20140957 Ver 2_Clean Water Act 401 Water Quality Certification_20170819

Strickland, Bev
From:Denise Bruce <[e-mail]>
Sent:Saturday, August 19, 2017 4:47 PM
To:SVC_DENR.publiccomments
Subject:Clean Water Act 401 Water Quality Certification
Attachments:ACP comment.docx
Good Afternoon,

Please consider our comments regarding ACP LLC's application for 401 Water Quality Certification.

Thank you,

Sustainable Saturdays

Ashley Denise Bruce
[e-mail]
(910)-726-5745

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Executive Director: Hanah Ehrenreich
Sustainable Sandhills
Revolutionary Coworking
100 Hay Street, 6th Floor
Fayetteville, NC 28301

Comment on the 401 Water Quality Permit requested by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Project.

Introduction
Sustainable Sandhills has reviewed the 401 Water Quality Permit application submitted by
Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC and Dominion Energy, to construct the proposed Atlantic Coast
Pipeline (ACP). Sustainable Sandhills has found that constructing the ACP would cause
significant cumulative negative impacts to the Cape Fear River Basin by degrading significant
existing uses, harming protected wetlands, and degrading downstream surface and
groundwater resources. Sustainable Sandhills also reviewed broad aspects of the ACP for
public need and global climate change impacts. Construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is
unnecessary as part of North Carolina's energy policy and industry development, directly
contributes to air pollution, causing climate change, and the implementation of this pipeline
adversely affects regional climate resilience goals.

Background

Atlantic Coast Pipeline
The proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a 600 mile natural gas transmission line that would run
from West Virginia to Prospect, NC. According to the Final Environmental Impact Statement the
proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline will cross “1,669 waterbody crossings on ACP and Supply
Header Project(including access roads), including 702 perennial, 642 intermittent, 228
ephemeral, 49 canals/ditches, and 48 open water ponds/reservoirs (some waterbodies are
crossed more than once.) This also includes 18 major waterbody crossings (those greater than
100 feet wide) and 12 section 10 (navigable) waterbodies. No major waterbodies would be
crossed by Supply Header Project. . ACP would cross 4 perennial, 13 intermittent, and five
ephemeral waterbodies on the MNF, and 13 perennial, 15 intermittent, and 6 ephemeral
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waterbodies on the GWNF.”
Important to the consideration of the 401 permit application are the impacts of the ACP on
surface and groundwater in North Carolina. In North Carolina the ACP would cross 699.8 acres
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of woody wetland and 57.0 acres of herbaceous/palustrine emergent wetland. The ACP would
cross the major rivers, Tar River, Cape Fear River and Neuse River.
According to the Final Environmental Impact Statement accepted by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, the construction methods proposed will not cause significant harm to
the these waters. Sustainable Sandhills has found evidence to the contrary in the case of the
Cape Fear River Basin.

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Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project, Final Environmental Impact Statement, July 2017
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Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project, Final EIS, table 1.4.3-1

Executive Director: Hanah Ehrenreich
Sustainable Sandhills
Revolutionary Coworking
100 Hay Street, 6th Floor
Fayetteville, NC 28301

Cape Fear River Basin
The proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline would cross through the Cape Fear River Basin. The
Cape Fear River Basin cover 9164 square miles and is home to approximately 25% of the
population in the North Carolina. The basin’s significant water uses that will be impacted by the
construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline include but are not limited to recreation, habitat for
endangered species, drinking water supplies and wetland ecosystems.
The main tributary within the basin is the Cape Fear River. The Cape Fear River is already
under stress. As recently as May 2017, it was established that Chemours, a company in
Cumberland County, NC, has been illegally discharging a harmful chemical known as Gen X
into the river. The effects of this pollution are yet to be fully understood or studied. The Cape
Fear River Basin has some of the highest concentrations of 1,4 dioxane, a contaminant believed
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to cause cancer. Duke Energy, a partner of the ACP, is responsible for coal ash contamination
in the Cape Fear River. On Feb 2, 2014, 39,000 tons of ash and 27 million gallons of ash pond
water were released into the Dan River, the headwaters of the Cape Fear River. In addition, Duke
Energy was cited for pumping 61 million gallons of Coal ash into a tributary of the Cape Fear River.
The coal ash ponds located at the Cape Fear River steam plant are due to be shut down as they are
leaking. NC DEQ would be wise to investigate just how the cumulative effects of constructing the
ACP in the Cape Fear River basin will exacerbate these existing burdens.

