Virginia Withholds Key Permit for “Header Injustice Project”

CCAN Statement: “This was a needed win in these trying times”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2020
CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-630-1889
Anne Havemann, General Counsel, anne@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-630-2146
Lauren Landis, Grassroots Coordinator, lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org, 757-634-9567

Richmond, VA — Today, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) issued a preliminary ruling against a controversial fracked-gas expansion project referred to as the “Header Injustice Project” by affected communities. Under the terms of the decision, the utility may re-apply for a permit but must comply with certain conditions that could prove extremely difficult to meet.  If the utility, Virginia Natural Gas (VNG), can show by December 31, 2020, that its main customer — the 1050-megawatt C4GT gas plant — has the financing it needs to build, VNG must also submit information about needed environmental justice analyses and confirm that it will protect VNG’s customers from unnecessary rate increases. 

The second condition related to cost protections might prove especially challenging for VNG to meet. To shield VNG’s customers from “holding the bag” for the costs of the project should the gas plant cease operation, the Commission is requiring that the capital cost of the project must be recovered over 20 years instead of the 70 years proposed. VNG’s own rebuttal testimony recognized that “[t]here is a very real risk that if the entire cost of the Project is required to be amortized over 20 years that the Project will be cost prohibitive and not be completed.” 

The Commission found that there was a “very real risk” that C4GT might shut down before VNG fully recovered the costs of the Project. In its 2020 session, the Virginia General Assembly voted to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which will raise the cost of all carbon-emitting facilities in Virginia, making it more difficult for merchant facilities like C4GT, which sell energy and capacity into the regional power grid, to make a profit. 

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Sierra Club, represented by Appalachian Mountain Advocates, intervened in the proceeding and consistently raised concerns about the potential impacts to ratepayers from the proposed 70-year cost-recovery period, among other issues. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation also intervened as did the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Appalachian Voices and Virginia Interfaith Power & Light. 

Anne Havemann, CCAN General Counsel, stated:

“This was a needed win in these trying times. The Header Injustice Project is so named because it is an absolute travesty in terms of environmental justice. Major components would go through majority-minority communities, and virtual hearings were held about an issue that would impact areas that have limited internet access. As a result, these communities, with little knowledge or say in the project, would have been the worst impacted by its harms: toxic air pollution, noise, threats of explosion. This is the textbook definition of environmental racism. 

“But, at the end of the day, it was the arguments around need and cost that moved the needle. This decision recognizes that there is great risk in continuing investments in fossil fuel infrastructure and affirms that ratepayers should not be forced to subsidize these projects. Virginia is on the pathway to 100% clean electricity. Fracked gas should no longer enter the equation. 

“We thank the SCC Commissioners who did the right thing today. The tide is turning in Virginia toward clean energy and toward justice. We hope that Governor Northam is paying attention and will use his authority to reject the other terrible fracked-gas projects proposed in the Commonwealth, including Dominion’s Buckingham Compressor Station.” 

Additional information: 

Virginia Natural Gas is calling the proposal the “Header Improvement Project.” But the organizations fighting it call it the “Header Injustice Project” because it would harm countless communities. 

The proposal is for three new gas pipelines, totaling 24 miles, and three new or expanded gas compressor stations from Northern Virginia, through the middle of the state, and to the shore in Hampton Roads. The primary purpose of HIP is to supply gas to the C4GT merchant gas plant proposed for Charles County City. This merchant plant would be located about a mile from the proposed Chickahominy Power Station, a separate gas-fired merchant power plant that would be the largest in the state of Virginia. VNG wants this network of fracked-gas infrastructure to be up and running by the end of 2022.

The project has been tangled in justice concerns from the beginning. The massive gas plant the project is intended to serve is one of two such plants proposed  to be built in a community with higher minority populations than the Virginia average. And one key component of the HIP project itself — the Gidley Compressor Station — is also proposed for a predominantly Black community. Yet there has been no environmental justice review carried out. 

