Dominion has won another round in its legal battle to build a natural gas pipeline from the fracking fields of West Virginia through this state to North Carolina. The National Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service re-worded permits, and the federal government says the project can now proceed.
In a statement, Dominion praised the federal agencies that made speedy changes to the language in permits that allow construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline across the Blue Ridge Parkway and through areas that are home to endangered species.
“We are pleased to get back to work on this very important project,” a spokesman wrote, “and we are mobilizing our crews in areas where weather conditions permit.”
The company repeated its claim that utilities in Virginia and North Carolina are depending on the pipeline to meet growing energy needs, but at the Southern Environmental Law Center, attorney Greg Buppert claims that’s not so. Demand for power is flat, he says, and there’s no shortage of space to transport natural gas.
“We even identified the Transco pipeline, which is a major pipeline passing through Virginia and North Carolina, as a pipeline with capacity,” Buppert says.
By law, companies like Dominion can only take private property for pipeline construction through a process called eminent domain if they can prove a public need. Dominion submitted signed contracts from its own subsidiary – Dominion Generation – to prove that there’s demand, but in a suit against FERC, Buppert will argue that’s a bogus claim.*
“FERC refused to look behind those contracts – look behind agreements Dominion subsidiaries have signed with themselves, and we think that’s a problem,” he explains.
And late next week Buppert says he’ll be back in federal court arguing against two other agencies and the permits they’ve issued.
*Editors Note:
After this story was posted, a spokesperson for Dominion and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline contacted Radio IQ, noting that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline has signed contracts with 6 public utility companies that demonstrate need for the service.
In its applications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, ACP officials listed six companies with contracts for the gas: Virginia Power Services, Inc.; Duke Energy Progress, Inc.; Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; Piedmont; PSNC; and Virginia Natural Gas, Inc. All except PSNC are affiliates of the companies developing the pipeline (Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and Southern Company Gas). Another company, Columbia Gas, signed on several years after the original application. Approximately 80 percent of the capacity of the pipeline is consigned to electricity generating services, according to company filings with FERC.
ACP Spokesman Aaron Ruby said the original concept for the pipeline began with public utility companies, like Duke, Dominion and Piedmont, that saw a need for increased supply. He also said some of the interdependence is simply the result of consolidation in the energy industry.
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a financial supporter of Radio IQ.
