Don't fast-track pipeline process, Kaine says
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine sent a letter to federal regulators on Monday questioning whether the process to approve the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was moving too fast for the public to keep up — and if Dominion had done enough work to use existing right-of-ways.
He also passed along concerns from constituents about the geology of the region, with wide areas of karst limestone that present unstable foundation for construction projects. And he raised questions key to some in the Shenandoah Valley, like whether there should be any considerations for century farms or businesses like Wintergreen Resort.
The long letter, shared by his staff, raises a caution for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — although the veteran politician was careful to not come down solidly against, or in favor of, the project in his missive.
Dominion Resources and three energy partners are proposing the $5 billion, 550-mile pipeline to carry natural gas from West Virginia to southeastern Virginia and North Carolina.
“The people whose livelihoods may be affected by a project should have ample opportunity to gather information, get their questions answered, and analyze alternatives – on a timeline conducive to participation by people for whom energy pipeline permitting is not a professional occupation,” Kaine wrote. “In short, simply having a public comment process is insufficient if that process is not easily accessible to the public.”
FERC in the spring rejected a request by Virginia's U.S. senators, Kaine and Mark Warner, and Rep. Robert Hurt, to hold additional regulatory hearings.
The ACP, and a separate Mountain Valley pipeline proposal, has met with strong public opposition from the Virginia communities in its paths.
Some of the points in the Kaine letter:
-- It can be hard to get up to speed on the pipeline issue if you don't have a background in the technical details. Or if you live in a rural or mountain region with limited Internet access. "It is crucial that no effort be spared to disseminate project information as widely as possible, to make sure that citizen questions are answered quickly and substantively, and to allow ample opportunity for comment -- in particular, sufficient time to analyze new information such as new alternative proposed routes," wrote the senator.
-- Scoping meetings in Augusta didn't allow enough chance for people to testify. And sloppy transcripts gave some citizens the idea FERC doesn't take their concerns seriously.
-- Local government boards and groups have submitted questions that have not been answered.
-- Some communities along the route think the ability of towns to tap into the gas supply have been overstated. And is the gas going to be exported?
-- Is FERC analyzing separate projects within a holistic context of all the energy proposals in a region?
