20140957 Ver 2_Atlantic Coast Pipeline Addition to Comments Filed August 19_20170821

Strickland, Bev
From:Therese Vick <[e-mail]>
Sent:Monday, August 21, 2017 8:48 AM
To:SVC_DENR.publiccomments
Subject:Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Addition to Comments Filed August 19
Attachments:TVickBREDLComments401ACP08192017.pdf; Rover More Violations.pdf
Goo Morning,

Please add the attached to the comments filed August 19th (amended comments with new information added
also attached). Typically when a comment period ends on a weekend day, the DEQ accepts comments through
end-of-day the following business day.

Thank You,

Therese Vick

--

Therese Vick
North Carolina Healthy Sustainable Communities Campaign Coordinator
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League/Coal Ash Coordinator
[e-mail]
The Office of Imminent Disaster
919-345-3673
www.bredl.org
@tvickBREDL Twitter
https://www.facebook.com/BlueRidgeEnvironmentalDefenseLeague?ref=hl
http://bredlbetweenthelines2.blogspot.com/2016/04/deqs-weird-science.html

Be kind to all you meet, each of us carries a burden that others cannot see—

1

I:lue Ridge Environmental Defense League
www.BREDL.orc 4617 Pearl Rd Raleigh NC 27610 [phone] therese.vickkgmail.com
19 August 2017
VIA E-MAIL
Karen Higgins
Supervisor- 401 and Buffer Permitting Branch
Division of Water Resources
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
PublicCommentskncdenr. gov
RE: Comments on Section 401 Certification Application for Construction of the Atlantic
Coast Pipeline
Dear Ms. Higgins:
On behalf of Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) I offer the following
comments on the 401 Certification for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). If North
Carolina law is followed, the Division of Water Resources and must deny
the Certification. The Division has ample reason to do so. To do otherwise would be
indefensible.
Water Quality
North Carolina law requires that 401 Certification be granted only if certain criteria are met.
These criteria include that the proposed activity will not:
Remove or degrade existing uses
Degrade ground or surface waters
Result in cumulative impacts, based upon past or reasonably anticipated future impacts,
that cause or will cause a violation of downstream water quality standards
The Division must also find that:
• The activity has no practical alternative

• That the activity will minimize adverse impacts to the surface waters based on
consideration of existing topography, vegetation, fish and wildlife resources, and
hydrological conditions under the criteria outlined
The applicant fails to provide DWR with sufficient information necessary to conduct an adequate
review of this project which will potentially impact hundreds of water bodies. The application is
long on vagaries and short on the detail required for DWR to ensure that waterbodies and
wetlands will not be removed or degraded. In addition, ACP's cumulative impacts analysis is
insufficient for DWR to assess the impacts that will occur to surface and groundwater.
Pipelines currently under construction in Pennsylvania and West Virginia have had significant
impacts on water quality. The Rover Pipeline has garnered 104 environmental violations since its
construction started in March 2017, including an April drilling fluid spill of 2 million gallons.
2Horizontal drilling for Mariner East pipeline intruded into an aquifer and contaminated 14
private wells.' There have been close to 50 "inadvertent returns" (spills) since May 2017.4 The
potential for similar damages in North Carolina is significant.
Eastern North Carolina has been effected by major storms in the past and will be again. ACP
provides little information and no analysis on the impacts of heavy rain and flooding during and
after construction. Storms such as Hurricane Matthew can destroy infrastructure; roads, bridges,
and yes, pipelines. Below are several photographs taken in Nash and Wilson Counties after
Hurricane Matthew:
1 Malik, Naureen S., Traywick, Catherine. Blackstone's new pipeline asset is wreaking environmental havoc. 17
August 2017. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-17/blackstone-s-new-pipeline-
asset-is-wreaking-environmental-havoc (Hard copy included with comments).
z Ward, Ken Jr. More water violations found on Rover Pipeline construction sites. 19 August 2017. West Virginia
Gazette Mail. http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20170819/more-water-violations-found-on-rover-pipeline-
construction-sites (Hard copy attached to comments)
3 Legere, Laura. Judge halts Mariner East drilling for two weeks. 25 July 2017. Post-Gazette.com. http://www.post-
gazette.com/powersource/companies/2017/07/25/Pennsylvania-Judge-puts-Sunoco-Mariner-East-pipeline-
drilling-on-hold-spill/stories/201707250131. (Hard copy included with comments)
n Sunoco Mariner East Inadvertent Returns. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
http://fi les.dep.state.Pa.us/Program)ntegration/PA%20Pipeline%20Portal/MarinerEastll/Sunoco Mariner East II -
Pipeline Construction Inadvertent Returns -Waters of the Commonwealth Revised.pdf. Retrieved 19 August
2017. (Hard copy provided with comments).

