Workshop off I-64 west of Charlottesville

From an Article by Erin Conway, Nelson News Advance, April 10, 2019

Pipeline opponents are gearing up for a nine-hour workshop in Nelson County on April 13 to discuss the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, and where they are in the fight to stop it.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC is a 600-mile-long natural-gas pipeline proposed to be built through parts of Nelson County. Different groups in Virginia and other states like West Virginia and North Carolina have been protesting the ACP since it was proposed four years ago. To continue the fight, Friends of Nelson, an anti-pipeline organization, is holding its third all day workshop on April 13 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The purpose of the event is “to update interested citizens on the current status of the fight against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” according to a news release. The event is free to the public, but registration is required.

Jill and Richard Averitt, active pipeline opponents, are hosting the event on April 13 on land they own in the county, which a portion of the ACP is proposed to go through. “We are confident it won’t get built through here,” Jill Averitt said. “In general, Friends of Nelson thinks it looks bad for Dominion.”

Still, pipeline opponents aren’t letting up the fight. The all-day workshop will consist of discussions on specific legal and environmental issues, tours of the proposed path of the ACP, exercises on how to protest safely, and what happens next in the fight to stop the ACP.

“The goal is to get as many people as possible. Really, we love to get people involved who don’t know much about this pipeline, but have been hearing about it,” Jill Averitt said.

The day will also consist of guest speakers covering an array of topics on the pipeline and issues it brings to light. William Limpert, an affected landowner from Bath County, will be discussing how outside, long term storage of gas pipes deteriorates the coatings and increases the risk of failure.

Limpert said the safety and public health issues with the coating of the pipeline are both important and he feels the topics haven’t been fully investigated. Overall, Limpert said the workshop on April 13 is about learning about the industry and the government agencies involved as well as energizing the attendees.

“Besides the learning experience, it’s really an energizing experience too. If you are working for good minded folks and working together it’s an incentive to keep on going,” Limpert said.

Jennifer Lewis, 20th district delegate candidate, will be discussing why Augusta County’s water supply is at risk due to its Karst topography and the pipeline route’s proximity to the Staunton Reservoir. Lewis said although stopping the ACP is the number one priority for her race, she has been fighting the pipeline as a citizen for the past five years.

“It’s natural for me to be involved in these anti-pipeline events because I have been such a loud voice in Augusta for the last five years,” Lewis said. The topic she will be discussing is important for everyone in the state because the water from Augusta serves millions in Virginia.

“We are called the head waters because our water goes all over the state. Everyone should be protecting their water, but we have unique responsibility,” Lewis said. She hopes people realize the fight isn’t over and the reason the ACP project is behind schedule is because of neighbors uniting together to keep it from happening. “People from all different backgrounds are coming together to fight this and it’s been the silver lining of this horrible proposed project,” Lewis said.

Other speakers include Richard Averitt, discussing eminent domain and how ‘Quick Take’ violates due process and should be ruled unconstitutional; Lakshmi Fjord discussing the proposed Compressor Station in Buckingham County and the plight of the Union Hill Community; Attorney Rick Cornelius discussing the legal case against the pipeline and where it stands today; and Tom Hadwin discussing why there is no public necessity for the ACP, particularly in the Hampton Roads area.

For Richard Averitt, speaking at the workshop is important to him because he understands how confusing some of the legal terms can be and he believes educating affected landowners and non-affected landowners alike is important. “I am personally upset I didn’t know more sooner. Once you know it you can’t un-know it,” Richard Averitt said.

Over all, Richard Averitt said this workshop and fighting the ACP is a “David and Goliath fight,” but important because it’s about addressing the laws and ordinances that make things like “eminent domain” and “quick take” possible. Quick take in this case is when Dominion Energy takes possession of land for the purpose of building the ACP before compensation is given to the landowner. Eminent domain, on the other hand, is when Dominion Energy takes the land, but an agreed upon compensation is given beforehand.

“It’s not just about beating Atlantic Coast Pipeline, but changing the system that allows this. We need to create allies to change the system that makes this possible,” Richard Averitt said.

Attendees are encouraged to bring something to sit on throughout the day and lunch, although a lunch can be provided with a fee upon registration according to the news release. “We are just super pleased we are able to partner with Friends of Nelson and grateful for anyone who comes out to listen,” Jill Averitt said.

Dominion Energy has paid a few million dollars to influence public opinion and political activities for the ACP

From: Atieno Bird, Crozet Gazette, March 12, 2019

PHOTO: Drone photograph of pipeline construction in West Virginia.

