In early January 2019, energy lobbyist, Bob Orndorff, state policy director for Dominion Energy, speaking to the WV legislature’s Joint Committee on Natural Gas Development on behalf of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, said construction on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline has been halted because “rogue environmental groups” were getting in the way. He urged lawmakers to “stand up to these rogue environmental groups” and pass a resolution to condemn them.

In an editorial on January 11, the Gazette-Mail asked, “Who are the real rogues?” The editorial says, “In reality, Dominion Energy has halted construction after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals found environmental regulatory groups were bypassing rules meant to protect people, wildlife and the environment in the path of such large-scale projects. No doubt Dominion will continue to pursue the Atlantic Coast Pipeline once these legal hurdles are cleared, but for representatives of the industry to blame ‘rogue’ environmentalists is dishonest and simply wrong.” The editorial concluded, “The suggestion to the Legislature offered up by lobbyist Bob Orndorff that the body pass a resolution condemning the environmental groups pursuing litigation is insulting. These groups trying to protect their rights are made up of actual West Virginians who want to preserve what they have and avoid being steamrolled by big industry. Their government should be watching out for them, but it’s not, so the only way to stand up for themselves is through the courts. Remember it’s the people who are the David in this scenario, not the Goliath.”

Despite the editorial, a resolution condemning the “assaults on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline” (ACP) from citizen groups was approved by the Rules Committee of the West Virginia House of Delegates on March 6, 2019. On March 7, the House of Delegates overwhelmingly approved House Resolution 11 by a 80-17 vote (3 members did not vote). All Republican members voting supported the measure, plus 21 of the 40 Democrats in the House. (The resolution as introduced is available here.) An identical resolution was introduced in the West Virginia Senate in mid-February. Senate Resolution 42 is pending before the Senate Committee on Energy, Industry and Mining, which to date has taken no action on the measure.

It is amazing that the West Virginia legislature continues to think it is a valid legislative action to condemn the many citizens who, for a wide variety of reasons based on a wide variety of reliable data, continue to oppose Dominion’s proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline.