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Both Duke Energy and Dominion Power lobbyists are talking to N.C. legislators in order to garner support for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would transport fracked gas 600 miles through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, threatening headwater streams, wetlands and groundwater. Although the pipeline is not needed to meet our energy demands, Dominion and Duke stand to make an 11-14% profit while their customers would foot the bill through electricity rate hikes. Contact your representatives NOW and tell them to SAY NO! To the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
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2. Surface Water and Wetlands. The ACP would cross 1,989 streams or rivers and affect 786 acres of wetlands, yet several crossing plans and mitigation plans are missing or incomplete. It is impossible to conclude that impacts will not be significant without this information.
3. Climate Change. The DEIS does not analyze the greenhouse gas lifecycle of a project that enables 1.5 Bcf/day of a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) to be shipped and burned. While the DEIS does provide a rough calculation of GHG emissions resulting from end-use, it does not analyze upstream or fugitive emissions in a meaningful way.
4. Air Pollution. Operation of the ACP would produce emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, GHGs, and hazardous air pollutants, and each of the three new compressor stations would require a federal permit as major source emitters. Yet the DEIS refuses to take seriously system alternatives, including existing pipelines and emission-free sources of electricity generation, despite a stated purpose that roughly 80% of the gas proposed to be shipped is intended for electricity generation.
5. Safety. Federal data and independent studies show that natural gas pipeline leaks and explosions occur regularly, and these accidents have increased in frequency in recent years. (http://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Risks-Associated-With-Natural-Gas-Pipeline-Expansion-in-Appalachia-_April-2016.2.pdf) The DEIS states that the Applicants would comply with federal construction and operation standards and that emergency contact information for local fire, police, and public officials would be provided. This is cold comfort to people living near the route, especially in cases where communities are serviced by a single road.
6. Environmental Justice. The DEIS states that more than half of the census tracts within 1 mile of the proposed route have poverty rates above their respective statewide averages (WV, VA, NC). Therefore, its conclusion that “there is no evidence that ACP…would cause a disproportionate share of high and adverse environmental or socioeconomic impacts on any…socioeconomic group” is specious. DEIS at 4-413.
7. Karst Terrain and Groundwater. The pipeline would cross between 32.5 and 71.3 miles of karst terrain, characterized by sinkholes, caverns, underground streams, and springs. The DEIS explains how a gas leak in karst terrain may contaminate groundwater. It also states that surveys of private land and drinking water wells are incomplete. FERC cannot conclude that threats to groundwater would be minimized without securing and analyzing this information.
Protecting the Central and Southern Appalachian Mountain Region