I want to alert you to a threat faced by our neighbors south of us in Buckingham County that will affect our children, too, and ask you to write to Governor Northam, who has been siding against us.

You might think of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline as a necessary and safe way to transport gas. Perhaps other forms of energy are cleaner, you say, but maybe we need this for now and better to pipe than truck.

I’d like to share some details that show the ACP is unnecessary, damaging, a scam, and a threat to our health. Even if fracking weren’t creating unacceptable contamination in West Virginia, where it would increase if this pipeline is built, this pipeline would be a catastrophe for Virginia. I am using facts from the Natural Resources Defense Council and Friends of Buckingham websites as sources, but I urge you to research this yourself.

1. It’s not safe.

• There have been many explosions and leaks at compressor stations since companies started doing in-ground gas transportation.

• Mountain ridges would be razed and some of the steepest slopes in the eastern U.S. would likely landslide, ruining forests, waterways, and even homes.

• Spills always happen with pipelines, though the news rarely covers them; contaminated water cannot be un-contaminated.

• Compressor stations along the line regularly release toxic emissions with extremely noisy “blow-down events,” sickening everyone for miles. One study of compressor stations in New York State found that “Exposure to these chemicals can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, neurological and developmental diseases and cancer.”

2. It’s not fair.

• Farmers would have their land confiscated.

• The community targeted for the compressor station happens to be African-American and low-income, a typical choice for locating these projects, because low-income communities do not have the resources to fight back. In North Carolina, the pipeline cuts through Native American communities.

• The ACP gas would be sold to affiliates that will pass on costs to their customers. So Dominion will reap the profit, but we will bear the additional $1.6-2.3 billion passed on to our electricity bills. Dominion can make us pay for the project even if we never use the gas.

• Compressor stations cost the regional economy. A report in 2013,by the RAND Corp. estimated the dollar cost “to health and the environment from shale gas development emissions in Pennsylvania at $7.2 million to $32 million in 2011, with up to 75 percent of it related to compressor stations.”

3. It’s unnecessary.

• The pipeline investors say affiliates need the gas. But the affiliates have not needed new gas in recent years, and they estimated needing even less in future! So why would they now ask for more gas? Because they are owned by Dominion!

• Existing pipelines only use about half of their capacity, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave the green light to 38 major pipelines in 2016. This one isn’t needed for the public good, only for the profits it provides Dominion.

• When considering these the pipelines, the ONLY options FERC entertained or investigated were old, dirty energy options. And in doing so, they didn’t look at what it would mean to have billions of dollars tied up in dirty energy infrastructure far into the future. How will this harm the development of clean energy options? How will it increase the production and burning of dirty fuels, accelerating global warming?

Why would Governor Northam side against Virginians? Well, Dominion has basically paid him to. You and I cannot hope to buy him back, but we can ask him to show some integrity. Please write to him now at: Governor Ralph Northam, P.O. Box 1475, Richmond, VA 23218.

Atieno Bird, Local Resident
Crozet, Albemarle County, Virginia

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Contact the Governor of Virginia electronically

or by telephone at 804-786-2211.

Monongahela National Forest

From Beth Wheatley and Thomas Minney, Wheeling Intelligencer, February 16, 2019

Whether it is the forests of Monongahela or the winding waters of New River Gorge, the lands and waters of West Virginia create and define our history, our character and our way of life. The wild and scenic spaces that surround us here are more than just land and waterways; they are an important part of our heritage and identity.

Many of these places that we treasure have been protected thanks to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), one of our country’s most effective conservation tools. At no cost to the taxpayer, LWCF works in West Virginia and across the country to protect the land and water important for a wide range of values, such as wildlife habitat, hiking, hunting, clean water and support for growing the tourism and outdoor recreation economy.

Supported by federal revenues from offshore oil and natural gas drilling, LWCF investments have expanded public access to lakes and streams, conserved working forests, protected national park landscapes and built sports fields, trails and local parks.

In West Virginia, The Nature Conservancy has partnered with others to conserve forests that provide wildlife habitat and products such as timber. The outcomes also represent some of the state’s most cherished landscapes, such as the New River Gorge scene on the back of the state quarter enjoyed by thousands during Bridge Day; Cheat Canyon where West Virginia University students study and recreate; and the Monongahela National Forest where people hunt, hike and fish.

We see these places as part of what makes West Virginia so “wild and wonderful”–part of our success story. We see these places as hubs of conserved lands supporting nature-friendly economic activities that are helping to grow our economy.