Impact on Significant Uses
The construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will have cumulative negative impacts to water
quality by degrading existing significant uses. Significant uses of the Cape Fear River Basin
include industry, recreation, habitat for endangered species, and wetlands.

Recreation
The initial construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline has the potential to negatively impact
recreational activities within the Cape Fear River Basin. Construction methods, especially open
cut, wet ditch methods have the potential to cause increased sedimentation throughout the
basin that would result in harm to fishery nurseries and thus negatively impact the livelihood of
many fishermen within the basin. Additionally, pipeline leaks and/or catastrophic explosions
have the potential to damage recreation opportunities in the Cape Fear River Basin.
According to the Cape Fear River Assembly, the Cape Fear River provides unique and
accessible recreation opportunities. The river basin provides opportunities for hiking, camping,
fishing, boating, and paddling. People from all over the state take advantage of these activities
provided by the river. Recreation along the river supports a thriving industry and creates many
jobs. There are over fifty hiking trails in the Cape Fear River Basin. Sixteen of the trails are
south of the proposed pipeline construction areas, and will be negatively impacted by
construction and/or disaster, barring outdoor enthusiasts from the areas. The main tributary of
the Cape Fear River Basin is used for paddling sports like kayaking and canoeing and boating.
There are businesses that provide boat tours or paddling expeditions along the Cape Fear

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Tainted Waters: New Drinking Water Threats Concern Scientist; North Carolina Health News Catherine
Clabby, Sept 2016

Executive Director: Hanah Ehrenreich
Sustainable Sandhills
Revolutionary Coworking
100 Hay Street, 6th Floor
Fayetteville, NC 28301

River. There are 8 public access points below the construction areas of the proposed Atlantic
Coast Pipeline that could be negatively impacted during and after construction. In some cases
the streams that hikers so often like to view or wade in during construction may be
contaminated with additional sediment or hikers may see increased turbidity of the water.
Fishing in the Cape Fear River and is both economically and culturally important to fishermen
within the basin. Many of the tributaries are used for subsistence fishing by locals including,
Native American Tribes. Commercially, the Cape Fear River Basin is a multi-million dollar
industry and a job creator. As of 2013 the fishing supported approximately 500 jobs, brought in
$14.2 million dollars in income and $35.7 million in business sales.

Rebounding Fish Populations
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline has the potential to reverse efforts to increase anadromous fish
populations in the Cape Fear River Basin. Within the basin’s many connected tributaries,
proposed construction methods rely on methods that will decrease water flow or introduce
sediment. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) recognizes that construction must
be restricted during spawning for all endangered species. In the case of the Cape Fear River
Basin, the spawning season for endangered fish species runs from March - September. It
should also be noted these times to do not account for increased water temperatures because
of climate change. The FEIS doesn’t account for streamflow after construction. For example,
constructing open cut wet trench in the middle of December, may result in latent introduction of
sediment and erosion runoff during spring rain, at the height of spawning event. Furthermore,
there is a very real danger to the Cape Fear River from the proposed Horizontal Directional
Drilling (HDD), a pipeline installation method that requires drilling underneath the river. While
HDD does not disrupt streamflow, it does require disruption to the banks of the river on each
side, resulting in erosion and sediment. Erosion is nothing compared to the danger that a
single bentonite clay drilling mud spill poses to the river. HDD requires the uses of a highly
specialized drilling “mud” that is a mix of chemicals, bentonite clay, and water. The chemical
mixture is proprietary, and is only required to be reported to local authorities in the event of a
spill. Drilling mud spills for pipelines are common occurrences. For example in May of this year
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more than 2 millions gallons of drilling mud was spilled at a Rover Pipeline construction site.
During the construction of Mariner 2 East, there were more than 90 spills, about 200,000 gallons
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of drilling mud spilled. Given the nature of drilling mud, the long term impacts on water quality
are indisputable. Bentonite clay is super fine and could remain suspended in the water column
for miles before settling, harming fish larvae, and polluting spawning grounds for many years to
come. The drilling mud would not have a chance to become suspended in moving water, rather
it would act like a cement in the stream channel. An incident of the magnitude similar to the
Rover Pipeline incident would reverse efforts to increase fish populations along the Cape Fear
River.

