20140957 Ver 2_Support For The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (5)_20170819

Strickland, Bev
From:rosanna gusler <[e-mail]>
Sent:Saturday, August 19, 2017 8:34 AM
To:SVC_DENR.publiccomments
Subject:Support For The Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Dear North Carolina Department Of Environmental Quality:

we do not need another stinking pipeline

Sincerely,
rosanna gusler
3963 Mill Landing Rd
3
Wanchese, NC 27981-9550
1

Dr. Ogletree F wa-
hardson
CHIEF
HaliSaponi Indian Tribe
CHIEF SEAL
39021 Hwy 561 - P.O. Box 99 oI the
Jeff Anstead Hollister, North Carolina 27844
VICE-CHIEF Phone: [phone] - Fax: [phone] ,9sa 1%5
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Email: info@haliwa—saponi.com m
Rev. Michael Richardson, Chair ��� .�.r—� .t4*
Alfred Richardson, Vice Chair S A R &
Karen Harley, Secretary
Charles Richardson, Treasurer
Earl Evans August 18, 2017
Morris Richardson Archie Lynch
LaDonna D. Richardson Tribal Administrator
Dudley Lynch
Norman Richardson
VIA E-MAIL: [e-mail]
AND VIA HARD COPY SIGNED ORIGINAL SENT BY USPS MAIL
401 Permitting
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
RE: Comments on Section 401 Certification Application for Construction of the
Atlantic Coast Pipeline
To Whom It May Concern:
On behalf of the Tribal Council of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, please accept these
comments on the application from Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (Atlantic) for a water quality
certification under section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for construction of the Atlantic
Coast Pipeline (ACP) and its facilities.
The Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe is a recognized Indian tribe' consisting of approximately
4,300 enrolled tribal citizens. Our territory encompasses portions of Halifax, Warren, Franklin, and
Nash counties in North Carolina.2 The proposed ACP project is expected to traverse areas where
our ancestors have resided since first sustained contact with Europeans. Construction of the ACP
threatens lands and waters where enrolled tribal citizens fish and engage in recreation. These
waters and wetlands are of continued importance to the Haliwa-Saponi. In addition, we have
cultural and religious concerns with regard to the proposed project route because it cuts through
areas that likely contain ancestral burial sites.
By this letter, the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe: (1) requests that North Carolina Division of
Water Resources (DWR) reject Atlantic's application for water quality certification and (2)
requests government -to -government tribal consultation before DWR further consideration on the
401 certification.
1 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 71A-5. (officially recognizing the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, its tribal governing body that
exercises " substantial governmental duties and powers similar to the State," and "being recognized as eligible for
the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.")
2 Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe State Designated American Indian Statistical Area,
http://webappl.dlib.indiana.edu/virtual_disk_library/index.cgi/5678548/FID1724/aianhh_pdf files/sdaisa/cbn974
5.pdf

