20140957 Ver 2_Deny 401 permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline_20170818

Strickland, Bev
From:Sharon Garbutt <[e-mail]>
Sent:Friday, August 18, 2017 12:37 AM
To:SVC_DENR.publiccomments
Subject:Deny 401 permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Attachments:Craig's Creek Blow Out- a Closer Look.pdf
Dear DEQ/DWR Staff,

I am writing to request that you deny the 401 permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

There are many reasons to deny this permit and I am sure that you are receiving
comments that detail the many reasons for denial. Rather than focusing on the
technical aspects that I am sure many others are focusing on, I would like to make more
general comments pertaining to the problems that the ACP will cause to our water
resources.
 First, the pipeline companies fail to take the precautions necessary to build
pipelines in a way that minimizes damage to citizens and our water
resources. There are hundreds of reports about pipeline construction going
terribly wrong, resulting in contamination of water resources. Furthermore, these
“accidents” can destroy the land and livelihood of citizens. These are “accidents”
but in most cases they are accidents that could have been prevented. Human
error is cited very often as the cause of the “accident”—in the dangerous,
complicated business of laying pipelines, companies should hire only highly
qualified personnel and there should be constant oversight of their work. The
hiring of qualified personnel and provision of oversight is very expensive, but the
high price is necessary and is simply the cost of doing this pipeline business
safely. If it costs too much money to employ highly trained personnel to properly
lay oil/gas pipelines, then the pipelines should not be laid. If a company is going
to put water resources and NC citizens at risk, the companies need to take all
necessary precautions to avoid accidents. It is the responsibility of DEQ/DWR to
make sure they do it right. A 401 permit should be given only after the ACP
provides the education/experience required for each job category and DEQ/DWR
approves the requirements. I HAVE ATTACHED A PDF OF ONE PERSON’S
EXPERIENCE WITH THE BUILDING OF A RELATIVELY SMALL PIPELINE ON HIS
PROPERTY—PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS STORY. This story is not unusual—a
quick trip through the internet will yield hundreds of stories about the failures of
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pipeline installers that resulted in human injury (and sometimes death),
destruction of land and destruction of water resources. If the safety of NC citizens
and our water resources cannot be assured either because pipeline companies do
not want to invest the money required to assure the construction of high quality
pipelines or because DEQ/DWR does not have the staffing level necessary to do the
work required to assure the safety of NC citizens and our water resources, then the
401 permit should be denied.
 Environmental inspectors will be hired by the ACP and FERC. Research shows that
reports generated for just about any purpose will favor the viewpoints held by
those paying for the report. FERC has a long history of supporting pipelines, so
its oversight could easily be lenient on the pipeline builders. I have seen reports
of damage done by pipeline builders and the consequent fines—most often the
fines do not seem to compensate for the damage done. The ACP will also hire
environmental inspectors—this raises logical concerns about the objectivity of the
inspectors. DEQ/DWR professionals need to have the right to conduct their own
oversight in order to assure that the pipelines are built by highly qualified workers
who give highest priority to minimizing damage to our water resources and
citizens. If this oversight is not granted or if DEQ/DWR staffing levels are too low
to accomplish this oversight, then the 401 permit should be denied.
 The report fails to adequately account for the large number of heavy storms that
are now occurring and the increased destruction that will occur in areas where the
pipeline is being built or has been completed. For example, the EIS does not
provide research on the effect of heavy storms on areas where trees have been
cut and replaced by herbaceous cover—this research is especially needed to
determine the effect of these storms on areas with highly erodible soils. When
trees are cut in wetlands, the report asserts that this is only a temporary
degradation because the trees will regrow within 30 years. (This is an inaccurate
statement to start with—depending on the characteristics of the wetland, the
trees may not regrow unless specific interventions are undertaken.) What will
happen to these deforested wetlands in the event of a large hurricane like
Matthew and Sandy or in the event of a “super storm"? What will the storm
effects on the wetlands do to the pipeline’s stability? Until this research is
presented, the 401 permit should be denied.
Finally, DEQ/DWR is our best line of defense for NC water resources. I attend legislative
meetings frequently and I'm always impressed by how few of our legislators seem to
have even basic scientific knowledge. This is to be expected since our legislators come
from “all walks of life”—most are not trained as professional scientists! The citizens of
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NC depend on the professionals at DEQ/DWR to protect us and to inform our
legislature. You are the group that steps out of politics and applies sound scientific
knowledge to decisions. The ACP pipeline proposal is long on assertions but short on
scientific backing for these assertions. Until the ACP provides the science to back up
their application, their 401 permit request should be denied.

Thank you for your consideration,

T. Sharon Garbutt
595 Pokeberry Lane
Pittsboro, NC 27312
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