• Neighbors worry about how pipeline will impact environment.
Daily Record Photos/Shaun Savarese – At a hearing in Fayetteville Tuesday, representatives from the N.C. Division of Water Resources asked attendees to hold up their signs to be pictured and recorded. Protesters from the eight North Carolina counties affected waved their protest signs. Most of the objections were about the pipeline’s environmental impact.The proposed project will permanently impact 766 feet of streams and temporarily impact 454 acres of wetlands.
By SHAUN SAVARESE
Of The Record Staff
Cumberland and Johnston county residents voiced critical concern about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), asking for answers and imploring a state agency to deny a crucial permit for the multi-billion dollar project Tuesday.
The N.C. Division of Water Resources (DWR) held the first of two regional public hearings at Fayetteville Technical Community College to gather feedback before deciding whether it will issue a major water quality certification permit Sept. 18.
Tom Clarke of Godwin, who has two UNC Chapel Hill documentarians filming his fight to stop the ACP, stood in front of 10 DWR representatives and a crowd of about 200 and begged for the truth.
“Tell us the truth from the beginning,” he implored. “Deny this permit until they (ACP) get their act together.”
Mr. Clarke was referring to the construction impact on wetlands, asking how 454 acres of wetlands can be only temporarily impacted by the pipeline. Less than one acre of wetlands is projected to be permanently impacted.
A Cumberland County Caring Voices (C3V) member, Mr. Clarke questioned the motive of the build, saying he believes the reason for the pipeline is profit. He said energy companies Duke and Dominion are expected to increase their revenue by 15 percent with the ACP.
C3V is coordinated by Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL), a self-proclaimed “regional, community-based, nonprofit environmental organization” based out of Glendale Springs, N.C. Another group under the BREDL umbrella is No Pipeline Johnston County.
The Daily Record – Shaun Savarese – 07/20/2017
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