I am eager to respond to the article “Shipman residents with pipeline experience among ACP supporters” in the July 20 edition of the Nelson County Times.

While I deeply respect the pride Pete Wood and Jason Tolbert take in the work they have done, I feel obligated to clarify some of their statements. Wood suggests that residents not listen to everything they hear, but rather become acquainted with the parameters. I can assure him that residents have read thousands of pages submitted by Dominion on behalf of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and we are up to speed with the incomplete and inaccurate information submitted by this applicant. As an example of thousands of errors uncovered; three years into this project, the filings still do not contain accurate information about primary roads through Nelson County. Routes 6 and 151 are not mentioned. Instead, the filings cite the daily traffic counts for U.S. 60 listed as a primary road through our county.

The other pipeline underway, Sunoco’s Mariner East II, has now been credited with dozens of spills. There are now 30 families with no water, or compromised well water, from a horizontal direct drill through a karst area. This drill permeated an aquifer feeding these wells, along with impact to the local municipal well, which Sunoco now says they will provide these families hook ups to, as remediation for the damage. It is not known how long these families will be using bottled water while waiting for these hook-ups. Sunoco submitted detailed engineering plans to the Pennsylvania DEP for this HDD and the permit was issued in spite of concerns expressed by residents. Mariner spills have occurred in 10 of 12 counties along the route. And in just the last three days, in Delaware County, Mariner is working to contain groundwater from a hit to another aquifer, with drilling mud spilling into a nearby stream.

These two pipelines are representative of what Nelson residents have tracked for the past three years. We are all too familiar with the “parameters”, but also quite aware of reality. I hope that these Shipman residents will consider supporting Nelson neighbors who are not interested in selling the ACP an easement for a project that is totally lacking in “public need.”

MARILYN SHIFFLETT

Nellysford

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Nelson County Times – 07/26/2017