The Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC on Tuesday filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission its responses to nearly 28,000 written and oral comments regarding the project. Broad support for the project came from a variety of stakeholders, including the governors of West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
The Atlantic response totals around 100 pages. The response covers comments filed during the FERC 60-day scoping period, which the FERC extended from the normal 30-day period because of the interest in the project. The FERC has said that it would continue to accept comments to assist it in determining the public need for the project.
The Atlantic team’s analysis of the total 27,955 comments sent to the FERC showed that 22,824 (81.6%) were supportive, 4,917 (17.6%) were opposed and 214 (0.8%) were neutral. More than 20,000 of the supportive comments were from West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina residents who are members of the Consumer Energy Alliance, a nationwide group that encourages active engagement about energy issues.
In addition to written comments, the commission accepted oral comments from stakeholders at the 10 public scoping meetings that occurred along the approximately 550-mile route.
Broad support of the project also has come from U.S. senators from West Virginia and North Carolina, numerous congressional and state representatives, counties and cities along the propose route as well as chambers of commerce, economic development groups and businesses.
Comments were classified as generic or specific and placed into categories corresponding to the Resource Reports, which the Atlantic team expects to file with the FERC later this spring.
The Atlantic team analyzed all comments and determined the top five issues of support for the project were employment, economic impact, reduced emissions, purpose and need, and general support. The top five issues of concern for the project were waterbodies, route alternatives, emissions, safety and water supply.
Here are excerpts of some of the supportive comments of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project:
“Virginia Natural Gas is a subscriber of natural gas transportation capacity on the planned Atlantic Coast Pipeline. There is not enough interstate pipeline capacity to serve any substantial economic development east of Richmond, and often throughout the heating season, large transportation customers are adversely impacted by having their natural gas use restricted by operational flow orders.”
Robert Duvall
President
Virginia Natural Gas
“The ACP project’s importance cannot be overstated. It will provide much needed energy resources, significant economic development, and employment opportunities in West Virginia and the surrounding region. In West Virginia natural gas production has skyrocketed, yet the lack of infrastructure is keeping this safe, affordable resource from the businesses and communities that sorely need it.”
The Hon. Shelley Moore Capito
U.S. Senator
West Virginia
“I wish to bring to your attention my support for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline project which will bring much needed supplies of natural gas to consumers and industries in the southeastern region of Virginia. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline clearly benefits electric and gas utilities in Virginia and provides new opportunities for economic growth.”
The Hon. Scott Rigell
U.S. House of Representatives
2nd Congressional District of Virginia
“We owe the highest standard of living the world has ever known to abundance resources and the infrastructure to efficiently bring those resources to market.”
Carlton Ballowe
Landowner
Nelson County (Va.)
“The project will . . . enhance our ability to recruit additional businesses, especially manufacturing, since abundant, reliable and reasonably priced supplies of natural gas are a fundamental requirement of many modern industrial operations.”
Cathy Scott
Executive Director
Halifax County (N.C.) Economic Development Commission
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