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US Blocks Pipeline after 18 Leaks and 2 Million Gallon Spill of Drilling Mud, Washington Post, Steve
Mufson, May 2017
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Mariner 2 East Drilling Fluid Spills, Kirk Jalbert PhD, MFA, July 2017

Executive Director: Hanah Ehrenreich
Sustainable Sandhills
Revolutionary Coworking
100 Hay Street, 6th Floor
Fayetteville, NC 28301

In 2012 an action plan to bring back populations of Shad, Striped Bass and Sturgeon was
enacted. This action plan was spearheaded by NOAA to begin remediation efforts. The plan
included removing barriers to spawning grounds, addressing pollutants, and addressing water
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flow in the Cape Fear River.
It is important to understand the life cycle and necessary environment for these fish and why
they are the target of a special multi-stakeholder action plan. The fish named in the action plan
are all migratory anadromous fish. Each of these fish were once abundant in the river. For
example, Sturgeon was so abundant caviar was given away for free at bars. Shad was so easily
caught in nets during the spawning season that locals went fishing for only a few days a year.
However, at this time, most Sturgeon are considered an endangered species, or, in the case of
Short-nosed Sturgeon, a critically endangered species. The decline in their population is related
to overfishing and barriers to their spawning grounds. In case of the Cape Fear River, those
spawning grounds are blocked by three lock and dams. The action plan implemented by NOAA
included accessing the spawning grounds. Earlier in 2011, the first rock arch ramps were
introduced at Lock and Dam 1, one of the barriers to spawning. Since the construction, the
number of striped bass and shad observed north of Lock and Dam 1 has increased. There is a
movement to add rock ramps to lock and dam two and three in the future moving the spawning
habitat north further north toward Fayetteville.
All barriers aside, the fish need good water quality in order to have a successful spawning
event. Good water quality includes the right temperature, turbidity and streamflow. For
example, the Striped Bass eggs rely on quickly moving water free of sediment in the upper
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stream column in order to hatch. The larvae cannot be exposed to too much sediment or they
will suffocate. Sturgeon are the most pernickety of the targeted fish which relies on a set of
near perfect conditions to have a successful spawning event. Some scientists describe them as
a “boom and bust” species. In that the results of a single successful spawning event might keep
the population going for many generations. The goal of the NOAA action plan is for there to be
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successful spawning events annually, rather than occasionally. For the above reasons

Harm to Wetlands
The proposed ACP will cause harm to wetlands within the Cape Fear River Basin. The
construction of the ACP would directly impact bodies of water in the Cape River Basin at 98
individual construction sites. These waterbody crossings include a number of wetlands
including the named wetlands Big Alligator Swamp, Mingo Swamp, Buckhorn Bay, White Pond
Bay, and Smith Mill Pond Bay.
Carolina Bays are unique geological structures. Elliptical in shape and often oriented Northwest
to Southeast, and depressed from the surrounding ecosystem. All Carolina Bays are wetlands.
Studies have found that Carolina Bays have perched water tables, resulting in lateral
interactions with the water table, rather than vertical interactions. In the case of the Atlantic
Coast Pipeline, trenching 8 feet underground would almost certainly result in contamination of

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Conserving the Cape Fear River for Fish and People, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association,
2012
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Striped Bass Spawning, http://www.stripers247.com/Spawning-Stripers.php
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Morgan Jones, Dinosaurs in the River, Coastwatch, 2013

Executive Director: Hanah Ehrenreich
Sustainable Sandhills
Revolutionary Coworking
100 Hay Street, 6th Floor
Fayetteville, NC 28301

