20140957 Ver 2_Public Notice Comments_20170728 (64)

Strickland, Bev
From:Seth Harris <[e-mail]>
Sent:Friday, July 28, 2017 12:51 PM
To:SVC_DENR.publiccomments
Subject:ACP Atlantic Coast Pipeline
I am writing to express my concerns over the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. This pipeline is not only an aesthetic scar
upon the beautiful mountains of West Virginia and Virginia, it is an environmental nightmare for the residents
of the wetlands of Eastern NC.
Wetlands are the environments natural filter. Forested wetlands are decreasing in acreage at an exponential rate.
This pipeline would decrease that acreage by 600 acres, taking 30 years to regrow.
Riparian buffers are another form of natural filter. The 401 certification application submitted by ACP, LLC
fails to include a diffuse flow plan to reduce erosion and sedimentation of the hundreds of streams and rivers the
pipeline will cross.
The release of drilling fluids from horizontal drilling under rivers, streams, or wetlands would be disastrous to
those wetlands. Are our wetlands really a disposable resource? I don't think the rules and statutes in place to
protect wetlands ever mention those resources as disposable.
I live in a county with highly erodible soils. The sedimentation rate of nearby rivers from forestry and
agricultural practices are disastrous to aquatic life. Several streams have been listed as threatened by turbidity
and sedimentation. The high quality waters crossed by the ACP in the mountains of WV & VA and then in
eastern NC do not need to be threatened any further. In NC, the ACP would cross 8 source water protection
watersheds, 3 of which are in Zones of Critical Concern NC DEQ has must not only require the ACP
construction to minimize impacts, but to avoid crossings near these areas, to protect downstream drinking water.
The need for the ACP has not been justified. Environmental Justice communities in all three states would be
impacted. Especially Native American families in Virginia and North Carolina.
In conclusion, I would ask the NC Division of Water Resources not to grant the 401 permit for the Atlantic
Coast Pipeline.

Seth Harris
[e-mail]

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