iF y

Environmental Justice
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is obligated to make sure its permitting
decisions do not have a disproportionate impact on communities of color, low income
communities, and state -recognized Indian Tribes. The proposed route for the ACP cuts through
some of the most racially and ethnically diverse and economically distressed areas of North
Carolina. In addition, pipeline construction and operation would impact a large number of state -
recognized Indian Tribes and their ancestral lands. Unfortunately, in the Final Environmental
Impact Statement for the ACP, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not complete a
valid Environmental Justice analysis.
For example, ACP proposes to locate Compressor Station #3 in Northampton County near
Pleasant Hill. The location is within census block group 6, which is approximately 79.2 percent
African American- significantly higher than the state average of 22%.5 There are already several
5 Source: Sothern Environmental Law Center comments on Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Atlantic
Coast Pipeline at page 274. https://ncdenr.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-

polluting facilities located in that part of the county, including an Enviva pellet mill and an
existing compressor station and associated pipeline. Northampton County has also been targeted
for the location of a large coal ash landfill.
As a result, it is incumbent on DEQ to conduct its own proximity analysis to determine who will
be most impacted by the construction and operation of this pipeline. This should include risk-
based demographic analysis to determine whether pollution from construction or from pipeline
leaks, blowdowns, or the proposed Northampton compressor station will harm already
overburdened communities. This demographic analysis should consider whether vulnerable
communities will face disproportionate safety risks as well. One of the central principles of
Environmental Justice is the right for communities threatened with industrial development to
participate at every level of decision-making, including needs assessment, planning,
implementation, enforcement, and evaluation.
Need
Th applicant fails to establish need for the pipeline. Studies have shown that the pipeline is not
necessary to meet future demands, as projected demand is expected to stay static through 2030.
The growth of renewables will continue gain electric power generation market share.
In North Carolina, ACP partner Duke Energy is seeking and will continue to seek major and
repeated rate hikes to recover the cost of the pipeline from ratepayers thus guaranteeing
themselves a high rate of return and recovery of the cost of construction for unneeded additional
gas-fired power plants.
Process
New leadership at the Department of Environmental Quality asks communities to trust them, and
has been willing to meet with potentially impacted communities and others regarding the ACP.
However, a July 31, 2017 email from DEQ Deputy Secretary John Nicholson to Napoleon
Wallace of the North Carolina Department of Commerce raises serious concerns regarding the
motive behind the recent "listening sessions" conducted in Northampton, Nash, and Robeson
Counties and demands an explanation. These "sessions" were described as additional
opportunities to hear from the public. The email, obtained through a public records request
submitted to Commerce by Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League reads in part (emphasis
added):
Napoleon, Just a short note to follow up on the cryptic VM I left you the other day. We
were reviewing comments/concerns that came out of our Clean Water Act 401
Certification public hearings on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) we conducted last
week and are concerned the public doesn't have a good understanding of the full
picture associated with the ACP. As you may be aware a lot of the conversation was
focused on ancestral grounds, impact on the water shed, title VI/EJ issues, etc.
However, very little was communicated regarding the potential economic benefit that I
public/Energy%20Minera l%20and%20Lan d%20Resources/DEMLR/Atlantic-Coast-
Pipeline/Comments%20bv%20SVN%20et%20al%20ACP%20DEIS%20FI NAL.pdf

believe has been Commerce's position. As a result, the Secretary has directed us to
put together two additional listening session before the public comment period
closes out on 19 August and we would like to solicit your participation (appropriate
Commerce rep) at these sessions to ensure we are in synch with each other as the
ACP goes through the process.
The public is aware of this email and is troubled. It has generally been DEQ's stated position that
those who submit comments during the permitting process should stick to topics pertinent to the
activity- in this case water quality and other environmental impacts. Yet the email from the
Deputy Secretary is slightly dismissive of environmental and environmental justice concerns -
focusing instead on the "potential economic benefits." Any economic benefit from the ACP will
likely be to Duke and Dominion's stockholders, while the threat of negative economic impacts to
communities, water quality and the climate looms large. The 401 Certification must be denied.
Respectfully Submitted,
Therese Vick
North Carolina Healthy, Sustainable Communities/Coal Ash Campaign Coordinator

8/21/2017 Charleston Gazette -Mail I Pulitzer Prize-winning West Virginia news I More water violations found on Rover Pipeline construction sites
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More water violations found on Rover Pipeline
construction sites
Ken Ward Jr.. Staff Writer
August 19, 2017
a]
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20170819/more-water-violations-found-on-rover-pipeline-construction-sites 1/11

E-`
Photo from W.Va. Department of Environmental Protection I �r
State inspectors found a silt fence at the Rover Pipeline construction site overly full of sediment and
appearing to have been overtopped.
Photo from W.Va. Department of Environmental Protection 1 rr
Sediment had entered a stream from nearby construction of the River Pipeline in Marshall
County.
Just
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20170819/more-water-violations-found-on-rover-pipeline-construction-sites 2/11

