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Virginia gives water certificate to Atlantic Coast pipeline

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Virginia gives water certificate to Atlantic Coast pipeline

The Virginia State Water Control Board approved an amended certification for the Dominion Energy Inc.-led 1.5-MMDth/d Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline, pending further analysis of environmental effects.

In a 4-3 vote Dec. 12, the board granted the Clean Water Act Section 401 permit. The permit will not be effective until the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality shares outstanding information with the board so it can make sure the project does not violate water standards. The board's decision was not available at press time.

The Department of Environmental Quality must also provide a permit for the project's plan to deal with sedimentation and erosion.

The Atlantic Coast pipeline is a joint project of Dominion, Southern Gas Co., Duke Energy Corp. and Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. The 600-mile line would carry gas from West Virginia through Virginia and North Carolina. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Atlantic Coast pipeline in an Oct. 13 certificate order for the project after commission staff determined the project, with mitigation measures, would reduce the project's impacts to acceptable levels. (FERC docket CP15-554)

Dominion did not have a chance to return requests for comment by press time. However, in a Dec. 8 press release, Dominion said the project would create local career opportunities. The company signed labor agreements with four building and construction trade unions.

"From day one we've committed to building this project to the highest standards of quality and safety," Dominion Vice President of Engineering and Construction Leslie Hartz said.

Appalachian Voices Program Manager Peter Anderson said in a statement that while the environmental group is encouraged by the caution shown by the Virginia board's decision, "[W]e are disappointed they did not deny this deficient certification and remand it back to the Department of Environmental Quality for a thorough analysis."

Anderson said the organization is considering legal options in response to the Atlantic Coast decision.

On Dec. 8, Appalachian Voices, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups asked a federal court to review the board's decision on the Mountain Valley pipeline. The board had rejected an Appalachian Voices request for reconsideration of the board's Dec. 7 approval of a water quality permit for Mountain Valley.