Furthermore, holding regulatory hearings for the project during the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns in itself because internet coverage in the area surrounding the Gidley Compressor falls below the state average, leaving residents unable to access information and participate in the process. The first hearing on the HIP proposal was held up by technical issues.

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 A coalition called the Stop the Abuse of Virginian Energy (SAVE) Coalition has formed to stop this project. Learn more here: www.stophip.org

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For 17 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit www.chesapeakeclimate.org 

Governor Hogan’s Plans to "Kick-Start" a Gas Expansion Across Maryland

While other states and cities are moving away from powering homes and buildings with gas—a potent climate pollutant—Maryland Governor Larry Hogan plans to spend $6.5 million this year in his effort to “kick-start” a gas expansion across Maryland. This $6.5 million is a portion of the $30 million his Administration can spend on expanding gas infrastructure after he negotiated the terms of a settlement allowing a Canadian company to acquire a local gas supplier.

Among the projects his Administration is backing: a new, 11-mile pipeline providing gas to two state-run facilities on the Eastern Shore. In repowering these state facilities, the Hogan Administration foreclosed the possibility of any other type of energy source by only requesting applications for gas. The government should be leading the way towards zero-emission buildings, especially when it comes to state facilities, not putting its thumb on the scale for gas.  

“Natural” gas is primarily made up of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas. It’s 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Methane leaks during production and transportation and gas heaters themselves are inefficient. As a result, a leading scientist concludes that it may actually be better for the climate to heat your home with coal or oil than with gas. In an era of rapid climate change, we cannot wait to replace all of these polluting fossil fuels with electricity powered by clean sources like wind and solar.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electric alternatives exist for all major energy end uses in buildings. Space heating, water heating, and cooking account for the vast majority of direct fuel usage. Electric technologies exist, and are in use today, that can supply all of these end uses.In 2017, Hogan signed a ban on fracking for gas in Maryland, saying that his administration had “concluded that possible environmental risks of fracking simply outweigh any potential benefits.” Since signing that ban, however, the Hogan Administration has continued to call gas “a bridge fuel” and has worked consistently to kick-start a gas expansion across the State.

Read the white paper here

New Lawsuit Launched Against Mountain Valley Pipeline

RICHMOND, Va. — Conservation groups today launched a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The petition for review of the project was filed with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service, which administers the Endangered Species Act, issued an opinion that allowed the pipeline to move forward — despite its serious threats to endangered species. The agency failed to accurately measure the pipeline’s impacts on endangered wildlife like the iconic Roanoke logperch and failed to set limits for how many threatened and endangered bats can be harmed or killed. 

The lawsuit seeks to vacate the Service’s decision and force the agency to re-evaluate the project’s impact. The groups argue that construction on the already-foundering pipeline should stop until that process is complete. 

Today, the groups also sent a letter to the agency requesting that it stay the biological opinion and incidental take statement pending court review. The species at issue include the Roanoke logperch, Indiana bat and Northern long-eared bat. The suit was filed by the Sierra Club on behalf of Wild Virginia, Appalachian Voices, Preserve Bent Mountain/BREDL, Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, and Chesapeake Climate Action Network. 

Additionally, MVP does not have Clean Water Act authorization to cross streams and wetlands from the Army Corps, and does not have necessary U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management authorizations.

In response, Sierra Club Staff Attorney Elly Benson released the following statement:

“The fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline puts several endangered species in harm’s way, while serving only to line the pockets of polluting corporations. MVP has proven it can’t build this unnecessary pipeline without devastating streams and rivers, as well as the forest habitats of  Appalachia. The public should be able to trust that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is making protection of endangered species its highest priority, but it fell short of that obligation here.”

David Sligh, Conservation Director for Wild Virginia stated:

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, like numerous other government agencies tasked with protecting the public and our resources, failed to do its job. Citizens cannot and will not accept actions that endanger the future of some of our rarest and most precious wildlife species. This destructive pipeline has already caused great damage to the environment and the public and it must be stopped before that damage gets worse.”

