Category Archives: Pipeline Route

New Report: Landslides Are Serious Threat to ACP

US Geological Survey (USGS) Map – frequency of, and susceptibility to, landslides. Red areas have the highest rates of landslide incidence (15%+ of area involved). Areas with dashes reflect high landslide susceptibility.

From the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance’s ABRA Update #280, June 11, 2020

The routes of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), as well as the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), pass through the most landslide-prone landscape in the United States, according to a new study released June 11 by the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance (ABRA).

Landslides and the ACP examines the hazards accompanying landslides and pipeline construction and evaluates the issue as it specifically relates to the ACP. The study concludes that the “potential for landslides along the ACP route, and the threat they present to affected communities and water supplies due to sediment runoff and debris flows, were inadequately evaluated by the regulatory agencies responsible for issuing the project’s required permits.”

Several examples of landslide resulting from earth disturbances caused by pipeline construction are included in the study. It also points out that landslides can occur long after there is an earth disturbance due to the fragile topography and unusually steep slopes of the central Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia. The study cites a current study of landslide incidents that occurred in Nelson County, Virginia and western Albemarle County, Virginia as a result of Hurricane Camille in 1969. In the ensuing 50years, there have been nearly 6,000 identifiable landslide incidents attributable to earth disturbances caused by Camille. In other words, once the terrain of these mountains is disturbed, there is a long-term impact on their stability.

Landslides and the ACP explains that the route for the ACP was chosen before the sponsoring companies, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy, had conducted analyses of the impacts the project would have on the fragile Appalachian topography. In rushing to a judgment about a route for the pipeline before fully evaluating its stability risks, Dominion and Duke failed to follow industry guidelines for constructing pipelines in terrain with steep slopes.

The study concludes:

“Regulators, legislators and other officials at the federal state and local levels who have had a role in making or influencing decisions on the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline are strongly urged to reexamine and correct those decisions that helped launch this project. It is not too late to avoid the catastrophe that the ACP will surely bring to the Appalachian Highlands should its construction proceed, and operations begin.”

Forest Service Announces Supplemental EIS Process for ACP


From the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance’s ABRA Update #280, June 11, 2020

Development of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) was announced June 11 [2020] by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The Notice of Intent, published in the Federal Register, is in response to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals action of December 13, 2018 vacating the USFS’s Record of Decision and Special use Permit issued for the ACP. While one of the reasons for the Court’s action – whether the USFS had the authority to authorize the ACP to cross the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (ANST) – is on appeal to and awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, there were several other issues in question that the SEIS process will focus upon:

  • Issues identified in the Court ruling including the potential for the proposal to cause adverse impacts to soil, water, and threatened and Endangered Species Act (ESA) Threatened and Endangered species and their habitat;
  • The purpose and impact of the Forest Plan amendments on affected resources (soil, water, ESA Threatened and Endangered species, scenic integrity, ANST, and eligible recreation rivers) and consistency with the Planning Rule;
  • The feasibility and practicality of having routes that are not on NFS lands; and,
  • A re-evaluation and assessment of erosion, sedimentation, and water quality effects in relation to anticipated mitigation effectiveness.

The USFS Federal Register Notice of Intent states that a draft SEIS will be available in July 2020 and that a final SEIS is anticipated later in 2020. The Notice indicated that when the Draft SEIS is made available there will be information provided about how public comments can be made.

ACP Effects on Virginia Wetlands


From the Digital Commons at Longwood University comes this interesting 15 minute video presentation on The Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Effects on Wetlands in Virginia, a Longwood University Student Showcase by Travis Wood and Coleman Behne, April 22, 2020.

Their summary statement:

Wetland mitigation banking is a familiar topic in Virginia, especially with the introduction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The proposed pipeline, which extends from West Virginia to North Carolina, impacts nearly 315 acres of wetlands in Virginia alone. Under current Virginia law, wetlands are to be undisturbed by any destruction-related actions. The pipeline, however, has raised many questions as to why the State is making certain exceptions for a natural gas pipeline. There is a gap between society’s demand for natural gas and the negative environmental impacts the pipeline brings. Environmental justice is also a concern, when groups of people resist placing compressor stations in their communities (e.g. Buckingham County). The wetlands that will see the largest impact is the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, with 22 proposed wetland crossings that will impact 75.9 acres of wetlands. This paper examines how the pipeline is able to disturb wetlands that are deemed ‘untouchable’. The proposed pipeline also comes within 100 feet of wildlife boundaries. Additionally, 13 forested wetlands will be crossed resulting in 21.7 acres of permanent conversion to scrub-shrub or herbaceous wetlands. In preparing plans and scoping areas the natural gas pipeline can pass through, many wetlands and other nationally protected areas are being disturbed and we examine whether the potential benefits outweigh the negatives.

