Compressor station protestors were removed by the police

By Denise Lavoie, Roanoke Times (Associated Press), January 9, 2019

RICHMOND — A state board approved a contentious plan Tuesday to build a natural gas pipeline station in a historic African-American community, prompting angry shouts of “shame” from more than 200 opponents.

The Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board voted 4-0 in favor of a key permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run 600 miles and carry fracked natural gas from West Virginia into Virginia and North Carolina.

Some opponents of the project hissed, coughed and shouted during the meeting. Fifteen people were removed by state police, and one woman was charged with trespassing after she laid down on the floor and refused to comply with police verbal commands to leave.

The proposed site for the compressor station is in Union Hill, an unincorporated community founded by freed slaves. The community is in rural Buckingham County, about an hour’s drive west of Richmond.

Opponents are concerned that exhaust from the 54,000-horsepower compressor station would hurt low-income and elderly residents living nearby. Supporters say it will boost development.

The station would be built on 15 acres of a 70-acre site with the rest of the property left undisturbed, according to Dominion Energy, the pipeline’s lead developer. Compressor stations are used to power interstate natural gas pipelines, moving gas through the system.

Paul Wilson, pastor of two Baptist churches near the proposed site, said opponents will keep fighting. He didn’t elaborate on whether they would take legal action. “We’re looking at all of our avenues,” he said after the vote. “It’s a long way from over. I think Dominion wants to wear people down. But that’s not going to happen.”

Dominion spokesman Karl Neddenien acknowledged in a statement after the vote that it will “have to continue building trust in the community.” He said the project’s backers are making investments in a new community center and rescue squad “but it will not end there.”

Neddenien said most air emissions at the station will be 50 to 80 percent lower than at any other compressor station in Virginia. The air pollution permit has become a flashpoint in the yearslong fight over the pipeline.

Supporters say it’s needed to help boost the supply of natural gas. Opponents say it is an unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure project that tramples on land rights and hurts the environment.

With a current pricetag of $6.5 billion to $7 billion, the pipeline has recently suffered significant legal setbacks, including a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last month throwing out a permit for the pipeline to cross two national forests, including parts of the Appalachian Trail. Dominion has suspended all project construction and said it plans to appeal the ruling.

John Laury, who lives less than a mile from where the compressor station would be built, said he doesn’t believe assurances from Dominion or state regulators that emissions from the station would not hurt residents’ health or the environment. “I challenge them to come live in the community with us, to breathe this air, drink this water,” said Laury, 74.

Mike Dowd, the state Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Director, said the department reviewed compressor station permits from around the country and scrutinized pollution control technology. He said the station will “set a new national standard that all future compressor stations will have to meet across the country.”

Gov. Ralph Northam angered environmentalists and minority groups when he replaced two members of the pollution control board after it delayed a scheduled vote in November. Northam, a Democrat, said the move was unrelated to the compressor station vote and that members were replaced because their terms had expired. Two new members didn’t vote Tuesday, nor did a third member who cited a conflict of interest.

Board member William Ferguson said at the hearing that there’s a real need for the pipeline, particularly in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region. “The region needs the energy; the state needs the energy,” he said. His comments prompted a woman to shout: “How much is Dominion paying you?”

Some opponents held pieces of paper with a blown-up photo of the governor’s face and the words “foul” or “shut it down.” Northam has said he’s agnostic on how the board votes. “As far as the pipeline … there’s not a lot of middle road on that issue,” Northam said in a recent radio interview. “I’ve tried to be as fair as I can.”

After the board approved the permit, some of the opponents overturned their chairs. Charles Strickler, a retired dentist, predicted that opponents will not give up their fight. “I think there are going to be people in front of bulldozers for the pipeline, getting arrested,” he said.

Overwhelming support for Union Hill residents who oppose the ACP

From the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance (ABRA), Update #210, December 21, 2018

The Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board voted December 19 to delay its vote on a permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s proposed compressor station in Buckingham County until after a new public comment period. The basis of the delay was to permit the public to provide input on new information about the project that had become available since the earlier public comment period ended in September.

The new comment period begins today, December 21 and ends January 4. In a December 21 posting on its website, the Department of Environmental Quality stated:
The public comment period on the documents begins today, Dec. 21, and closes on January 4, 2019.

On Wednesday, Dec. 19, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board (Board) approved a new limited written public comment period on specific documents the Board received since the November 8 and 9 meetings on the proposed permit for the Dominion Energy Buckingham Compressor Station.

Per the Board’s instructions, the documents to be considered relate to questions and concerns on demographics and site suitability for the proposed air compressor station.

The Board also clarified that the permit conditions – including the amendments that were discussed and approved at the December 19 meeting – are not subject to this public comment period.