Roberta Bondurant, Preserve Bent Mountain/BREDL, said:

“Our mountain communities continue to witness MVP ravage the forest, field, stream and wetland sanctuaries of species that have supposedly been protected by federal law. We ask USFWS and the courts to do no more—and no less—than uphold that law through a critical review of the Biological Opinion. At best, the writers of that document ignored evidence of MVP construction as a threat to species survival—survival which will ultimately implicate our own.”

Anne Havemann, General Counsel for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated: 

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proven its carelessness in forcing through a permit for the similarly destructive Atlantic Coast Pipeline. We have seen this same carelessness in the Service’s permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. This pipeline has already wreaked havoc on the landscape; it must not be allowed to continue to jeopardize the existence of our invaluable endangered species.” 

Jared Margolis, Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney, said:

“This pipeline is a major threat to the Roanoke River system and the people and imperiled species that rely on it. Regulators can’t keep shrugging off the environmental harms of pipeline projects. We need to stop destroying habitats and waterways for fossil fuels that are driving the climate catastrophe.”

Jason Rylander, Senior Endangered Species Counsel for Defenders of Wildlife, said:

“The Mountain Valley Pipeline poses an enormous threat to the fish, wildlife, forests, and people in its path. The Trump administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fast-tracked this project and failed to properly evaluate its impact on imperiled species. The Service needs to reconsider its biological opinion and further construction of this environmentally destructive project should cease before iconic species and landscapes are lost forever.” 

Contact: Doug Jackson, Sierra Club, (202) 495-3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
Jared Margolis, Center for Biological Diversity, (802) 310-4054, jmargolis@biologicaldiversity.org

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CCAN Statement: Northam DEQ announcement raises serious concerns

CCAN “Highly Skeptical” That DEQ Head can Lead its Own Internal Review; Calls on Paylor to Recuse Himself

RICHMOND, VA — Today, Governor Northam announced Executive Order 6, which instructs David Paylor, Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, to perform a comprehensive review of DEQ’s permitting, monitoring, and enforcement activities.
Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated:

“We agree with Governor Northam that the Department of Environmental Quality needs to be seriously reformed, so we commend him for that. However, we are highly skeptical that DEQ Director David Paylor can oversee this internal review in a fair and comprehensive manner.

“The DEQ is a broken agency, and Director David Paylor is the one that broke it. In his 12 years running the agency, he has regularly sided with polluters over the environment. He has accepted gifts from mega-polluter Dominion Energy and permitted polluter-friendly practices across the Commonwealth.

“The timing of this announcement is particularly painful for the landowners who live along the route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline for fracked gas, to which DEQ just gave final approval in a process widely viewed as flawed.

“We believe David Paylor should be replaced as DEQ Director. If Governor Northam keeps him on, however, Paylor should recuse himself from this much-needed agency review. We hope Governor Northam will consider turning the review over completely to the Secretary of Natural Resources in order to ensure real and substantive changes at the DEQ.”


CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, 608-620-8819, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, Director, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org

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Thousands call on Gov. Northam to protect Virginia waters from fracked-gas pipelines

Event comes on heels of after-hours DEQ announcement to allow MVP construction

Richmond, Va. — Citizens representing Virginia landowners, the faith community, scientists, people of color, water protectors and clean energy advocates today called on Governor Ralph Northam to protect Virginia’s waters by taking immediate action on the proposed Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines. The action comes the morning after Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality approved water pollution plans for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, paving the way for its construction.
At a press conference at the Bell Tower on Capitol Square, citizens presented the Northam administration with 10,000 petition signatures signed by Virginian residents. The signatories call on the governor to protect the drinking water supplies of countless Virginians from the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines, which would cross streams and other waters more than 1,400 times across the state.