But Congress has repeatedly let LWCF expire over the years, making it harder to carry out the long-term planning landowners depend on to conserve their lands and waters and that many communities depend on as they plan for their future.

The latest expiration occurred just this past September, and we have seen a groundswell of support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for making the program permanent since then. On February 12, the U.S. Senate moved to save this important conservation program forever, voting 92-8 to permanently reauthorize LWCF!

We owe great thanks to Senator Manchin and Senator Capito for championing LWCF, voting in favor of saving LWCF and being instrumental to making the vote one of lawmakers’ first priorities of the year!

Senator Manchin and Senator Capito understand how important LWCF is to West Virginia and the country, to our natural and cultural heritage, to our economy and to families who treasure the forests and wildlife habitat where they hike, hunt and enjoy weekend drives. We thank them for their leadership.

Every year, America loses an area the size of Delaware to development, and once these places disappear, they are gone forever. Along with the land, we also lose the values that these places bring to people and communities–clean water, flood mitigation, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, fishing opportunities and support for the forest products, tourism and outdoor recreation industries.

The outdoor recreation, conservation and historic preservation economy in West Virginia–which LWCF helps drive–is responsible for $9 billion in consumer spending and 91,000 jobs, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. Implementing LWCF in our community helps increase tourism, create jobs and boost our economy.

The Senate’s overwhelming bipartisan vote in favor of reauthorization reflects the program’s long track record of success and broad support from lawmakers, landowners, conservation organizations, communities and state and local officials.

We urge Reps. David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Carol Miller to follow the incredible example of their Senate counterparts and vote in favor of permanently reauthorizing LWCF when the House of Representatives consider the measure.

For over half a century, LWFC has protected lands and waters in every county in every state in this country by helping to conserve natural ecosystems that people, wildlife and local economies need to survive. It is too important to continue leaving its future in doubt.

Now is the time for Congress to get LWCF the permanent authorization it and West Virginia deserves.

ACP not properly evaluated by FERC, by US Forest Service, by US Army Corps, by WV-DEP

From an Article by Kate Mishkin, Charleston Gazette, January 8, 2019

Construction on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline has been halted because “rogue environmental groups” are getting in the way, an energy lobbyist told lawmakers Tuesday. “It’s on hold because the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a rogue environmental group to contest various permits that we have on the project,” Bob Orndorff, state policy director for Dominion Energy, said to the Joint Committee on Natural Gas Development on behalf of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, during a presentation of various facts and figures about natural gas jobs in West Virginia.

The natural gas pipeline being built by Dominion Energy voluntarily halted construction along the project’s 600-mile-long path in December after the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement. The next week, a panel vacated the Forest Service’s Special Use Permit and Record of Decision, required to build the project through the George Washington and Monongahela national forests.

In the opinion, Judge Stephanie Thacker, of West Virginia, quoted Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax.” “We trust the United States Forest Service to ‘speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues,’” the opinion says. Chief Judge Roger Gregory and Judge James Wynn, who also heard oral arguments in the case in September, joined.

“It’s the federal agencies who went rogue here. They ignored the law, they ignored warnings from their own experts to approve a destructive and unnecessary pipeline,” said DJ Gerken, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, which argued on behalf of conservation groups in both legal challenges.

The halt has cost thousands of jobs, Orndorff said. Some people can continue to work because the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is required to maintain erosion and sediment control, he said. There’d be even more jobs if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allows the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to “button things up,” he said. That would mean at least putting the pipe in the ground, welding it and re-vegetating the land around it.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is one of many pipelines being built in the region to tap into the booming Marcellus Shale formation. Many pipelines have similarly faced legal challenges and environmental violations. A joint review last year by the Charleston Gazette-Mail and ProPublica showed that, as pipelines continued to break environmental rules, state and federal agencies continued to clear roadblocks for the projects.

Also on Tuesday, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Pollution Control Board unanimously approved a compressor station permit needed for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s Buckingham Compressor Station.

In West Virginia, Orndorff urged lawmakers to “stand up to these rogue environmental groups” and pass a resolution to condemn them.

But the groups that the SELC represent have members, Gerken argued. One woman named in a lawsuit lives near the Appalachian Trail and takes her Sunday school group to the trail to be outside in nature. “These groups have members, and that’s who has the right to challenge cases, it’s the people who live nearby,” Gerken said. “These people are committed to these places, and they’re the people who live here. They’re not rogue groups.”

