Category: WVPB News

Read about job postings, upcoming documentaries, events, and more from WVPB.

Feds Halt Construction of Atlantic Coast Pipeline

Federal regulators halted all construction of the 604-mile, interstate Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) following a federal court’s ruling this week that invalidated two major federal permits.

The Friday evening decision comes just a week after regulators issued a similar stop work order for another major interstate natural gas project, the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

On Aug. 6, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the National Park Service (NPS) acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner when it granted the ACP pipeline a right-of-way permit to cross under the Blue Ridge Parkway. The court also said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not do enough analysis to ensure the protections of five endangered or threatened species and vacated the pipeline’s “Incidental Take Permit.”

In a letter to pipeline officials, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said without these permits, construction of the ACP could not continue.

“In light of this development, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (Atlantic) has not obtained the rights-of-way and temporary use permits from the NPS needed for ACP to cross certain federally owned lands and lacks an Incidental Take Statement for the project,” the letter states.

The move comes a week after FERC issued a stop work order for the 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline. In that case, the 4th Circuit invalidated two federal permits authorizing construction inside Jefferson National Forest because the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service did not conduct enough environmental analysis. FERC said until those approvals are re-issued, construction must stop.

In the letter sent to ACP officials, the agency noted the Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service would most likely issue new permits, but FERC could not predict when that may happen.

“Should NPS authorize an alternative crossing location, Atlantic may need to revise substantial portions of the ACP route across non-federal or federal lands, possibly requiring further authorizations and environmental review,” the agency said. “Accordingly, allowing continued construction poses the risk of expending substantial resources and substantially disturbing the environment by constructing facilities that ultimately might have to be relocated or abandoned.”

The ACP is a project of Dominion Energy. The $5.5 billion pipeline would transport natural gas from central West Virginia to the eastern portions of Virginia and North Carolina.

ACP spokesman Aaron Ruby said in an emailed statement that pipeline developers were already working closely with federal agencies and were confident the issues could be resolved quickly.

“The Atlantic Coast Pipeline has been the most thoroughly reviewed infrastructure project in the history of our region,” he said. “The recent action by the courts and FERC are further evidence of this unprecedented scrutiny and the high standard that is being applied to this project.”

The company has five days to submit a stabilization plan to FERC that indicates what measure the project intends to take to ensure that construction already in progress does not become an environmental liability.

The agency on Friday also decided not to rehear challenges brought by environmental groups to its initial certificate of the pipeline, opening to door for continued legal challenges regarding the “public need” for the project.

Environmental Groups Criticize Mountain Valley Pipeline's Stabilization Plan

Federal regulators have approved parts of the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s plan to stabilize areas of the pipeline’s route that are under construction and ensure that work already in progress does not become an environmental liability.

The document, mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after it halted all construction of the 303-mile pipeline earlier this month, drew criticism from environmental groups that said the plan effectively greenlights continued pipeline construction.

FERC stopped all construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline on Aug. 3 following a ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, except in cases where it might be necessary to stabilize areas with ongoing construction such as right of ways.

The plan, released Thursday, lays out a variety of actions the pipeline intends to take to comply with environmental standards. They include filling some dug trenches with dirt and seeding steep slopes to temporarily stabilize some areas already under construction.

In a letter issued Friday evening, Terry Turpin, director of FERC’s Office of Energy Projects, told pipeline developers to move forward with the approved measures.

“As indicated in your plan, the shutdown presents challenges for stabilization and restoration, and we agree that there are some clear advantages to allowing some limited construction activities to proceed to prevent potential safety and environmental impacts,” the letter stated.

The majority of the plan’s suggestions were accepted. Most of the “pending” measures are related to how to stabilize steep slopes.

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups say the pipeline’s stabilization plan effectively allows the developers to complete construction across a total of 45 miles of its route. 

“Bless their hearts, but not in a million years,” Sierra Club Virginia chapter director Kate Addleson said in a statement.

