20140957 Ver 2_Public Notice Comments_20170718

Strickland, Bev
From:Jonathan Sheline <[e-mail]>
Sent:Tuesday, July 18, 2017 12:40 PM
To:SVC_DENR.publiccomments
Subject:ACP
To Whom It May Concern,

I am a Durham County resident since 1990, and a family physician in Durham. My wife and I have raised two children
here. I also co-own over 700 acres of land with 1 mile of frontage on the Cape Fear River in Harnett County. I am an
avid canoeist, and enjoy fishing. So I have a stake in the water quality of the rivers in this state.

The proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline would cut through the heart of eastern North Carolina, crossing many major rivers,
hundreds of tributaries and feeder streams, and adversely affect over 600 acres of wetlands. These waters are home to
fragile ecosystems and endangered species, many found only in North Carolina. These same waters lead to an already
imperiled estuary and many are the source of drinking water for communities.

Here are my specific concerns about the proposed ACP:

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1) Strong potential for spills: I just found a list on Wikipedia of leaks, and explosions in US gas pipelines in the 21
century. I started reading through a list beginning with the year 2010, and in that year alone, there were twenty
serious gas pipeline failures, plus numerous leaks and accidents involving oil pipelines. There were a number of
people killed. One 30-inch gas pipeline failure occurred at Natchitoches, Louisiana on 11/30/2010, after the
pipeline had passed a “Magnetic Flux smart pig test” earlier that same year.

2) Damage caused by the construction process.

3) Inevitable degradation of sensitive habitats and water supplies, both from the construction process and from
the leaks which are sure to eventually occur.

4) The opportunity cost: the money and time spent on constructing this pipeline could, should, and MUST be used
to develop renewable energy. Wind and solar energy technology is available right now at costs that are
competitive with fossil fuels. The only real benefactors of construction of the ACP are big fossil fuel
corporations.

5) The huge release of carbon dioxide which will occur when the gas is burned, AND from spills, and from the
production process of natural gas.

6) Construction of the ACP will inevitably expand the use of fracking to produce the gas. This, in turn, has large
environmental costs.

I hope that you will NOT permit this ill-conceived pipeline to proceed any further. Thank you.

Jonathan L. Sheline, MD
111 Pinecrest Rd.; Durham 27705

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