SEE ALSO: Risky and Unnecessary Natural Gas Pipelines Threaten Our Region | Southern Environmental Law Center

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is Law!

Article from the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance (ABRA), December 13, 2018

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated on December 13 the U.S. Forest Service’s approval for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to cross two national forests and the Appalachian Trail. The Court’s 60-page opinion came on a case brought by several ABRA members and others that was argued on September 28 (see ABRA Update #200 for details).

The plaintiffs, represented by Southern Environmental Law Center, were Cowpasture River Preservation Association, Highlanders for Responsible Development, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, Shenandoah Valley Network, Sierra Club, Virginia Wilderness Committee and Wild Virginia.

The Court concluded that the Forest Service’s decisions amending its Forest Plans and granting a Special Use Permit (SPU) for the ACP violate the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and that the Forest Service lacked statutory authority pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) to grant a pipeline right of way across the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The Court granted the petition for review of the Forest Service’s SPU and its Record of Decision to amend the Forest Plans, as sought by the plaintiffs, vacated those the Forest Service’s decisions and remanded the case to the Forest Service “for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

In its opinion, the Court detailed how the Forest Service initially expressed serious skepticism about the ACP’s ability to be constructed through the steep slopes of the central Appalachian mountains in West Virginia and Virginia. In an October 24, 2016 letter to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (Atlantic), the Court noted that the Forest Service had requested ten site-specific stabilization designs for selected areas of challenging terrain to demonstrate the effectiveness of Atlantic’s proposed steep slope stability program, which Atlantic called the “Best in Class” (“BIC”) Steep Slopes Program” because the agency needed to be able to determine that the project was consistent with the Forest Plans of the George Washington National Forest(GWNF) and the Monongahela National Forest (MNF). The ACP would cross a combined 21-miles of National Forest lands in the two forests. Then, the Court noted, the Forest Service changed its mind and without explanation ultimately approved the project without requiring the requested ten stabilization designs for the project. (For more on the Forest Service request to Atlantic, see ABRA Update #103)

The NFMA establishes a procedure for managing forest plans through the use of Forest Plans and directs the Forest Service to ensure that all activities on forest lands are consistent with those Plans. The Court ruled that the Forest Service, in amending the GWNF and MNF plans, did not follow its own criteria and procedures for doing so. Among reasons cited in the opinion was the Forest Service’s failure to do a proper analysis of whether the ACP could be reasonably routed through non-national forest lands.

In considering the Forest Service’s compliance with NEPA in its evaluation of the ACP, the Court concluded that the agency violated that law “by failing to take a hard look at the environmental consequences of the ACP project. The Forest Service expressed serious concerns that the DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the project) lacked necessary information to evaluate landslide risks, erosion impacts, and degradation of water quality, and it further lacked information about the effectiveness of mitigation techniques to reduce those risks.”

Regarding the violation of the MLA, the Court faulted the Forest Service for approving the ACP crossing the ANST on national forest land when the agency did not have the authority to do so. In its concluding paragraph of the opinion, the Court stated:

We trust the United States Forest Service to “speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.” Dr. Seuss, The Lorax (1971). A thorough review of the record leads to the necessary conclusion that the Forest Service abdicated its responsibility to preserve national forest resources. This conclusion is particularly informed by the Forest Service’s serious environmental concerns that were suddenly, and mysteriously, assuaged in time to meet a private pipeline company’s deadlines.

Reacting to the Court’s opinion, SELC attorney Patrick Hunter said:

“The George Washington National Forest, Monongahela National Forest and the Appalachian Trail are national treasures. The Administration was far too eager to trade them away for a pipeline conceived to deliver profit to its developers, not gas to consumers. This pipeline is unnecessary and asking fracked gas customers to pay developers to blast this boondoggle through our public lands only adds insult to injury.”

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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Requested to Revoke ACP’s Certificate

Article from the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance, December 13, 2018

In a filing late December 13, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was asked to revoke the certificate for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in light of the decision earlier in the day by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the U.S. Forest Service’s approval for the pipeline to cross national forest lands and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. In its 65-page letter to FERC, the Southern Environmental Law Center stated:

Crucially, the court held that the Forest Service does not have statutory authority to authorize the pipeline to cross the Appalachian Trail. As a result, under federal law, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (“Atlantic”) cannot obtain authorization from federal agencies to cross the Trail as proposed.

The Commission must therefore revoke the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. Further, the Commission must issue a formal stop-work order, effective immediately, halting all construction activities because the court’s decision means that Atlantic continues to be out of compliance with a mandatory condition of its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.

