20140957 Ver 2_Public Notice Comments_20170805

Strickland, Bev
From:Jeremy Sprinkle <[e-mail]>
Sent:Saturday, August 05, 2017 10:37 AM
To:SVC_DENR.publiccomments
Subject:ACP
Dear Sir/Ma'am,

I'm writing because I share the concerns of many that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, as planned, poses an unmitigated
and serious risk to water quality and public health.

Construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would dig up, cut through, or clear cut more acres of wetlands than the state of North
Carolina permits for the entire state in a year. It would take 30 years or longer for forested wetlands to recover - if they're even able to
recover given the 75-foot right of way that'll run the length of the ACP.

ACP crosses nearly 7 miles of streams and will destroy nearly 28 acres of forests and riverside vegetation,
which serve as buffers to prevent polluted runoff into those streams. The ACP company had failed to submit a
promised sedimentation and erosion prevention plan by July 11th and has submitted no plan to ensure pipeline
maintenance within 100 feet of water won't be contaminated. The planned open-cut and blast water crossing
methods and horizontal drilling beneath some rivers risk contamination of waterways with sediment or drilling
fluids.

That's all to say nothing of the risk to groundwater from blasting, drilling, and construction of ACP, the path of
which will run past a large number of private wells, many of which have still not been surveyed and may never
be surveyed because the plan only includes testing wells within 150 feet of the construction work zone and
won't test for all likely contaminants - including those from brownfields and super fund sites along the
construction route.

All of these risks are for a project that Duke Energy and Dominion Power cannot justify based on current
market demand or "reduced energy costs." In fact both companies will seek repeated rate hikes to recover
construction costs and guarantee a high rate of return on their investment.

We can't count on the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission to protect the public health and natural resources
of North Carolina. Yet it'll be impossible to construct the ACP without adverse impacts to streams, rivers,
wetlands, groundwater, aquatic life, human health, and environmental justice for tribal communities whose
lands will be impacted.

It'll be up to you to protect the people of North Carolina from these impacts, which is why the Div. of Water
Resources should not to grant a 401 permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Sprinkle
Raleigh, NC
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