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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20140957 Ver 2_Speaker FERC Letter.pdf_20170818ry�„r srnrFy . (Offire of #f{$ 5 sttfter Nnr#4 Qlarnfina Pause of �tepresett#tt#iftes TIM MOORE SPEAKER Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., Deputy Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E. Washington, DC 20426 Dear Ms. Bose and Mr. Davis, Sr., April 6, 2017 SUBJECT: Comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, Dominion Transmissions, Inc. and Atlantic and Piedmont natural Gas Co., Inc. (Docket Nos. CP15-554-000,- 001; CP15-555-000; and CP15-556-000). I am writing to you today to request that changes be made to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) route as requested by Representative John Szoka. He electronically filed a comment on April, 4, 2017 on the Environmental Impact Statement for the ACP. Rep. Szoka currently serves as Senior Chairman for the House Committee on Energy and Public Utilities and Chairman of the House Finance Committee. As Speaker of the House, I have witnessed Rep. Szoka's leadership firsthand, and can attest to his immense knowledge and concern over this matter. Over the course of his three terms in the House, Rep. Szoka has brought commonsense reform to the table, and has been the subject matter expert on all legislation pertaining to energy and public utilities. Upon reviewing the plan for the ACP, it is clear that the proposed route will disrupt and negatively impact the citizens of the Town of Wade and Cumberland County. I concur with Rep. Szoka's filed remarks before your commission, as his proposed route change makes economic sense. There is no reason why the ACP route could not follow the Progress Energy Carolinas (PEC) transmission line easement; using the PEC transmission line easement places very little burden on our citizens and less of a burden on our environment. Please make the changes to the ACP route as Rep. Szoka has requested, and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Tim Moore TM/be 16 WEST JONES ST. • (919) 733-3451 • RALEIGH, NC 27601 UNi 9N Qortb Carolina 0enerat Rimembtp j00115e of JltepreeutatibeS REPRESENTATIVE JOHN D.SZOKA &tate Regislatibe ?91dlbing Anteigb, OC 27601 - 1096 April 4, 2017 Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., Deputy Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E. Washington, DC 20426 Dear Ms. Bose and Mr. Davis, Sr., SUBJECT: Comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement forthe Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, Dominion Transmissions, Inc. and Atlantic and Piedmont natural Gas Co., Inc. (Docket Nos. CP15-554-000,-001; CP15-555-000; and CP15-556-000). FERC made notice on May 3, 2016 of the Fayetteville Major Route Modification (Cumberland County, North Carolina) to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). This major route modification was, in my opinion, a very reasonable modification that minimized impacts on private property owners and the environment. Within the northern end of Cumberland County there is still a segment of the pipeline that travels generally southwest from the vicinity of the Town of Falcon to a connection point with a NCNG existing pipeline to the west of the Town of Wade. The proposed ACP route then travels back to the Progress Energy Carolinas (PEC) 500 kilowatt electric transmission line easement and continues southward. (See attached map.) Since the Fayetteville Major Route Modification was made I have asked both Duke Energy and Dominion why this interconnection site (point 3 on the map) was maintained at that location. Why was not the whole route for this section of the ACP moved east to the PEC transmission line easement? No one in either company could answer my question. After several telephone conversations and meetings with company officials at the state legislative building in Raleigh, I met Bruce McKay, a senior engineer from Dominion on the ground in the Town of Wade. We drove over a portion of the proposed pipeline site. Afterwards we met at the town hall and I asked him again, why was not the ACP moved over to the PEC transmission line easement and the interconnection point moved? He had no answer. The decision for this small portion of the ACP seems to be that the interconnection point with the NCNG pipeline (west of Wade at point 3) was made before FERC made the Fayetteville Major Route Modification. Prior to the Fayetteville Major Route Modification, this interconnection point made sense. I have personally visited this site. There are no improvements to the site at this time. As it now stands, I know of no rational justification why the interconnection point cannot be moved to the east to point 2 on the map. My request of FERC is to reroute the current route of the ACP directly from point 1 to point 4, shown on the accompanying map; the current route runs from point 1 to point 2 to point 3 to point 4. This would move the interconnection point with the NCNG existing pipeline currently at point 3 over to point 2 in the vicinity of the existing PEC transmission line easement. My reasons areas follows: 1. Neither Duke Energy nor Dominion can state any reason why the interconnect point with the existing NCNG pipeline is located where it currently is. Neither Duke Energy nor Dominion can state any reason why the interconnect point could not be moved further to the east in the vicinity of the PEC electric transmission line. I believe that the interconnect point is planned at its current location solely because it made sense before the Fayetteville Major Route Modification was made. Now, there is no supporting logic in keeping the interconnect point there as it could easily be moved less than 1.5 miles to the east. 2. Rerouting this small portion of the pipeline prevents the pipeline from boring beneath 1-95 twice. The importance of 1-95 as a major north -south interstate highway cannot be overstated. Rerouting also prevents this small portion of the pipeline from boring underneath a major rail line twice. This rail line not only carries a high volume of commercial rail traffic but is a major north -south AMTRACK route. 3. The number of homeowners whose property would be impacted would be significantly less than maintaining the current route. a. I have personally driven/walked the entire route and there are a surprising number of homes in this mostly rural area. The current route is very close to a substantial number of those homes which causes the homeowners a great deal of concern. Moving the route would significantly minimize the number of impacted homeowners. b. Of significant note is that if the current route is maintained, the small Town of Wade will be adversely impacted. The route now runs through a planned housing subdivision within the city limits. If the pipeline remains routed through the planned subdivision the number of houses built will be substantially fewer than what is planned. This will adversely impact property taxes collected by the Town of Wade. 4. The area around the Town of Wade is a mixture of farmland and forest. There is one major creek, under which the pipeline would be bored that is fairly deep; from the lip of the ground that overlooks the creek I estimate about 30 vertical feet. While that is not significant in and of itself, it is significant because of the drainage pattern around the Town of Wade. Because of Hurricane Matthew last year, the topography and the creek itself was changed. I have personally seen hundred year old massive trees that were ripped out of the banks and major portions of the creek banks washed out at the exact point where the ACP must be bored under, or alternatively, go overthis creek. I have lived in Cumberland County fortwenty-three (23) years and have seen many Hurricanes rip through the area. I am not an expert at routing pipelines nor am I a hydrologist; however, what I saw gives me pause. If the pipeline were rerouted as I suggest, major damage to the pipeline in the future could be avoided. I believe that this small change to the route is in the best interest of the people in and around the Town of Wade, the safety of the public and the environment. Thank you for your consideration of my request. Sincerely, epresentative John D.Szoka North Carolina House of Representatives 45`h District, Cumberland County JDS/bbs NCNG PIPELINE ATLANTIC PIPELINE N REV. ATLANTIC PIPELINE DUKE POWER EASEMENT