From the Commonwealth of Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan, Page 10: “Landslide Risk to Energy Pipelines: Soil movement associated with landslides can destabilize the structural supports of pipelines, possibly leading to pipeline ruptures. In Virginia, landslides can be expected to occur in conjunction with other hazard events such as flooding or earthquake, which also pose independent risks to pipelines (see section 3.7 and 3.13)” Look at the maps and photos.
What would it look like if Dominion builds here?
There may not be any good examples of large pipeline construction in steep, forested-mountain terrain. Dominion, in fact, has never built a pipeline this large anywhere. This set of photos shows a 42-inch pipeline under construction in Nebraska in a relatively flat landscape. What would such construction look like in the mountains, hills, and valleys of Nelson County? Notice the school buses in the photo – they look tiny in the midst of the construction corridor.
“Natural Gas Pipeline Technology Overview,” produced by Argonne National Laboratory in 2007, describes the process from easement surveying through construction to abandonment. Describes the various components (e.g.compressor stations, metering stations), what they do and how they are constructed and operated.