For high-resolution photos (available shortly), please contact Cat McCue at cat@appvoices.org or 434-953-8672

The group also presented a petition from Change.org with more than 62,000 signatures from other concerned citizens from around the country calling on Governor Northam to reject the pipelines. In addition to the projects’ tremendous climate impacts that affect all Americans, the projects bisect national treasures including the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachian Trail, and many miles of national forest land.
The petition demands that the Northam administration immediately halt the ongoing tree-felling along the routes, allow the public to review and comment on the erosion and stormwater control plans before they are finalized by the Department of Environmental Quality, and take action to ensure the state analyzes individual stream impacts, rather than the Trump administration’s Corps of Engineers.
Just yesterday evening, at 7 p.m., the Department of Environmental Quality announced it had finalized the water plans for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, authorizing the start of land-disturbing activities, without letting the public have one last chance to provide feedback on the critical water pollution plans.
“Citizens all along the MVP route have spent years educating themselves about this project and its potential impacts — everything is at stake for them. They’ve been asking Gov. Northam and his administration for one more chance to review these critical water pollution control plans before the DEQ finalized them and allowed construction to proceed. In an affront to all Virginians, this decision shut them out,” said Peter Anderson, Virginia Program Manager with Appalachian Voices.
“My question for Governor Northam is simple: did you really mean it when you said the DEQ reviews had to be thorough, transparent, and based on science? The science is clear – these projects will be the most damaging for Virginia’s waters in decades. It is time to turn your words into action,” said David Sligh with Wild Virginia.
“Governor Northam promised to hold these dangerous pipelines to the highest environmental standards,” said Jamshid Bakhtiari, Virginia Field Coordinator at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Now, we’re seeing him already go back on this promise. The DEQ will allow the Mountain Valley Pipeline to begin construction, threatening the communities of countless Virginians, without allowing for any further public input. These pipelines will lock us into fossil fuels for decades if Governor Northam doesn’t take action. Thousands and thousands of concerned residents in Virginia — and across the country — are watching.”
“The plans approved for the Mountain Valley Pipeline are not environmentally sound and, from an engineering standpoint, will not sufficiently protect the environment and our drinking water from the pipeline’s construction impacts,” Kirk Bowers, Professional Engineer and Pipelines Program Coordinator for the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, said. “Sierra Club had to utilize a Freedom of Information Act request in order to fully review the plans and come to these conclusions. Leaving those in the public without the financial and legal resources to use the FOIA in the dark is absolutely unacceptable. All Virginians should have had a chance to review and evaluate these plans for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and should get the chance for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.”
At the press conference, the citizens handed the petitions to the Administration’s office. They held different color survey tape to show the average 125-foot width of pipeline tree-felling and construction, and the 50-foot permanent right-of-way that will scar hundreds of miles of mountains, farms and fields through the commonwealth. They also held several large posters with pictures showing some of the places the pipelines will impact as well as pictures of failed erosion controls on other pipeline projects in mountainous terrain.
The event was organized by Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, and Wild Virginia.

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Contact:
Lara Mack, Appalachian Voices, lara@appvoices.org 540-246-9720 (m)
Jamshid Bahktiari, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, jamshid@chesapeakeclimate.org 757-386-8107
Kirk Bowers, Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, kirk.bowers@sierraclub.org 434- 249 1439

Clean Water Advocates Challenge Army Corps of Engineers on Fracked Gas Pipeline Water Quality Review

Coalition’s Suit Says Corps Violated Clean Water Act

 

RICHMOND, VA — Today, a coalition of clean water advocates filed a suit contending the United States Army Corps of Engineers improperly issued a crucial permit for the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline. Under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the Army Corps is charged with issuing a permit for the pipelines’ stream crossings that allows the project’s builders to trench through the bottom of those streams, including the Greenbrier, Elk, and Gauley Rivers, and fill the crossings with dirt during construction of the pipeline. Before the Army Corps can issue this permit, the state in which construction will occur must certify the pipeline’s construction will not degrade the state’s water quality.

The permit issued to the Mountain Valley Pipeline by the Army Corps is commonly known as a “nationwide” permit, which takes a one-size-fits-all approach that can only be used when a state has done the necessary water quality analysis. Since West Virginia waived its right to do that analysis, the Army Corps can not legally issue the section 404 permit for construction of the pipeline in West Virginia.

If successful, this suit will require the Army Corps or the state of West Virginia to do another water quality impact review before the pipeline can be built through that state.