Atlantic has not Given Due Consideration to Cleaner, Less Expensive Alternatives
DWR should deny the application because Atlantic has not made a showing that the ACP
is necessary to meet our state's energy or economic development needs. It is part of our tribal
tradition to consider how decisions today will impact the next seven generations. With the rising
threat of climate change, investing in a massive, new infrastructure project that will foster
continued reliance on carbon -intensive fossil fuels will likely harm future generations. We believe
there may be more practical alternatives that would cause substantially less harm for meeting any
marginal growth for new electricity demand.
In addition, the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, as retail electric customers, have questions
about the need for the ACP and the possibility that this over $5 billion project will drive future
utility rate increases. This possibility is of particular concern because of the disproportionately
high rates of poverty and financial insecurity experienced by the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe. Over
65 percent of our members are on some form of federal assistance. A disproportionately high
percentage of our population lives in sub -standard housing. Approximately 31% of our tribal
members live in poverty, far above the state poverty rate of 12.6%. Given these stark economic
disparities, any possible rate increases caused by the ACP would be exceptionally difficult burden
for our community to bear. We ask DWR to carefully scrutinize the purported need for the ACP
and consider alternatives.
Atlantic's Application does not Guarantee the Protection of our Waters
Atlantic's application fails to provide necessary information to ensure that pipeline
construction will not cause adverse impacts to wetlands and waters of the state. We have no way
of knowing whether Atlantic can comply with the state's water quality standards. The ACP will
cut through nearly 200 miles of North Carolina, from our ancestral lands to the lands of the
Lumbee Indian Tribe.3 Construction of the ACP will harm nearly 37,000 feet of 326 waterbodies,4
and nearly 500 acres of wetlands.s It is essential that DWR has all the information necessary to
determine the true impacts that this endeavor will have on the state's waters, wetlands, and
neighboring communities before making its decision. Atlantic's application leaves many crucial
questions unanswered regarding methods and techniques it would use to protect our streams,
rivers, and wetlands.
The Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe is particularly concerned about degradation of water
quality from construction of the ACP in Northampton, Halifax, and Nash counties. Our people
have deep roots in these lands and plan to remain here for generations. We are concerned about
the potential long term harms to water quality and the disturbance to the ecology of rivers, streams,
and forested wetlands in our area. Atlantic has not provided sufficient assurance that its
construction techniques will not threaten groundwater that is relied on by many of our rural
citizens.
Enrolled tribal citizens use many of the waterways in our region for fishing, recreation, and
paddling. These include the Roanoke River, the Little Quankey and Quankey Creeks, Fishing
Creek, Swift Creek, and the Little Sapony and Sapony Creeks. These waterways and tributaries
3 Atlantic Coast Pipeline, 401 Water Quality Permit Application: Supplemental Information at 11 (May 2017)
(Supplemental Information).
4 Supplemental Information, at 31-32, Table 4.
5 Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n, Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project: Final Environmental
Impact Statement (Final EIS) 4-135 (2017).
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that feed them would be crossed many times by the ACP, often with the dam -and -pump
construction method, which will cause permanent harm to the waterbodies and the sensitive
organisms within. There are fish in these waters that are either rare, or may not exist anywhere
else, such as the Roanoke Bass (we call them "redeyes "), and rare mussels and and other fishes.
In our area, Atlantic only plans to use the horizontal drilling method—the least intrusive of the
stream crossing methods—to cross under the Roanoke River and Fishing Creek, two of many
bodies of water in the area. Atlantic has not considered the feasibility of horizontal drilling for
creeks and streams other than the Roanoke River and Fishing Creek. And the application does not
give site-specific information about its construction procedures, such as the locations of pumps or
of temporary access roads, or other detailed information about how it will protect water quality at
these stream crossings.
In its application, Atlantic provides little detail about how it will protect water quality as it
plows through the forested wetlands in our corner of the state. The company indicates that it will
use the open -cut method through all of the wetlands in our area, the most harmful of all pipeline
construction methods. Atlantic makes no plans to measure monitor, or restore water quality
standards for any waters within North Carolina, despite DWR's requirement to guarantee that
water quality standards will not be violated on either a short- or long-term basis.
The State has Not Engaged in Tribal Consultation
The Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe is requesting direct government -to -government
consultation with North Carolina state agencies as a consulting Indian tribe, as well as inclusion as
a signatory and consulting party to any potential memorandum or other agreements with regards to
mitigation of adverse impacts of the ACP. In addition to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 71A-5—the state law
formally establishing the tribe's governing authority—Governor Roy Cooper recently elaborated
on the tribe's "sovereign status" and "its continuous government -to -government relationship with
North Carolina." 6 On the occasion of the fifty-second anniversary of the Haliwa-Saponi's pow-
wow, the Governor issued a proclamation that recognized the tribe's "sovereign responsibility to
enact and enforce its own laws to govern the tribe's citizens. jurisdictional areas, territories, lands,
and resources in a way that enhances the quality of life for citizens of the tribe and other residents
of its tribal territories."
As noted above, the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe has concerns regarding negative cultural,
religious, and environmental impacts of the ACP project. Specifically, the tribe is concerned about
the failure of Atlantic and relevant state agencies to:
• Include the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe as a stakeholder for emergency preparedness purposes;
• Plan for providing notices to the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe with regards to cultural and
archeological resources and inadvertent discovery of ancestors of our tribe;
• Address adverse impacts to the environment, including, but not limited to, water resources on
tribal lands and water resources of historic and cultural significance to the tribe.
In order to have an opportunity to address these ongoing concerns with the appropriate state
agencies, including the Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Water Resources, the
6 Proclamation of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on the Occasion of the 52nd Anniversary of the Haliwa-
Saponi Pow -Wow (Apr. 2017), https://governor-new.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-
public/documents/files/52nd%20Anniversary%20C elebration%20of"/o20the%20Annual%20Haliwa-
S aponi%20Pow-W ow.pdf
Page 3 of 4

Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe requests meaningful government -to -government consultation with the
state of North Carolina.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) also supports the Haliwa-Saponi
Indian Tribe's efforts to engage in government -to -government consultation to address cultural,
religious, and environmental impacts of the pipeline project. The NCAI is "the oldest and largest
national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments."7 Through a
resolution passed in June 2017, the NCAI recognized the need for true government -to -government
consultation between the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe and FERC "to ensure the protection of [our]
waters, lands, ancestors, and sacred places."s The NCAI further called on FERC and other United
States federal government agencies fulfill their federal trust responsibility and deny any further
progress of the project until FERC has engaged in consultations with all affected Indian tribal
nations, including the Haliwa-Saponi.9 Though not named in the resolution, consultation with
North Carolina and its regulatory agencies is consistent with the recommendation of the National
Congress of American Indians.
By way of this correspondence, we request that the state of North Carolina initiate
consultation with the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe as soon as is practicable. In order to have
meaningful tribal consultation, please contact our Tribal Administrator, Archie Lynch, at the
information below, as he is our designated primary point of contact in regard to consultations on
this matter.
Mr. Archie Lynch, Tribal Administrator
Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe
P.O. Box 99
Hollister, NC 27844
[phone], extension 222
[e-mail]
The content of this letter, and its attachments, have been authorized for submission to you
for and on behalf of the tribal government of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe. Should you have
any additional questions, please contact Archie Lynch.
Sincerely,
Dr. Brucie Ogletree Richardson
Chief
Rev. Michael Richardson
Tribal Council Chair
Mr. Archie Lynch
Tribal Administrator
7 The National Congress of American Indians Resolution #MOH -17-054, p. 1 (attached).
s Id. at p. 2.
9 Id. at p. 2.
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