Extensive slippage does extensive damage to landscape in rough terrain

Study Concludes that Dominion Understates Pipeline’s Landslide Potential in Nelson County

From the Friends of Nelson County, Staunton, VA, March 13, 2017

A study of the potential for slope failures and landslides in Nelson County, VA from the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline, coupled with a review of Dominion’s in-house analysis, has concluded that “Dominion has not adequately identified those soils and landforms that are prone to debris flows (and) landslides.”  The report also states that “the potential for debris flows in the very steep mountainous portions of Nelson County is underestimated by the reports submitted to FERC by Dominion.”

The author of the report, Blackburn Consulting Services, LLC, was contracted to review, assess, and comment on information submitted by Dominion to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), as related to the construction and operation of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) through Nelson County. The review was limited to information pertaining to soils/soil structure and slope stability, as well as the associated geohazards and erosion/water quality concerns that the ACP project raises for Nelson County.

As part of their work, Blackburn developed a series of predictive maps to better identify the areas with high debris flow potentials and spent three full days in Nelson County traveling to 17 pre-determined sites along the pipeline route to ground-truth their model.  In addition to their visual assessments of the terrain in those areas, four hand-auger borings were performed, and full soil descriptions were completed from 14 soil pits dug using a mechanical excavator.  Three of the sites were located near the Wintergreen entry on Rt. 664—proposed as the exit point for a 4500-foot tunnel through the Blue Ridge—where they found evidence of a history of numerous debris flows.

Blackburn also reviewed documents submitted by Dominion to FERC through December 1, 2016. Soil scientists looked at the information Dominion was using to determine the pipeline route, soil types along that route, slope stability and erodibility.

The scientists found that Dominion has been using inadequate and inappropriate data sets to assess the soils and identify the landslide risk potential along the pipeline route in Nelson.

The report states: “(The) review has discovered that, due to the reliance on this regional-based and publicly available information, many of the statements made in Dominion’s FERC filings represent gross generalities. Dominion has not adequately identified those soils and landforms that are prone to debris flows/landslides, nor have they adequately addressed how they plan to mitigate those site-specific hazards that can put people, property and water quality at extreme risk.”

“Given the types of soils that the soil/scientists observed during their site work on Nelson’s steep slopes (loose uncompacted soils on slopes that measured as steep as 83%), it is obvious that the erosion potential of these slopes is much higher than Dominion is reporting,” said Randy Whiting of Friends of Nelson.  “Considering the anticipated difficulties Dominion is expected to have with revegetating the pipeline right-of-way—both during and after construction—it becomes apparent that combining Nelson’s soils, slopes and this proposed pipeline is a recipe for disaster.”

“After reading this report, what scares me even more are the places where they want to install the pipeline along our narrow ridgetops,” said Joyce Burton of Friends of Nelson, referring to ridgetops such as those on Roberts Mountain. “There is no way to clear and flatten a 125’ construction right-of-way on a ridge that is only 60’ feet wide without severely impacting the landslide-prone slopes on either side.”

“We are calling on FERC to rescind the current DEIS and demand that Dominion follow these scientists’ recommendations to perform a more thorough assessment of the landslide risks in Nelson before the approval process is allowed to proceed any further,” Burton concluded.

Blackburn Consulting Services, LLC has over 50 years of experience in mapping and evaluating soil characteristics for a variety of purposes—ranging from agriculture and forestry to land development, environmental and wastewater disposal. They are licensed Professional Soil Scientists and On-site Soil Evaluators in the State of Virginia and nationally certified through the Soil Science Society of America.

The report was a joint project of Friends of Nelson, Friends of Wintergreen and Wintergreen Property Owners Inc.

The full report is available at: http://friendsofnelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Final-Steep-Slope-Report-March-2017.pdf

Save the Trails & Views in WV & VA

This Land: There are many reasons to oppose natural gas pipelines

This Land Column by Dan Radmacher, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, February 23, 2017

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has rightly lauded decisions by two West Coast breweries to build East Coast facilities in Virginia. But he doesn’t seem to truly understand why Virginia — and specifically the Roanoke area — appealed to those executives.

One of the coolest things about living in Roanoke — and there are many — is easy access to the Appalachian Trail and other great hiking locations. There are several awesome hikes along the trail within a short drive. You can hike up Tinker Mountain and get a great view of Carvin’s Cove, or drive out 311 and either climb Dragon’s Tooth or head out the other direction to one of the most photographed spots in Virginia: McAfee’s Knob.

When Deschutes announced its decision to build an East Coast brewery in Roanoke, executives specifically mentioned the region’s outdoor recreational opportunities and other quality of life issues. The company’s headquarters is in Bend, Ore., an outdoors paradise, and executives wanted a similar location.

Roanoke’s got great hiking, biking and paddling opportunities in and around the city. Natural beauty is everywhere — and more people have begun to recognize that being a cool mountain city is a good for business.

But McAuliffe doesn’t seem to understand that allowing the construction of multiple natural gas pipelines through Virginia will have a negative impact on those qualities, and not just in and around Roanoke. The Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline will both cut across the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline would cross the AT at a spot in the Jefferson National Forest in Giles County. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy said the location is “an area of unbroken wild landscape consisting of forest, rocky outcropping and grassy bald” free of human development. The pipeline company has said it might drill a borehole under the Appalachian Trail to minimize the impact, but hasn’t ruled out cutting a trench across the trail.

Though both pipelines will be buried, the disruption from construction and the ongoing maintenance of the 125-foot utility corridor will create a visual blight visible from the Appalachian Trail, the Blue Ridge Parkway and other locations, marring scenic vistas across the state.

Visual pollution isn’t the only problem. Compressor stations along the pipeline will contribute to air quality problems and noise issues. And, of course, the pipelines will be at constant risk of exploding.

But none of that makes an impact on McAuliffe, who continues to support the pipelines as economic drivers — ignoring the long-term economic damage they will do. McAuliffe also ignores the long-term environmental damage the pipelines will cause and their major contribution to climate change.

According to a recent study by Oil Change International, methane leaks from the two pipelines will cause as much greenhouse gas pollution per year as 45 coal-fired power plants. The multibillion-dollar investment in the pipelines will also discourage the development of renewable, clean-energy alternatives.

Former congressman Tom Perriello, running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination against Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, is strongly opposing the pipelines. “If elected governor, I will use the authorities available to me to prevent these pipelines and instead encourage all stakeholders to invest in opportunities that create far more Virginia jobs, keep more value in the community, protect our landholders’ rights and protect our beautiful natural heritage,” Perriello said during a Richmond news conference.

Perriello said the threat of climate change and the need to invest in clean energy drove his decision — and he further promised not to accept any campaign contributions from Dominion, which has given $20,000 to Northam and has been a major supporter of McAuliffe’s.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Denver Riggleton, who lives in Nelson County near the Atlantic Coast Pipeline route, is also opposing the pipelines. He’s running against former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, a pipeline enthusiast like McAuliffe.

These pipelines aren’t good for Virginia — or West Virginia. They aren’t good for the economy, the environment or the future well-being of the people who live here. It’s a shame McAuliffe is blind to that.

>>> Dan Radmacher is former editorial page editor of The Charleston Gazette and The Roanoke Times. This Land is a weekly column produced by Appalachian Mountain Advocates.