The suit was filed by Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of a coalition made up of the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, Indian Creek Watershed Association, West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

In response, Sierra Club Organizing Manager Bill Price released the following statement:

“The Army Corps of Engineers has a responsibility to protect the people and places we love and their one-size-fits-all approach to this project falls far short of fulfilling that responsibility. The fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline is a dirty, dangerous project that threatens our water, climate and communities and it shouldn’t be built until the Army Corps has done a serious analysis of how badly it would affect the water of Virginia and West Virginia at all river and stream crossings.”

Angie Rosser, Executive Director for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said:

“The combination of WVDEP’s waived water quality analysis and the Army Corps’ cookie-cutter approach just doesn’t cut it for a project of this scale. This illegal move greatens the risk to West Virginia’s rivers and streams and must be addressed before any construction begins.”

Anne Havemann, General Counsel for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said:

“The federal and state governments have fallen short when it comes to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The Army Corps’ blanket permit does not come close to covering the scale and scope of this massive pipeline project. We are asking the court to make the Army Corps take seriously its responsibility to protect our waters.”

CONTACT:
Doug Jackson, Sierra Club, 202.495.3045, doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
Derek Teaney, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 304.793.9007, dteaney@appalmad.org

"Water is Life Rally and Concert" in Richmond Dec. 2

It’s time for the biggest public rally ever organized against the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines. Here’s our goal: To bring so many moms and dads and farmers and students to Richmond on Saturday December 2nd that we can literally form a human ring around the Capitol building and the Governor’s mansion.
This encirclement will be the first public action against the pipelines of its kind in Virginia’s history. After the rally, we’ll stick around for a concert at “The National” theater just two blocks away.
We have to be creative and loud on December 2nd because, frankly, time is running out. The State’s Water Control Board will hold final hearings in Richmond on the MVP (Dec 6-7) and the ACP (Dec 11-12). We’ll be putting pressure on the Water Control Board with our massive rally and we’ll be telling our new governor and House of Delegates that water is life and we intend to preserve it for all our children!

RSVP today! 

http://bit.ly/stop-va-pipelines


TAKE A BUS 

The Sierra Club Virginia Chapter is providing buses from three locations: Hampton Roads, Staunton, and Northern Virginia. Here are the details:

Hampton Roads

Northern Virginia

Pickup #1: Leesburg, VA

Pickup #2: Vienna, VA

Staunton

Harrisonburg / Charlottesville

Pickup #1: Harrisonburg

  • Time: 10:30 am
  • Location: JMU Memorial Hall, 395 South High Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22801. Bus stop on north side of Memorial Hall (near the softball field)
  • Charlottesville pickup location (11:15am): Giant parking Lot, Rivanna Ridge on Pantops
  • RSVPhttp://vasierra.club/waterislifestauntonbus

Pickup #2: Charlottesville

Roanoke (newly added!)


FIND PARKING

Below is a map of parking in downtown Richmond. (Click here for a downloadable PDF).

 

 

The Belltower is at the intersection of 9th and Bank Street.

 

The National Theater is at the intersection of 7th and Broad Street.

 

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Digging Deeper: How FERC Fails the Public on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline

On July 21, Federal regulators issued a deeply-flawed final environmental review for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). We know that the pipeline would threaten hundreds of bodies of water, putting the drinking water for thousands of communities at risk. We also know that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would fuel climate disaster while blocking the transition we urgently need to clean energy and efficiency solutions. It is not surprising that this review from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is completely inadequate, given what we have seen in the past.
But it’s worth breaking down just how FERC gets it wrong on climate change — and what else it completely ignores.