8/21/2017 Charleston Gazette -Mail I Pulitzer Prize-winning West Virginia news I More water violations found on Rover Pipeline construction sites
The violations are detailed in inspection reports and notices of violation DEP issued at
Rover Pipeline construction operations at New Cumberland and Majorsville.
DEP inspectors discovered the problems during a July 25 inspection of the New
Cumberland site and a visit to the Majorsville site on Aug. 3 and Aug. 4.
State inspections in Hancock and Marshall counties were done in the wake of DEP's
action on July 17 to issue a "cease-and-desist" order to Rover Pipeline LLC after finding
repeated water pollution violations at pipeline construction sites in Doddridge County
during five different inspections in April, May, June and July. DEP lifted that order on
Aug. 9, but the agency has refused to comment further on the matter.
Rover is a 714 -mile pipeline from Michigan into Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It
is meant to transport natural gas from processing plants in West Virginia, eastern Ohio
and western Pennsylvania to pipeline interconnects in West Virginia and eastern Ohio, as
well as to a hub near Defiance, Ohio, where up to 68 percent of the gas will be delivered
to distribution markets across the U.S.
Alexis Daniel, a spokeswoman for the Rover Pipeline and its owner, Energy Transfer
Partners, said that the company was aware of the DEP citations, which she said were "for
activities that occurred during the recent flooding" in Northern West Virginia in late July.
"We continue to work with the West Virginia DEP to resolve these issues in a manner that
is satisfactory to all parties," Daniel said in an email. "Construction continues all across
the route."
In their inspection reports, DEP officials did not blame the violations on flooding. One
inspection report notes that a stream at one of the sites was "a major contributor to
flooding" the previous week. Another report mentions that there had been heavy rains in
the area the previous week.
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20170819/more-water-violations-found-on-rover-pipeline-construction-sites 4/11

8/21/2017 Charleston Gazette -Mail I Pulitzer Prize-winning West Virginia news I More water violations found on Rover Pipeline construction sites
The water pollution problems related to construction of Rover come as citizen groups are
raising serious concerns about water pollution threats as part of a legal challenge to DEP's
approval of a permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, one of a flurry of natural gas
pipeline projects proposed for the region as part of the boom in drilling in the Marcellus
Shale fields in the northern part of the state. MVP is a more than 300 -mile pipeline from
Wetzel County, West Virginia, to Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
Appalachian Mountain Advocates attorneys, representing the Sierra Club, the West
Virginia Rivers Coalition and other groups, are contesting DEP Secretary Austin
Caperton's refusal to hold an administrative appeal hearing on Caperton's issuance of a
permit in which DEP certified that the MVP project would not violate the state's water
quality standards.
In response to public concerns about potential water quality violations from the pipeline,
DEP assured citizens that the MVP project would use Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission plans and procedures and have project -specific erosion and sediment control
plans, along with a DEP stormwater permit.
DEP made similar assurances when it approved the Rover Pipeline. But in citing the
repeated violations on Rover's construction, DEP inspectors reported both that the
developers violated their stormwater control plans and that those plans "proved to be
ineffective for achieving the general objectives of controlling pollutants."
In a legal brief filed last week, those attorneys warned that the same thing could happen
with the MVP project.
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20170819/more-water-violations-found-on-rover-pipeline-construction-sites 5/11

E P H 0 R A
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8/21/2017 Charleston Gazette -Mail I Pulitzer Prize-winning West Virginia news I More water violations found on Rover Pipeline construction sites
natural gas pipeline construction. In that way, DEP arbitrarily and capriciously ignored
important aspects of the question presented to it and explained its decision in a manner
contrary to the evidence before it."
When Caperton, a former coal executive and energy consultant, approved the MVP
project permit, he issued a press release that referred the media to the company's website
for "information about the potential economic benefit" of the pipeline. When Caperton
refused to hold an administrative appeal hearing on the permit, he announced the move in
a two -paragraph letter that provided no explanation for his decision.
DEP received more than 2,400 pages of comments — and held public hearings that
produced 150 pages of transcripts — concerning the MVP permit application. But the
agency brushed aside concerns about the project with a seven -page letter. The citizen
group legal brief said that the DEP response was so "scant" and was of such "surprising
brevity" that it would qualify under the law as an "arbitrary and capricious" decision on
an issue that does "not lend itself to brief analysis."
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at [e-mail], 304-348-1702 or follow @kenwardjr
on Twitter.
NASCAR Standings
As of: Aug. 21
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http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20170819/more-water-violations-found-on-rover-pipeline-construction-sites 7/11

8/21/2017 Charleston Gazette -Mail I Pulitzer Prize-winning West Virginia news I More water violations found on Rover Pipeline construction sites
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