Governor faces pipeline backlash

RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has removed two members of the state Air Pollution Control Board ahead of a key vote on a controversial natural gas pipeline project, drawing condemnation from environmental groups.

The air board had delayed a vote last week on a permit for a compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, citing concerns that the facility was disrupting a historically African-American community in rural Buckingham County.

During a two-day hearing in Richmond attended by scores of protesters, several members of the seven-person board questioned state officials and representatives of Dominion Energy, the lead company on the $6 billion pipeline project, about why the compressor had to be located in the Union Hill community.

Board members surprised supporters and opponents by delaying action until Dec. 10, saying they wanted more time to review the matter.

Union Hill residents, many of whom are descendants of former slaves and free black families who settled there before the Civil War, took hope that the board was giving serious review to their environmental justice arguments.

But that hope turned to outrage Thursday night as word spread that Northam, a Democrat, was altering the board’s membership. His office acknowledged that he was removing two members whose terms expired in June but had been allowed to continue serving.

Both Samuel Bleicher of Arlington and Rebecca Rubin of Fredericksburg were among those who had raised questions last week about the location and safety of the compressor station. Northam’s office acknowledged Thursday night that the governor was replacing them but denied that it had anything to do with the pipeline issue.

“That’s not the case,” Northam spokeswoman Ofirah Yheskel said via email. “The terms of two members ... expired at the end of June. The Governor is exercising his statutory authority to appoint members of his choosing to these board seats.”