In addition, the Board made clear that any potential future health assessments discussed during the last meeting that relate to this permit will not be considered during this public comment period.

“There has been significant interest in this permit across the state,” said Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Director David Paylor. “Through their request for a minimum, or limited, public comment period, the Board has indicated the need to expedite this process. It’s understood that the public is anxious to get clarity about demographics and site suitability in the Board’s subsequent decision. As the Board also has a statutory deadline for this permit, the agency has a legal obligation to resolve this matter as efficiently as possible.”

The date and the location for the next Board meeting has not been set, but will be announced as soon as details are available.

More information, including the public notice, is available on the Commonwealth of Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website at http://townhall.virginia.gov/. Written comments are to be submitted to DEQ by Postal Mail or hand delivery to the Piedmont Regional Office, Re: Buckingham Compressor Station, 4949-A Cox Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060; E-mail: airdivision1@deq.virginia.gov; or Fax: (804)
527-5106.

The specific documents being considered in this limited public comment period are also available on the DEQ website at www.DEQ.Virginia.gov.

Air Pollution Control Board meeting in Richmond on Wednesday (12/19/18)

From an Article by Sara McCloskey, WRIC-ABC News 8, Richmond, VA, December 19, 2018

RICHMOND, Va. — The State Air Pollution Control Board was set to vote Wednesday on the permit for an air compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Board members are delaying making a decision so the public can comment on new information they received since their meetings last month.

A tightly packed room – divided. Demonstrators turned their backs to four members of the air board as Department of Environmental Quality officials presented some new details about the permit. (Some protestors refer to long distance pipelines thru the mountains as “snakes.”)

Some of the documents were on the demographics of people living in Buckingham County, where the compressor station is slated to go, as well as how suitable the site is for a project of this size.

Residents say Buckingham County’s Union Hill is a historic African American community, since freed slaves lived there and their families’ still have the land. (Thus, an “environmental justice” issue is under consideration.)

DEQ officials referenced studies by other agencies, like the Department of Historic Resources, which looked into the neighborhood a few years ago to see if it meets criteria to be on a register of historic places. That survey did not find enough historic evidence to put Union Hill on the map.

Mindy Zlotnick lives in Yogaville, about 5 miles away from where the Buckingham Compressor Station is proposed to be constructed. After being in the community on and off for 5 years, she questions the data collected and presented to the board about who lives there. “But actually when you get down on the ground and the numbers come out and the people come out a lot different,” Zlotnick added.

The draft permit was also amended with new language the board chair Richard Langford says makes the permit “more strict” and “was in response to public comments” they heard the month prior.

The proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) spans 600-miles from West Virginia to North Carolina. There are three compressor stations, one in each state. The one in Virginia is proposed for Buckingham County. Compressors help manage pressure and flow of natural gas through a pipeline network. Construction on the pipeline has started in West Virginia and North Carolina, according to company officials.

Dominion Energy officials say ACP is expected to bring nearly $400 million in energy cost savings to customers and $28 million dollars in local tax revenue. The company is also giving $5 million to build a new community center and outdoor recreation area for residents of Union Hill.

Northern Virginia Democrat Del. Mark Keam (D-35th District) says the project will have an impact on everyone, not just Buckingham County.

“Regardless of whether you’re from Fairfax or Halifax or Arlington or Abington this affects all of us,” Del. Keam said. “… I believe this natural gas pipeline that they’re planning is a natural disaster for us in waiting. So, I want to make sure that we do everything that can to stop it. If it does have to go through for whatever reason, you do it in the most environmentally sensitive, protected way.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, the board did not end up voting on the air permit. They will be opening up for a written public comment period soon, but a date has not been set yet. Nor has a date for a vote.

Four out of the seven board members were present at the meeting. One of the members, Roy Hoagland, will not be voting because of a conflict of interest. The other two board members, Gail Bush and Kajal Kapur, are new and it is not clear yet if they will be voting the next time they all meet for the permit.

While she’s glad the board is taking their time with this new information, Zlotnick been waiting for a decision for years on this project. “It’s just frustrating because we’re still waiting,” Zlotnick added. “Anything that affects our air and dumps all these pollutants into our air, is not going to be good for us. It’s going to change everything.”

Dominion Energy officials say they are confident the board will approve the permit “after considering all of the facts.”

In a statement, Dominion Energy spokesperson Aaron Ruby said, “We are building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline for the good of our economy and the environment, and we are committed to seeing it through to completion.”

ACP Pipeline overview in WV, VA and NC

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SEE ALSO: Air Board delays decision on Buckingham permit and plans new public comment period – Virginia Mercury, December 19, 2018