It is interesting to note that on January 25, President Trump’s White House team included the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) among the administration’s top 50 priorities for infrastructure projects, however, the ACP was the only pipeline on the list, according to the Desmog Blog.
The pipeline was announced in September 2014 and is a 42-inch natural gas pipeline that will run about 600 miles (970 kilometers) between West Virginia, Virginia, and eastern North Carolina. The pipeline will carry 1.44 billion cubic feet per day of fracked gas, cutting through forests, critical animal habitats and mountains that will require the removal of between 10 to 60 feet of the mountain ridges, according to the report released Thursday by the non-profit Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
The report cited information and statistics in the draft environmental impact statement prepared by the Federal Energy Regulatory Council (FERC) as well as information Dominion supplied to FERC. The report also contains information from the Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping software and independent reports prepared by engineers and soil scientists.
From the inception of the ACP project, co-owned by Dominion Resources, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, and Southern Company Gas, opponents of the pipeline have led protests against it, largely in Virginia. An anti-pipeline group, “All Pain No Gain,” raised money for radio and television ads protesting the ACP and landowners tried to block surveyors from coming onto their property.
However, Virginia state law has been against the protests, simply because state law permits surveying on private property, as well as the use of eminent domain in construction. Several environmental groups and the Southern Environmental Law Center (a Charlottesville, Virginia-based non-profit), have voiced opposition to the pipeline, pointing out it will run through unstable karst terrain prone to sinkholes and landslides.
Dominion, in response, has stated that they have changed the construction route for the pipeline 300 times for a total of 250 miles (400 kilometers) of rerouting to accommodate “environmentally sensitive areas” and other concerns.
“In light of the discovery that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will cause 10 to 60 feet of mountaintops to be removed from 38 miles of Appalachian ridges, there is nothing left to debate,” said Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
So, why is the Trump team so interested in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and its completion? It could be because several members of the administration’s transition team, landing team, and current White House staff have connections with the companies behind the project or to firms lobbying for the pipeline.
