I put up the first post about the ACP about 3 years ago when we first learned it was applying for a permit.
It runs through pristine mountain country in West Virginia and Virginia, not that far from
Joel Salatin's place, although the Shenandoah region was mostly spared.
One stand of 3-400 year old oaks will be bisected, national forests , Appalachian Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, and my front 15 acres (not that they are that important in the grand scheme of things) Trout streams could easily be victims of faulty sediment control both during and after construction.
So this post could easily go in fossil fuel madness, environmental degradation, it's impacts are far reaching,
politics, economy, all are areas this will have a negative impact on--except of
course for the investors and the people who will actually build the pipeline.
The law suits are in the works, NC and WV have postponed their permits waiting on more detailed information of construction methods. I have not signed anything so eminent domain will condemn my
land and interrupt the
Permaculture development I have already begun, but they won't just buy me out, they will simply cut out their pound of flesh and pay me by the pound unless I hire lawyers and take them to court to get actual damages.
But the real social justice issue goes way beyond my little concern over a clearcut through the middle of my property. About four miles away will be a massive Compressor Station, in the middle of a relatively poor Black neighborhood, descendants of slaves will once again feel the whip of their oppressive rulers, only this time it will take the form of a continuous drone in what once was a prisitne agricultural neighborhood, also of course all the toxic chemicals of combustion. I think the horsepower is up between 50 and 60 thousand.
Other compressor stations have what are called "blowdowns" that sound like the roar of a jet taking off, except the jet takes hours before it recedes back to the 24/7 drone/whine. Just the thing to help Sunday Services in the two historic Black churches within a mile or so.
The trouble as I see it is that FERC (Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission) didn't seem to bat an eye, in fact, they may have encouraged the ACP to take this route instead of one farther south (a politician's house?)
Anyway, I want to thank you for letting me vent, I just saw the permit announcement this morning and it has been like the punch in the gut you knew was coming, but didn't quite know when.
Here is the response of the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance--
"The Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, a coalition of 52 organizations in Virginia and West Virginia, is appalled at the action tonight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in approving the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The Commission's judgment has been made in advance of necessary and required decisions by the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the state environmental authorities in the affected states of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina on critical environmental issues. We concur with the thoughtful dissent of Commissioner LeFleur's, who has served on the Commission for 7 years, raising serious questions about the basis of need for both the ACP and the Mountain Valley Pipeline and expressing concerns about environmental impacts that both projects present. The majority decision does not reflect an understanding of the issues at hand and is clearly not in the public interest. It calls into serious question the agency's regulatory credibility."
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