Court Ruling on Army Corps Permit for Keystone XL Will Impact ACP


According to an AP story on April 15, 2020, “A U.S. judge canceled a key permit Wednesday for the Keystone XL oil pipeline that’s expected to stretch from Canada to Nebraska, another setback for the disputed project that got underway less than two weeks ago following years of delays.”  The article notes that, “The cancellation could have broader implications because it appears to invalidate dredging work for any project authorized under the 2017 permit, said attorney Jared Margolis with the Center for Biological Diversity, another plaintiff in the case. It’s unclear what projects would be included.”

The press release from the Center for Biological Diversity is here.

Bloomberg’s article, Keystone XL Ruling Has ‘Sweeping’ Impacts for Other Projects, says “ClearView Energy Partners analyst Christine Tezak said the ruling could delay the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley natural gas pipelines on the East Coast because developers planned to rely on the NWP 12 program, though they don’t have any authorizations in place.”

From Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance ABRA Update #272, April 16, 2020:  A federal district judge in Montana on April 15 ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the law when it approved National Permit 12 (NWP12) to permit the Keystone XL Pipeline to cross streams and rivers under the Corps’ jurisdiction. The ruling invalidates Nationwide Permit 12, prohibiting the Corps from using this fast-tracked approval process for any pipelines nationwide.

The Corps begin issuing NWP12 in 1977 for categories of activities that it deems to be similar in nature and “will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects when performed separately and will have only minimal cumulative adverse effect on the environment.” The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) is currently without an authorized NWP12. Until the district court decision is reversed on appeal, a new NWP12 for any pipeline project, including the ACP, cannot be issued.

The case had been brought by the Northern Plains Resource Council in 2019. The judge ruled that the “Corps failed to consider relevant expert analysis and failed to articulate a rational connection between the facts it found and the choice it made” regarding endangered species that were in the path of the project. Click here for a copy of the plaintiff’s statement commenting upon the decision (which also includes a link to the court decision).

ABRA Unveils New Pipeline Mapping Systems


From Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance ABRA Update #270, April 2, 2020

Two new online mapping systems have been created by ABRA to assist allies who are fighting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and other pipeline projects in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and in North Carolina. Both systems are based on geographic information system (GIS) technology, like ABRA’s CIS mapping system for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP).

The Hampton Roads Anti-Pipeline Education Map includes the rest of the ACP route from Buckingham County to the North Carolina border and to Portsmouth, VA, plus two pipeline projects of the Virginia Gas Company, the Header Improvement Project and the Southside Connector Pipeline.

The North Carolina Pipeline Watch Mapping System (NCPWP) depicts the ACP route from the Virginia boarder south to the terminus of the project. It includes updated stream crossings and new land ownership data and is designed to assist our allies in North Carolina to better monitor any construction activity of the ACP. For more information the ACP monitoring effort in North Carolina, visit www.NCPipelineWatch.org.

To access the new mapping systems, click here.

ABRA Unveils New Pipeline Mapping Systems

From Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance’s ABRA Update #270, April 2, 2020

Two new online mapping systems have been created by ABRA to assist allies who are fighting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and other pipeline projects in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and in North Carolina. Both systems are based on geographic information system (GIS) technology, like ABRA’s CIS mapping system for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP).

The Hampton Roads Anti-Pipeline Education Map includes the rest of the ACP route from Buckingham County to the North Carolina border and to Portsmouth, VA, plus two pipeline projects of the Virginia Gas Company, the Header Improvement Project and the Southside Connector Pipeline.

The North Carolina Pipeline Watch Mapping System (NCPWP) depicts the ACP route from the Virginia boarder south to the terminus of the project. It includes updated stream crossings and new land ownership data and is designed to assist our allies in North Carolina to better monitor any construction activity of the ACP.

For more information the ACP monitoring effort in North Carolina, visit www.NCPipelineWatch.org.

To access the new mapping systems, click here.