Defending the Geo. Washington & Thomas Jefferson National Forests

“Court orders halt to Atlantic Coast Pipeline construction in national forest”

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a stay of the national Forest Service decisions allowing Atlantic Coast Pipeline construction.

The stay puts an immediate stop to any construction in the National Forest until an appeal filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Sierra Club, on behalf of Cowpasture River Preservation Association, Highlanders for Responsible Development, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, Shenandoah Valley Network, Sierra Club, Wild Virginia and Virginia Wilderness Committee is decided.

“This decision is very good news for the Forest. After FERC’s decision to reauthorize construction last week, Atlantic was poised to resume clearcutting its way across the two national forests today. Because of this decision, Atlantic’s chainsaws will remain idle until the Court has had an opportunity to decide our case. For the same reason, FERC should stop construction elsewhere until these issues are resolved, to avoid wasting ratepayer dollars building a route that may not be viable,” said Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney, DJ Gerken.

“We’re glad to see construction of the fracked gas ACP halted in our national forests. There is no need for this dirty, dangerous pipeline and while we’re pleased with today’s decision, our air, water and communities won’t truly be protected until it’s permanently halted. The Sierra Club, our partners, and communities along the entire route will keep fighting this project until construction is finally stopped,” said Kelly Martin, Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign.

This Friday, September 28th the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument in conservation groups’ challenge to approvals issued by the Forest Service and the State of Virginia for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

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See also — “Court blocks work on portion of Duke Energy-backed Atlantic Coast Pipeline to hear appeal” – Charlotte Business Journal

Reason is slow and difficult to achieve on pipelines

From an Article by Robert Zullo, Virginia Mercury, August 16, 2018

A federal court in Richmond that has served as a major legal battlefield this summer over federal and state permits for the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines got a new case added to its docket Thursday.

The Southern Environmental Law Center and Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed a challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s certificate of public convenience and necessity for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the federal approval that underpins the entire project and conveys the right to seize land from uncooperative property owners along the 600-mile route.

The new suit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, the same court that has vacated several key permits for the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines.

In response to the court’s action, FERC ordered construction halted last week on the ACP, developed by a group of energy companies led by Dominion Energy. On the same day, in a 2-1 vote, the agency’s commissioners denied a request for rehearing on the certificate.

At least two of FERC’s four sitting commissioners say the pipeline isn’t in the public interest. The fifth, Robert Powelson, left FERC this month.

In a dissent, Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur, who also voted last year against issuing certification for the ACP and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will cross into Pittsylvania County, said the ACP remains contrary to the public interest and that FERC should have explored more opportunities for co-locating the two projects.

Photo in original article: The Lewis F. Powell Jr. federal courthouse in Richmond is home to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which struck down a key approval for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Monday. (Ned Oliver/ Virginia Mercury)
“I disagree with the commission’s approach to evaluating system and route alternatives, particularly in light of the recently-issued Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Fourth Circuit) decision which vacated the National Park Service’s federal authorization allowing the ACP Project to cross the Blue Ridge Parkway,” LaFleur wrote, adding that she also took issue with how FERC treats climate and environmental effects.

Another commissioner, Richard Glick, abstained from the vote “solely to enable those parties challenging the certificate to have their day in court.”

Glick added that if he had voted, the rehearing order would have failed on a 2-2 vote and the “appellate courts would not have had jurisdiction to review the commission’s decision to grant the certificate.”

FERC has come under scrutiny for its use of “tolling orders” to prevent opponents of the projects it certifies from getting into court to fight them.

“I share many of the concerns articulated in Commissioner LaFleur’s dissenting opinion and I do not believe that the ACP Project has been shown to be in the public interest,” Glick wrote. “It is fundamentally unfair to deprive parties of an opportunity to pursue their claims in court, especially while pipeline construction is ongoing.”

The SELC and their allies have argued that the gas from the Atlantic Coast Pipeline isn’t needed for utilities, as the companies pushing the projects have insisted.

Gas-fired plants in Virginia and North Carolina are already connected to the existing system and testimony at the Virginia State Corporation Commission indicates that Virginia ratepayers could be on the hook for nearly $2.4 billion in extra costs because of the pipeline. FERC has guaranteed a 14 percent rate of return for the project, which could cost more than $6.5 billion.

‘”At a time when clean, renewable energy is affordable and abundant, the only reason to lock us into decades of dependence on climate-disrupting fracked gas is that polluting corporations are making billions of dollars off it. It’s a shame that we have to go to court to force FERC to do its job, but we are committed to using every available avenue to stop the ACP and all the other coal, oil and gas projects that threaten our climate and communities,” said Joan Walker, a representative with the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign,” in a statement.

