Staunton City Council opposes Atlantic Coast Pipeline

Mayor Carolyn Dull submitted a letter on behalf of Staunton City Council last week strongly opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

The letter was sent to representatives of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Dull also requested in the letter their support in opposing the project and protecting the City’s pristine water source, Gardner Springs, which could be devastatingly impacted by the project.

Among the highlights in the letter:

• Affirmed Staunton City Council’s objection to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project and lodged specific objection based on the threat to Gardner Spring, a valuable and critical water source for the citizens of the City and Augusta County. The City acquired the spring in the 1930s.
• Asked for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (VDEQ) collaboration with the City to protect Gardner Spring, and that VDEQ lodge a strong objection to the project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
• Noted that Dominion and FERC failed to account for the potential catastrophic consequences of the pipeline project in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
• Asked where the impact of the pipeline on Gardner Spring is mentioned in the DEIS. The City found no meaningful acknowledgment of this critical water source in the DEIS, besides a glib admission of an increased risk of geological features along the pipeline route.
• Asked where the proximity of the proposed pipeline to Gardner Spring’s recharge area is explicitly mentioned in the DEIS.
• Requested that VDEQ and FERC insist that Dominion arrange for independent, outside professional engineers and other professionals to complete and publish a study regarding the potential implications for Gardner Spring.
• Noted Dominion’s refusal to meet with City Council to discuss the project and the City’s concerns about the project’s proximity to Gardner Spring and its recharge area.