BRIDGEPORT, W. Va. — The final of 10 verbal public comment meetings regarding a proposed 550-mile pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia to North Carolina and a project constructing 39 miles of pipeline, as well as modify existing compression facilities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania was held Tuesday night at Bridgeport High School.
The scoping meeting put on by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was part of the Pre-Filing stage for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Project and the Supply Header Project.
Throughout the 10 meetings, where public statements related to the potential environmental impacts of the project were transcribed into the agency’s report, representatives with the FERC say they have heard many different viewpoints.
“There have been people that have spoken for the project, there have been people that have spoken against the project,” Kevin Bowman, an Environmental Scientist and the FERC’s Project Manager for the two proposed pipelines said. “People have spoken for increased environmental concerns and addressing of issues that are important to them. Whether those issues are water quality, whether they’re cultural resources, whether they’re alternative routes, all of those are important to FERC.”
On Tuesday night, Charlie Burd, Executive Director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia chose to use his allotted time to focus on the impact the project would have on the economic environment, saying the pipelines would transport domestically produced product for a wide variety of commercial and industrial processes.
“Moreover, this project will create thousands of construction jobs, thousands of permanent jobs and contribute millions of dollars to the state economies that will enrich and enhance the lives of millions of people,” he said.
Others were concerned about the potential for environmental disasters related to the pipelines –19 such “significant incidents have occurred in the state from 2003 through 2014, according to the Pipeline Safety and Hazardous Materials Administration.
Tom Bond, a resident of the Jane Lew area that would be affected by the projects, was concerned about the potential for explosions. Not in the near future if the welding and pipe coverings were done properly, but possible incidents after time wears the pipe down.
“Somewhere down the road, 30 or 40 years, it’s quite likely this would happen as a result of nature,” he said.
Both projects are several years from being in service at this stage. Should the pipelines follow Dominion’s current schedule, the ACP and Supply Header would start transporting gas in late 2018.
Following the same schedule, the FERC would not issue a certificate until next summer.
“The applicant is in the process of preparing information materials to file an application. If that happens, FERC would then issue an Environment Impact Statement addressing the issues of the project,” Bowman said. “We would actually issue that twice, in a draft form to take public comments on it and then issue a final impact statement.”
Only after the final EIS is issued can the FERC make a determination to approve or deny the projects.
For those who were unable to attend a meeting, the FERC is accepting written comments until April 28.
One can submit a comment through the “e-Comment” section at ferconline.ferc.gov or by mailing the comment to:
Ms. Kimberly Bose, Secretary
Federal Regulatory Commission
888First Street NE, Room 1A
Washington, D.C. 20426
The FERC asks that people remember the projects’ docket numbers, PF15-5 for the Supply Header and PF15-6 for the ACP.