Dominion Energy spokesman Aaron Ruby did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. The company has said it is “already working with the key agencies to resolve the issues in FERC’s order so we can resume construction as soon as possible.”

It takes a strong commitment to protect & preserve what we have!

An article of this title recently ran in the Wheeling Intelligencer. It represents a cave in by a significant environmental group that give the business oriented Intelligencer some thing to brag about. It is unlikely the report, “Improving Steep-Slope Pipeline Construction to Reduce Impacts to Natural Resources,” will meet the needs of our steep and rocky terrain.

It will be applied to the entire range of conditions from the soft soil and rock on the Appalachian Plateau through the folded Appalachian Mountains to the south and east. Through limestone karst, famous for caves and sinkholes and slopes up to and beyond 173% (60 degrees).

In places the fill will be the broken rock cut out to make the trench. This will make it impossible to divert the water off the right of way. It will divert water to flow down the broken rock in the ditches. In other places the long pipeline straight down the hill for hundreds of feet will have diversion ditches that deliver the diverted water off the right of way in additive fashion so large volumes will be aggregated in heavy rains. Pipelines in karst is asking for failure due to cave-ins and stream diversion.

If the pipe must go in, what is required is meticulous attention to local topography and geology and equally meticulous attention to small scale engineering. This is unlikely to occur due to the great cost involved.

The Nature Conservancy is doubtless well intentioned, but really not directed by people close to conditions involved.

>>> S. Tom Bond, Retired Chemistry Professor & Resident Farmer, Lewis County, WV

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Brief Comment on TNC Pipeline Project —

This is why I consider TNC foremost among the Shady Lady environmental groups, to put it politely.

They also collaborated with the gas industry on a study of how much methane leaks, with findings coming out much lower than independent studies. Looks to me like they aid industry much more than the environment, with this attitude that the pipelines must and will be built so we should do what we can to minimize the harm.

As far as I’m concerned, their main mission to collect funds to buy land which they then protect from development, is no better — I’ve seen allegations that they don’t always protect their lands and anyway this reinforces the idea that the rich legitimately own the Earth, and if we want any of it protected we have to buy it back from them.

>>> Mary Wildfire, Roane County, WV

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We might also consider this —

I believe TNC has a conservation easement that will be crossed by MVP and one of their motivators for this was to hold the company to a higher standard where they could, for their property.

Amy Mall, Land & Wildlife Program, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

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Letter to The TNC Magazine (August 13, 2018)

I am a retired mining engineer (B.S.; M.S.; P.E.) living in Rockingham County Virginia. I am writing in response to a “study” I just became aware of entitled “IMPROVING STEEP-SLOPE PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION TO REDUCE IMPACTS TO NATURAL RESOURCES” (link here).

This study was apparently a collaboration between the Nature Conservancy and 8 oil and gas companies. It’s unfortunate the input was so heavily weighted in favor of the companies that will profit from doing this type of work by externalizing the environmental costs to the public.

Your “study” seems to over simplify the issues involved in constructing a major natural gas pipeline through steep mountainous terrain, much of it containing karst. It fails to mention more active measures for monitoring pipeline stress and the installation of strain and displacement gages on and around the pipeline. Even with such measures, however, the construction of pipelines like the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast will cause significant and irreversible environmental damage. It will also cause significant economic losses to the people whose land is crossed by or near to the pipelines.

The installation of such fracked gas pipelines will also act as a driving force for further fracking of deep shale formations, which will cause even more environmental damage.

Your participation in the preparation of this document will be seen as a sellout and betrayal of the thousands of people who are opposed to such pipelines and whose lives will be so negatively impacted by them. I am disappointed in the position your organization has taken.

George M. Neall III, Rockingham County, Virginia

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Dear Friends,

I think any time you have a very large organization—and TNC is the largest environmental non-profit in the country if not the world—that does thousands of transactions and works globally, there are going to be problems that surface, whether they’re falsehoods, misunderstandings or actual wrongdoings. I know there have been misunderstandings when people have left land to TNC in their wills or by a donation while they’re living, with the incorrect assumption that TNC would manage the land as a nature preserve of sorts.

Like any company, TNC has to decide where to best devote its resources. Unless they’ve made a specific agreement with a donor to hold and manage their land a certain way, they are more likely to divest themselves of that asset and put the money toward higher-value conservation areas such as the rainforests or coral reefs.