Climate Change

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) continues to ignore the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. It entirely fails to consider emissions from fracking that this massive pipeline would trigger, and seriously discounts the emissions from burning the natural gas.
FERC concludes that the ACP would emit approximately 30 million tons per year of CO2 equivalent. This number is less than half of the emissions the ACP would actually trigger. A proper analysis by our friends at Oil Change International found that the ACP would cause 68 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution per year, which is the equivalent of 20 U.S. coal plants or over 14 million vehicles on the road.
FERC insists, as it has in past analyses, that “the upstream production and downstream combustion of gas is not causally connected [to the ACP] because the production and end-use would occur with or without the projects.”
This claim would be laughable if the consequences of climate change weren’t so severe.
FERC is ignoring its own role in approving all interstate gas pipelines, which are essential for the expanding gas production in the Appalachian basin. Even if you accept FERC’s premise that fracking for gas would occur without the ACP, which we don’t, you can’t ignore the fact that new pipelines generally trigger new fracking. And it’s FERC that approves all new interstate pipelines. A study by Oil Change International found that the Appalachian basin is the region with the greatest potential for growth in dangerous fracking, and developers are eager for pipelines to make high levels of fracking economical. There are currently 19 pipelines proposed in this region being considered by FERC. These pipelines would be a global warming bomb.
For the first time, FERC included a discussion of the Clean Power Plan in its review — but it provided no context or analysis for how the pipeline would impact a state’s goal under the plan. The purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act is to meaningfully inform the public about the consequences of a major federal action before it takes places. Referencing the Clean Power Plan for the first time with no context does not provide meaningful information the public needs to evaluate the ACP and falls short of NEPA.   
The draft analysis included a discussion of why the Council on Environmental Quality’s climate guidance, issued under the Obama Administration, didn’t apply to the ACP. FERC removed that discussion in this final draft. Instead it inserted a footnote discussing Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to not consider indirect climate impacts in their environmental reviews, such as the increased fracking that would come with the ACP.
These pipelines are meant to last 50 years or more, according to NPR. They are presented as climate-friendly alternatives to coal, but they serve only to lock us into a new form of dangerous fossil fuel instead. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. The ACP would lock us into decades of reliance on fossil fuels when we know we need to move to clean sources of energy, like wind and solar.

Ridgetop Removal

The FEIS does not require Dominion to make any changes to minimize ridgetop removal, period.
Experts studied the draft EIS to find that the construction of this pipeline would result in 38 miles of mountain ridgetop removal.  For perspective, the height equivalent of a five-story building would be erased in places from fully forested and ancient mountains, much of it near the treasured Appalachian Trail.
Despite the outcry and unimaginable impacts from removing miles of ridgetops, not much changed in FERC’s final review. FERC still expects construction of the pipeline to require 125 feet of clearing width in mountainous regions. The agency directly states that “clearing and grading . . . would level the right-of-way surface.”
Furthermore, Dominion has yet to reveal how it intends to dispose of at least 247,000 dump-truck-loads of excess rock and soil—known as “overburden”—that would accumulate from the construction along just these 38 miles of ridgetops. The FEIS, for the first time,  tells us definitively that “excess rock and spoil would be hauled off to an approved disposal location or used a beneficial reuse.” Yet Dominion and FERC still have provided no plan for dealing with this overburden and ensuring that it doesn’t poison our waterways.

Renewable Energy 

The bottom-line is this: In its determination of “need,” FERC fully fails to even consider renewable energy as an alternative to this project.
If Dominion wants to bring more energy to Virginians, it should be focusing on clean energy, like expanding its pilot offshore wind program and opening the door to widespread community solar. The last thing Virginia needs is more natural gas infrastructure.
As Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Greg Buppert stated, “It’s FERC’s responsibility to determine if this pipeline is a public necessity before it allows developers to take private property, clear forests, and carve up mountainsides. Mounting evidence shows that it is not.”
For our climate and our future, we must stop this pipeline.

Click HERE to see actions you can take right now.


 
Photo at the top from Flickr user cool revolution with a Creative Commons license. 

