20140957 Ver 2_Mail 2017 08 21 NC East Alliance ACP Letter_20170822

Strickland, Bev
From:Lance, Kathleen C
Sent:Tuesday, August 22, 2017 12:31 PM
To:Rice, Sarah M; Abraczinskas, Michael; Davis, Tracy; Scott, Michael; Zimmerman, Jay
Cc:Hardison, Lyn; Higgins, Karen; Munger, Bridget; Holman, Sheila; Kelley, Mary P
Subject:Mail: 2017 08 21 NC East Alliance ACP Letter
Attachments:2017 08 21 NC East Alliance ACP Letter.pdf
All,

We received the attached letter on 8/21.

Kindly,

Kathleen C. Lance
Executive Assistant to Secretary Michael S. Regan
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

[phone] office
[phone] mobile
[e-mail]

217 West Jones Street
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699

Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.

1

14 August 2017
The Honorable Michael Regan, Secretary
NC Department of Environmental Quality
217 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27603
Re: Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Dear Secretary Regan,
�'sa'wa
' p.:
NCEastAlhance
1020 Red Banks Road, Suite 202, Greenville, NC 27858
[phone] 1 Phoney [phone] 1 Fax: [phone]
www,nceast.org I info!@nceast.org
RECEIVED
Office of the Secretary
AUG 21 2017
Department of Environrnental Quality
I write to comment on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). After much evaluation and discussion, the
NCEast Alliance Board of Directors passed a resolution in support of this project because it will bring
improved prosperity to eastern North Carolina. The Alliance is a public/private, not-for-profit, regional
economic development organization serving 28 counties in eastern NC. Our primary purpose is to
promote investment and job creation in our region as well as to identify and remedy issues that inhibit
growth in this part of the state. We accomplish this by: 1) advocating for regional interests and
institutions; 2) supporting entrepreneurship and marketing the attractiveness of the region on an
international scale; and 3) facilitating workforce development and STEM education in partnership with
many different entities.
Unfortunately, there is a good deal of misinformation about the ACP being circulated by various parties
opposed to the pipeline. First, we believe clean energy is good for NC— supporting deployment of solar
and wind energy facilities is an excellent rural development strategy. However, we also know gas-fired
energy sources are not
power plants can respond more quickly to power shortages when wind
a d cloudy days that reduces or
producing — for example, Instances of windless days or extended periods
shuts down solar energy production.
While methane gas venting and burn -off does contribute to global warming, these will be nearly non-
existent in North Carolina and the dangers of explosions to transport energylThline e vast
transmission of natural gas is one of the safest and lowest emission ways
majority of gas leaks/venting takes place at the point of exploration
Fu thermothe he, gas er line explosionary sources s are
methane gas are agriculture, wetlands and thawing of permafrost.
much more likely in aging distribution systems. Additionally, the air of eastern NC is cleaner as a result
of Duke Energy's conversion of the Lee coal-fired plant to natural gas. We no longer suffer from higher
levels of CO2 or particulate that harm people suffering from asthma. The elimination of the coal-fired

c asl:Al':?,
plant will allow our region to remain an attainment area under EPA guidelines; this will permit our
existing manufacturers to expand and facilitate the location of new manufacturing facilities here.
Even though the Marcellus Shale gas is finite, these gas fields are expected to produce for 100+ years,
providing eastern NC with a long-term supply of relatively clean and inexpensive energy to support our
growth. This is why both Duke and Dominion power companies are willing to invest billions to construct
this pipeline. We also know the ACP can boost the amount of natural gas flowing through the pipeline
to support additional industrial development by simply increasing the size of the pumps.
We recognize jobs associated with construction of the ACP are temporary, just the same as jobs tied to
the installation of solar and wind farms, but the ACP will also have a long-lasting impact on job creation
in our region. Natural gas is a key input in manufacturing - food processing, bio -pharmaceuticals,
specialty chemicals (including fertilizer), and motor -vehicle assembly plants that use ovens to cure
paints applied to metal parts. These industries are critical job producers in eastern NC and we need jobs
for everyone — we believe good job opportunities for our people is social justice too! Personally, I have
spent a lifetime trying to build a better eastern NC and can personally attest that our region has lost
industrial projects because we were at the end of the pipeline without sufficient natural gas (and
pressure) to support the expansion and/or attraction of manufacturers. This piece of infrastructure,
along with newly designated Interstate highways to our ports and an intermodal rail hub in Rocky
Mount, mean increased opportunity for our region, its communities, and its people. The ACP will help
us secure more investment that will increase job creation and reduce poverty in eastern NC. These are a
few of the reasons why the NCEast Alliance is on record supporting the ACP and has made its position
public many times over the course of the last year.
Thank you for the opportunity to express our opinion on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. We
acknowledge it is important for the Department of Environmental Quality to ensure that all measures
possible must be taken to insure the health and safety of our residents, but is important to recognize the
multiple benefits of this project as well. Please approve all permits necessary to allow the construction
of the ACP and enable eastern North Carolina to prosper.
Thank you for your consideration.
Since ,
John- a Chaffee
President & CEO
Copies: Honorable Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina
Honorable Tony Copeland, Secretary, NC Department of Commerce
Ms. Mary Penny Kelly, Sr. Advisor, Policy and Analysis, NC Department of Environmental Quality
NCEast Alliance Board of Directors