They also have to make decisions regarding if and how they’ll work with industry. My experience has been that, right or wrong, they feel they can make more headway working with industry than against them. Their CEO is a former Goldman Sachs director, and not a conservation biologist, so that may sway how the organization makes decisions.

My gut tells me that TNC does far and away more good work than they get credit for.

Disclaimer: We have no relationship with TNC—and certainly no monetary relationship—besides jointly holding one conservation easement with them in Bedford County, VA, and running in some of the same professional circles as their Virginia staff.

David C. Perry, Executive Director
Blue Ridge Land Conservancy—An Accredited Land Trust
722 First St. SW Suite L, Roanoke, VA 24016
(540) 985-0000,
blueridgelandconservancy.org

Property rights need to be basic in the U.S.

Essay by George Neall, Rockingham County, VA, August 6, 2018

Studies have documented that the construction of gas pipelines can cause the value of properties impacted by the pipelines to decrease an average of more than 30%. Other studies have documented similar decreases in land values caused by fracking. Who pays for these losses? Beyond the decrease in appraised property values, what are some of the other losses that occur as a result of pipeline construction?

There seems to be little useful and publicly available information on getting fairly compensated for the loss of your land, your quiet enjoyment, and other factors if your property is confiscated, despite the fact that condemnation proceedings are not uncommon. You are typically on-you-own when it comes to this. Most people hire an attorney to represent them in such matters. Finding a knowledgeable attorney who has a successful track record in such cases is very important.

Clearing a pipeline pathway through forested and mountainous land will result in the loss of many tons of topsoil. In one instance (not related to pipeline construction) documented in Texas, 23 tons of topsoil per acre were lost in just one rain event on fairly flat land with a slope of just 4%. Who will pay landowners for the loss of topsoil from their land where pipeline construction will result in the denuding of land? In many areas where the pipeline will be installed, ground slopes exceed 50%. Even after being “reclaimed,” erosion will be astronomical compared to pre-pipeline conditions, especially in forested land.

How much would it cost to have topsoil trucked in and spread on the ground to replace the topsoil that was washed away? What thickness of topsoil loss is equivalent to 23 tons per acre? The answer, shown in the simple calculations below, is just 1/8 in! Soil is not renewable in the classical sense. It takes a long time to form. Allowing topsoil to erode from landowners’ properties is akin to stealing money from them. Will we allow topsoil thieves get off scot-free like all of the crooked “too-big-to-fail” bankers?

The weight of a one-foot thickness of topsoil covering one acre of land area is approximately 4,000,000 lbs. Using 23 tons of topsoil loss per acre, we can calculate how thick this topsoil loss would be:

First, 23 tons/acre x 2,000 lb./ton = 46,000 lb./acre lost from just one rain event

Then, 46,000 lb. soil erosion / 4,000,000 lb./ft. thickness = 0.0115 ft./acre = 0.138 in., a little over 1/8 inch!

In other words, you would not be able to accurately measure soil depth to document this loss. You would actually need to see the topsoil being washed away during or following a rain or observe the gullies and rills left by water that eroded the topsoil to know that erosion had occurred.

Beyond compensation to the landowner for the loss of valuable topsoil, who will pay citizens for the degradation of water, our most precious resource, caused by the erosion of soil into surface and underground water sources? Let’s assume that pipeline construction will result in a total of 23 tons of soil erosion per disturbed acre of land. The actual figure will likely be much greater because most of the land being disturbed by the pipeline will have a slope much greater than 4%, with slopes exceeding 60% in areas. The 23-tons/acre figure was also from just one rainfall, albeit a big one, whereas increased erosion from pipeline construction will continue for many years. The pipeline will result in the denuding of approximately 10,000 acres of land, which would result in more than 200,000 tons of topsoil being washed into our fresh water resources. The rivers and streams carrying this sediment-laden water will eventually carry it to the oceans, further polluting them.

What are trees worth? I’m not a forrester. Standing tree values will vary depending upon a lot of factors, but an estimate of $1,500.00/acre can be used for tracts that are commercially clear-cut. Many people who have purchased forested tracts of land for recreational or retirement use would consider their land more valuable with standing timber than without. Indeed, many people looking for recreational or retirement land would not consider purchasing a clear-cut tract or land that was crossed by or adjacent to a large natural gas pipeline.

