dense fog, fires, mudslides, and darkness, create a hazard for the employee in the performance of the job.
To file a non-emergency complaint with OSHA, please use the following form.
https://www.osha.gov/pls/osha7/eComplaintForm.html
To report an emergency, fatality, or imminent life threatening situation please contact OSHA’s toll free number immediately:
1-800-321-OSHA (6742)
Katherine Wilkin, POWHR Coordinator
Protect Our Water Heritage Rights Coalition
http://www.powhr.org
Subject: FERC Decision on ACP Request to Extend Tree Cutting
FERC_ACP_Denial_tiemrestrction_request.pdf
Date: March 28, 2018
Dear Mr. Bley: On March 15, 2018, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (Atlantic) and Dominion Energy Transmission, Inc. (DETI) requested to modify certain time-of-year restrictions under environmental condition 1 of the Commission’s October 13, 2017 Order Issuing Certificates (Order) for the above-referenced projects. As part of your applications, Atlantic and DETI committed to minimizing impacts on both migratory bird species and threatened and endangered species by adhering to time-of-year tree felling restrictions. Accordingly, this mitigation measure is one of many that the Commission considered in its Order when granting Certificates to Atlantic and DETI. After a thorough review of your request, we find that it would not offer an equal or greater level of protection, and deny Atlantic and DETI’s request to modify the time-of-year restrictions established during project review. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Bowman, environmental project manager at 202-502-6287.
Submitted by Lara Celeste Mack
Virginia Field Organizer
Appalachian Voices
812 E. High St
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Date: March 29, 2018
Re: FERC Denies Dominion/ACP’s request to extent time restraints for tree felling
I believe these are the tree felling time-of-year restrictions by state:
West Virginia:
Migratory Birds: April 1–August 31
Indiana Bats: April 1–November 15
Northern Long Eared Bats: June 1–July 31 within 150 feet of occupied maternity roost trees
Virginia:
Migratory Birds: March 15–August 31
Indiana Bats: April 1–November 15 if the site is within 5 miles of known hibernacula
April 15–September 15 if the site is not within 5 miles of known hibernacula
Northern Long Eared Bats: June 1–July 31 within 150 feet of occupied maternity roost trees
North Carolina:
Migratory Birds: April 1–August 31
Indiana Bats: April 1–November 15
Northern Long Eared Bats: June 1–July 31 within 150 feet of occupied maternity roost tree.
From: Caroline Hansley