BREDL welcomes Pittsylvania County Preservation League

 

We will be blogging individual articles from The League Line, our quarterly newsletter

Summer 2020 Issue: http://bredl.org/theleagueline/Summer2020.pdf

Index to this and other issues: http://bredl.org/theleagueline/index.htm

By Ann Rogers

During the first week of July, residents of Pittsylvania County, VA voted to form a new chapter of BREDL, named Pittsylvania County Preservation League. This chapter was formed for the purpose of stopping the Southgate extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is planned to connect to the southern terminus of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) at Transco Village in Chatham, VA, then run parallel to the existing Transco pipeline for 26 miles in Pittsylvania County.

As planned, the Southgate extension consists of approximately 73 miles of new 24-inch and 16-inch-diameter pipeline in Virginia and North Carolina, a new compressor station, and associated facilities. The Southgate is planned to terminate at a delivery point with Public Service Company of North Carolina, Inc. near the City of Graham in Alamance County, NC. The Project is designed to create 375,000 dekatherms per day of new pipeline capacity.

The Southgate received approval from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the form of a certificate of public convenience and necessity, issued on June 18.

 

Transco vs. Southgate

The Southgate is the focus of controversy centered on an agreement between Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company, LLC (Transco) and Southgate developer, MVP, regarding the use of the existing Transco pipeline right-of-way for the construction of the Southgate. In its Motion to Intervene Out-of-Time issued to FERC in January, Transco states,

 

MVP has only recently provided Transco with information regarding the precise locations of MVP's proposed new pipeline and workspace. A substantial portion of MVP's proposed Southgate project would be installed adjacent to Transco's existing system of three and four parallel, large-diameter pipelines. The new information MVP has made available to Transco indicates that construction and operation of the Southgate Project as proposed would severely encroach upon Transco's existing pipeline rights-of-way and could jeopardize the safety, integrity, operations, and expandability of Transco's pipeline system.

 

Transco's Motion to Intervene further describes the dangerous encroachment of the Southgate on its existing pipeline operations, stating, “It simply would be irresponsible to allow a pipeline with zero operating history to have this type of direct overlay on Transco’s multi-line mainline system . . . Any failure on MVP’s part to properly construct, manage, operate, and coordinate its activities could cause material damage to Transco’s pipelines, hindering Transco’s ability to provide safe, reliable, and critically important service to its customers. . . . Plainly, in the event of any maintenance or unscheduled activities, MVP’s encroachments would present a real risk of leaving Transco unable to access its pipeline, thereby impeding Transco’s ability to safely operate its system and provide reliable service to its customers.”

 

One cannot help but detect the urgency of Transco’s request for help from FERC in managing MVP’s facile appropriation of right-of-way needed for safe operation of the existing Transco pipeline system.

 

On April 6, FERC denied Transco's request for rehearing.

 

Our main concern – impacts to aquatic resources

The members of Pittsylvania County Preservation League have expressed an interest in the chapter's participation as a party in administrative and legal proceedings challenging the Southgate as undertaken by Appalachian Mountain Advocates, a public interest law firm headquartered in Lewisburg, WV. In this context, it is anticipated that Pittsylvania County Preservation League will participate as a party in Appalachian Mountain Advocates' Request for Rehearing challenging the Southgate.

 

David Nimer, employed by BREDL as a research consultant this summer prior to his entry into law school in August, is working with Appalachian Mountain Advocates in developing the factual basis for the Request for Rehearing, with a filing deadline of July 17.

 

Among the issues that David is focusing on is the Southgate's resources. In its 26-mile traverse of Pittsylvania County, the Southgate crosses several water bodies.

 

Please see map of the Southgate's path across 1.5 miles of wetlands associated with White Oak Creek, in Pittsylvania County: 

 

The Southgate's path through an area dense with freshwater streams and rivers raises concern over impairment to those water bodies, including sedimentation, warming of streams through suppression of tree cover on streambanks for the duration of the commercial life of the pipeline, dynamic runoff from tree-free areas during rain events along the entire length of the pipeline, and the planned use of herbicides to control invasive plant species along the pipeline corridor during the first two years after construction. Additionally, the sediment flowing downstream from the Southgate water body crossings will flow into and further damage the Dan River, which has already suffered critical impairment to water quality as a result of the coal ash spill of 2014.

 

Kudos to PCPL!

BREDL is exceedingly pleased to welcome Pittsylvania County Preservation League as our newest chapter. We look forward to working with these protectors of Virginia's water-rich Piedmont.