My wife and I would not sell the timber rights on the land we temporarily own. The timber is more valuable standing than cut down. The timber is what helps produce the pristine spring water we drink and the pure stream that flows down the mountain behind our house. When you really think about it, we’re all “temporary owners” while we’re alive. The land will endure and flourish if we let it. Sooner or later, someone else will temporarily own our land.

Water is not only the most important product of our wooded property but also of the national forests. Pristine water is dependent upon trees. The animals are dependent upon the trees and water. How much is it worth listening to woodpeckers drumming for food or catbirds calling from the trees? Can you assign a worth to collecting black walnuts, hickory, and May apples nuts in the fall? What about wineberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and mulberries in the summer? If you’re a pipeline company that wishes to profit from the resources in our environment, they would have you believe the values of these things are intangible and irrelevant. We all know better!

There are many other factors that need to be considered if you are faced with condemnation of your land for the construction of a natural gas pipeline. Will your mortgage be affected? Will your house/property insurance be affected? What happens if the pipeline pollutes your land? What happens if/when the pipeline is abandoned? How will your use of the land confiscated by the pipeline be limited or adversely affected? How will the pipeline owner ensure the pipeline right of way is kept clear of trees or other objectionable plants? Will they use herbicides or will this be done manually? How often will these or other pipeline activities disrupt the “quiet enjoyment” of your property? What will happen if you lose your water supply as a result of pipeline construction? If your property is near a compressor station, is that station a nuisance, legally?

Here is the dictionary definition of “nuisance”: “Nuisances that interfere with the physical condition of the land include vibration or blasting that damages a house; destruction of crops; raising or lowering of a water table; or the pollution of soil, a stream or underground water supply. Examples of nuisances interfering with the comfort, convenience, or health of an occupant are foul odors, noxious gases, smoke, dust, loud noises, excessive light or high temperatures.”

Pipeline companies don’t care about any of these “theoretical” considerations. They don’t care about inconveniencing people. They don’t care that their actions may cost other people money or cause emotional pain. They’re not in the business to be nice. They’re in business to make money. They make money by externalizing as many costs as possible, like pollution of our environment. Violations of environmental regulations should result in significant fines. Landowners should receive fair compensation that not only includes the actual value of confiscated land, but also compensation for loss of quiet enjoyment, loss of topsoil and other factors. The cost of mitigating pollution should be paid up front and not by society after is has occurred. If paying environmental costs up front makes the product or project too expensive to generate a profit, it would not happen.

We may be able to stop some pipelines from being built. This needs to be our collective goal. But there will be instances where pipelines are built in spite of widespread and fervent opposition, science and common sense. Dominion and other corporations pay politicians to do their bidding. They help write the laws that let them run roughshod over you and me.

Suggested further reading:
Finding and Buying Your Place In The Country by Les & Carol Scher

Pipelines damage farms, forests, streams, mountains, etc.

From an Article by Tommy Lopez, WSLS News 10, June 04, 2018

MONROE CO. WV – Opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline tried a new tactic Monday: chaining themselves to construction equipment.

West Virginia state police arrested three people who were trying to slow down workers in Lindside, a community in Monroe County, West Virginia. They delayed construction for a few hours on US Route 219.

Police cut them out around 10 a.m., about two hours after they received a call. Police said Maxwell Shaw, 24, Evin Ugur, 21, and Sydney White, 18, are all from Massachusetts and are out on bond.

Court documents showed they’re each facing three misdemeanors, one each for trespassing, obstructing and resisting arrest. That could mean up to two and a half years in jail.

Witnesses say about 25 other pipeline opponents came out to watch. One of them was Jammie Hale, who lives in Giles County.

“Very humbling. You see somebody willing to put their life and limb in jeopardy to save my farm, my land, my community. Oh yeah, it’s very humbling,” he said.

He described a tense atmosphere. Witnesses said police threatened to use tasers, pepper spray and batons. “There’s people going every which way and then police, law enforcement pulling in and you don’t know what to expect or exactly what’s going to happen,” he said.

He’s encouraged by the efforts. “Nowadays people are scared to stand up and take a stand and to see especially some young people,” he said.

This comes just three days after the last sitter in Virginia came down from a spot blocking construction in Giles County. “I hope a lot of people get involved and say ‘I’m going to stick up for my neighbor, for their rights, for our constitutional rights,’” Hale said.

As of Monday night, there are no reports of any protesters blocking MVP construction workers. At least 10 people have placed themselves in the pipeline’s path against the company’s request.

Construction continues on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is projected to run from West Virginia into North Carolina, crossing through Giles, Montgomery, Roanoke, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties in Virginia.