The current proposed route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
The head of the Department of Environmental Quality was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe, a strong supporter of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Under the Clean Water Act, DEQ could block construction of the pipeline if it felt the quality of our water would be damaged, but as Sandy Hausman reports, the agency may not have the will to do that.
David Sligh can trace his family back to revolutionary times in Virginia. One of his ancestors is buried down the road from Reed’s Gap, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. He sits on a rock overlooking the valley and ponders plans for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
“Somewhere below us Dominion says they’re going to drill through the Blue Ridge Mountain 4,500 feet.”
He’s convinced that construction here and all along the 600-mile route will cause long-term damage to the environment.
“It’s going to take huge cranes and they can’t sit on the side of the mountain. They have to dig out benches to sit on, and it will cause huge amounts of erosion and scars on the mountain itself. You’re going to have these huge work areas that are scars, you’re going to have access roads, and there’s the noise involved.”
Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby says the pipeline will involve taking down trees and moving earth around, but he claims the company will restore areas of disturbance and cause little harm.
“To clear and grade a relatively limited area on certain ridge lines so we have enough level working space to safely excavate a trench. That material that we grade is segregated beside the right-of-way, and then as soon as the pipe is installed and the trench is backfilled, we’re required by federal regulations to fully restore the ridge line back to its original contours.”
WTVF TV – Sandy Hausman – )08/02/2017
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