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groundwater at these sites. All Methods of construction (pump and flume, or open cut) would
result in lateral interaction with the water table. Furthermore, removing trees from Carolina
Bays and the surrounding uplands will have long term impacts on the location of the seasonal
water table. Studies have demonstrated that the water table will rise after the removal of trees
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in wetland habitats. Considering the nature of the Pipeline, in that trees will not be allowed to
be replanted in those areas, this effect would be permanent. The effects may be that Carolina
Bays with intermittent standing water will become flooded for longer periods of the year.
Unlike Carolina Bays, which usually do not interact with the larger basin, the various Swamps in
the Cape Fear River Basin are the basin’s filter, and water storage, with outlets to tributaries.
Impacts in these swamps would have far reaching implications in the entire river basin. Like
Carolina Bays, the hydrology and location of the water table will be permanently changed by the
removal of trees within the swamp and removing upland species up gradient of the swamp.
Like the Carolina Bays, these swamps have perched water tables, often times above the
ground, with lateral interactions with groundwater. Trenching in this environment would result in
direct impacts to the seasonal water table.
Because these Swamps are linked to the broader basin, construction techniques like pump and
flume and open cut will result in sedimentation that will impact that basin long term.
Additionally, there is no recent data on suspended sediment from open cut pipeline
construction. The majority of these techniques rely on earlier data that is more than a decade
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old. Open Cut is the method of construction for Starlin Swamp. Open Cut trenching creates
the most suspended sediment. At least one study has shown it creates more than 500 times the
suspended sediment than other trenching methods. There could be more than 500 times more
sediment created in Starlin Swamp than other wetlands in the Cape Fear River Basin, affected
all water bodies downstream. Flume or Dam and Pump has been proposed as the trenching
method for the majority of the waterbody crossings. However, a 2002 study demonstrated that
there is a difference in the amount of sediment created depending on which trenching method is
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used. Trenching using Flume created suspended sediment more than Dam and Pump.
Where wetlands and other water bodies are concerned, the total impact of sediment cannot be
fully explored and decided until the trenching method is determined.
In the case of Mingo Swamp a permanent Access Road will be installed leading to the
permanent loss of wetlands. The construction methods for these access roads were not clearly
defined. There is no doubt that losing wetlands to hard stabilized roadway will impact water
quality far into the future.

Public Need and Reasonable Alternatives
The ACP has not demonstrated there is a need for the project and therefore 401 Water Quality
Permitting should be denied. The ACP early needs evaluations did not account for the solar
power and additional capacity on the existing Transco pipeline. Recently, HB 589; Competitive

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Carolina Bays http://science.unctv.org/content/carolina-bays
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Ge Sun,Ground Water Table Rise After Forest Harvesting on Cyrpress Pine Flatwoods in Florida,
Wetlands, March 2000
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Evaluation of Pipelines and Associated Watercourse Crossings Fisheries Self Assessment Tools
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2017.

Executive Director: Hanah Ehrenreich
Sustainable Sandhills
Revolutionary Coworking
100 Hay Street, 6th Floor
Fayetteville, NC 28301

Energy Solutions Bill was passed. The bill opened the market for additional renewable energy
access including third party solar sales to homeowners and businesses. This change in North
Carolina policy will prove to reduce demand for natural gas for electricity generation. The
largest employer in North Carolina, Wal-Mart, has been a supporter of solar energy for the past
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several years and has committed to 100% renewable energy for their facilities. Wal-mart is not
alone. A number of large corporations have sought to lower their energy bills and reduce their
environmental impact through increased usage of solar energy. These corporations include
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General Motors, Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
The Transco pipeline is an interstate gas line network of more than 10,200 miles. The Transco
delivers natural gas to North Carolina. Duke Energy, a partner on the ACP, purchases gas from the
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Transco pipeline. Transco, already exists and with the addition of renewable energy on the grid
there is no need for the construction of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline

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Walmarts Approach to Renewable Energy
https://cdn.corporate.walmart.com/eb/80/4c32210b44ccbae634ddedd18a27/walmarts-approach-to-
renewable-energy.pdf
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Julia Pyper,Large Corporations are Driving America’s Renewable Energy Boom: And They are Just
Getting Started. Greentech Media, Jan 2017
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Willams Transco Pipeline, http://co.williams.com/gulf_coast/transco/