The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Feds halt pipeline work after judge pulls permit
A federal agency has ordered a halt to all work on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline after a panel of judges suspended two key permits for the massive project to bring natural gas from West Virginia through central Virginia.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sent a letter late Friday to Dominion Energy, the company leading construction of the 600-mile pipeline, saying that work must stop until the permit issues can be resolved.
Earlier in the week, three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit had vacated a permit issued by the National Park Service to allow the pipeline to tunnel under the federally owned Blue Ridge Parkway, saying the agency had not explained how the pipeline fit with the its mandate to conserve public lands.
The court also vacated a permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service governing impact on endangered wildlife, saying the agency failed to set proper limits for harm to five species including a type of freshwater clam and certain bats.
The rulings capped a series of setbacks for the two major pipeline projects underway in Virginia. Last month, the same court revoked a permit for the separate Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross 3.5 miles of the Jefferson National Forest, finding that the impact on the forest had not been fully reviewed.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission then stepped in to halt all work on that pipeline as well. The Mountain Valley Pipeline, being built by a consortium of companies led by EQT Midstream Partners of Pittsburgh, is a 300-mile project that also carries natural gas from West Virginia and passes through Virginia’s far southwest mountains.
Environmental activists say the rulings show the approval process for both projects has been hasty and flawed.
The Southern Environmental Law Center brought the challenges against both sets of permits and has urged FERC to reconsider approval for both pipelines.
“With so many unknowns remaining about this project, now is the right time for the Commission to grant rehearing and get to the bottom of Dominion’s over-blown and unsupported claims of public benefit,” SELC attorney Greg Buppert said via email after Friday’s decision.
Builders of both pipelines, though, have said that the permit issues can be readily addressed.
“We are already working with the key agencies to resolve the issues in FERC’s order so we can resume construction as soon as possible,” said Aaron Ruby of Dominion, spokesman for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. “Delaying this infrastructure will force consumers and businesses to pay higher energy costs.”