In Virginia, People Power is Finally Eroding Dominion’s Power

I don’t know about you, but for me, November 8th 2016 feels like decades ago. So much has changed since the election of Donald Trump in such a short amount of time — good and bad. Around the country, we are seeing record numbers of new activists, reinvigorated old volunteers coming back to the climate movement, and local climate leaders stepping up like never before. Here in Virginia that new energy is eroding the influence of our resident energy monopoly, Dominion Energy, which once seemed impossible to overcome. Our movement started before Trump, but it is has only become more formidable with this new challenge of having a climate denier in the Oval Office.
You would think Dominion Energy had their own office at the Capitol considering how much influence they have on our state leaders. They also have no problem brushing off  ethics for the benefit of their bottom line. Dominion spends more than any other company on political campaign donations to both sides of the aisle. And their influence on Virginia’s politics has become clear. Everything from weak coal ash regulations to an easy permitting process for dangerous fracked-gas pipelines are in play when the energy giant put its finger on the scale.
Meanwhile, the size and strength of Virginia’s climate movement — and opposition to Dominion’s dirty tactics — has become unlike anything we have ever seen.
This year, the spring season brought new life to our movement. In April, after months of organizing and recruiting, over 6,000 Virginians joined together with concerned climate activists (on an unseasonably hot Saturday) for The People’s Climate March. While the march was focused on the Trump administration, the Virginia Contingent had brought a special message to our local leaders who were too cozy with Dominion: people over polluters!

Flickr user Becker1999 with a Creative Commons license.
Photo from Flickr user Becker1999 with a Creative Commons license.

The People’s Climate March was inspiring, it was rejuvenating, it was historic. A lot of that success was because of activists in the Commonwealth who sacrificed countless hours to recruit their neighbors and friends to defend their climate. This show of might led to huge acts of resistance from mayors and governors across the country, who bucked the Trump administration by pledging to continue working towards our commitments to the Paris Climate Accord.
pastor-dominionThis wave of action continued at the Dominion Energy shareholders meeting. Just days after the People’s Climate March, over 100 people descended on Richmond to show the utility that their lives are worth more than the trajectory of Dominion’s stock prices. The actions outside scared them enough for Dominion executives to hide their view with curtains. I think Pastor Paul surmised our feelings perfectly when he proclaimed outside the venue that “Dominion had gotten too big for their britches!”
Our activism spread beyond the streets too: many climate conscious shareholders used their voice in the room to push clean energy resolutions. This year witnessed a resolution that called for the company to report on how it would work to address global warming. The resolution received unprecedented support, with 48% voting in favor. Virginians are putting Dominion executives on notice. 
Finally, candidates in Virginia’s state elections for 2017 have joined the wave of resistance against Dominion. Earlier this year, gubernatorial candidate Tom Perriello kicked off his campaign for governor with a pledge to not take any money from Dominion and to oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline. We’ve also seen a wave of new and incumbent candidates for state delegate seats across the commonwealth who have pledged to refuse campaign donations from Dominion.
Our work now is more important than ever. With the help of activists like you, along with new recruits to the climate fight, we will lead Virginia into a clean energy future.

Hypocrisy: McAuliffe’s Climate “Alliance” Means Nothing If He Supports Fracked-Gas Pipelines

Statement from Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, on VA Gov. McAuliffe joining the U.S. Climate Alliance:

“Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today that he has committed the Commonwealth to an ‘alliance’ with 12 other states to move forward on the principles of the Paris Climate Agreement in the wake of President Trump’s withdrawal from the accord. However, Gov. McAuliffe’s announcement will forever ring hollow as long as he continues to support Trump’s plans to build two massive fracked-gas pipelines through Virginia and to drill for oil off of Virginia’s fragile coastline. The Governor’s commitment to fracking and offshore oil will — if realized — cause Virginia to dramatically INCREASE greenhouse gas emissions in coming years, a total violation of the principles of the Paris Agreement. It is, frankly, hypocrisy for the Governor to support both Paris and violent drilling for oil and gas in and across the state. The best thing Gov. McAuliffe could do to support Paris and oppose Trump is to drop his tragic support for offshore oil drilling and for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines for fracked gas.”


CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director; denise@chesapeakeclimate.org; 240-396-2022
Mike Tidwell, Executive Director; mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org; 240-460-583

Photo at the top from Flickr user Edward Kimmel with a Creative Commons license.