HARRISONBURG, Va. (WVIR) –Environmental regulators in Virginia are kicking off a series of public hearings on the plans to protect water quality with the construction of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Anti-pipeline groups plan to show up in full force starting Monday, August 7, in Harrisonburg.

The group Walking the Line is planning to hold rituals and music before each of the five public hearings for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The Department of Environmental Quality is taking comments on permit conditions it developed to protect water quality along the proposed pipeline routes. People will have the opportunity to comment at one of the public hearings or submit a written comment by August 22.

Walking the Line is planning to attend all five hearings throughout the commonwealth to protest by singing songs and holding signs in silence that say, “This is not a hearing. This is a robbery.”

“What we’re asking is for a real hearing that will give proper water certification examinations, for the Department of Environmental Quality in Virginia to do its job instead of handing it off to someone else and rushing through,” said Kay Ferguson with Walking the Line.

The group feels Virginia is not taking the proper steps to ensure drinking water is not harmed by the proposed pipeline.

The first of five public hearings for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline will be Monday, August 7, at the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg. The meeting is set to start at 6 p.m.

Walking the Line will hold its rituals before the meeting at 5:15 p.m.

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NBC29 WVIR – Reported By Lowell Rose -08/06/2017