According to the document, developers said they intend to install the pipeline and close the trench for 26 miles of the MVP’s route where trench has already been dug and pipe is ready to go. FERC approved this measure.

In a letter submitted to the agency, the Indian Creek Watershed Association also expressed concerns with the pipeline’s stabilization plan and urged the agency to reject it.

“This is a ploy by MVP/EQT that has little to do with environmental protection and much to do with convenience and economic benefit to the company,” the Union, W. Va.-based group wrote. “MVP seeks to install 45 miles of pipe during an official “stop work” period — more than four times the 11 miles of pipe

MVP spokeswoman Natalie Cox said in an emailed statement that the project’s priorities have always been to construct the pipeline in the “safest manner possible and ensure “the highest levesl of enviromental protections.

“We are pleased that the FERC appreciates MVP’s desire to uphold our environmental responsibilities by allowing the project to stabilize the right-of-way and to take certain measures to minimize unnecessary erosion and sedimentation occurrences as we work with the agencies to resolve the issues related to the August 3, 2018 stop work order,” she wrote.

08/10/18: This story was updated at 9:15 p.m. to include a statement from the Mountain Valley Pipeline and reflect FERC’s decision to approve parts of the project’s stabilization plan.

Blankenship Challenges Denial of Third-Party U.S. Senate Bid

Former coal executive Don Blankenship has filed a court challenge to a denial of his third-party candidacy application to run in West Virginia’s U.S. Senate race.

Blankenship filed the challenge with the state Supreme Court on Thursday.

Secretary of State Mac Warner last month blocked Blankenship’s bid to run as the Constitution Party’s nominee, based on the state’s “sore loser” law. The law prohibits major party primary candidates who lose from switching to a minor party. Blankenship finished third in the Republican primary.

Blankenship says in a statement the law “is flawed in multiple ways.”

Blankenship is a former CEO of Massey Energy, which owned a mine where a 2010 explosion killed 29 miners. He spent a year in federal prison for conspiring to violate mine safety regulations.

Cabell Co. Judge Appointed to West Virginia Supreme Court as Impeachment Looms

Updated: August 10, 2018 at 12:10 p.m.

 

A Cabell County circuit judge has been appointed to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals during the suspension of Justice Allen Loughry. The appointment comes as four justices on the state’s high court may be impeached.

 

In the wake of the House Judiciary Committee adopting 14 articles of impeachment this week against all of the remaining state supreme court justices, Chief Justice Margaret Workman appointed Sixth Circuit Judge Paul Farrell to the court.

 

In an administrative order issued Thursday, Workman cited Loughry’s suspension and the retirement of former Justice Menis Ketchum as need for Farrell’s temporary assistance.

 

“Court employees have received many inquiries about whether the work of the court will continue as scheduled in the term that begins Sept. 5,” Workman said in news release announcing Farrell’s appointment. “It will. The court calendar is set, and the docket will proceed as usual. Supreme Court Justices are Constitutionally required to keep the court open and will continue to fulfill their Constitutional duties.”

 

Farrell was sworn in Friday morning by Justice Robin Davis.

 

According to the order announcing his appointment, Farrell would become acting chief jusice and be the presiding officer of the Senate should impeachment articles be adopted by the House and a trial be necessary. The state constitution says that the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the Senate during a trial following impeachment in the House.

 

Justice Beth Walker issued a split opinion on Farrell’s appointment. She agreed that Farrell is a qualified choice, but took issue with the appointment considering the circumstances of looming impeachments.

 

“I agree with the Chief Justice’s selection of Judge Paul T. Farrell, a distinguished jurist with an exemplary record of service to his community and state, to serve as Justice during the suspension of Justice Allen Loughry,” Walker wrote. “However, I believe it is improper to designate any justice as Acting Chief Justice for impeachment proceedings in which I or my colleagues may have an interest and that have not yet commenced in the Senate.”

 

Justice Davis also issued a response to Workman’s appointment of Farrell — but agreed with the decision. She cited various sections of the state constitution.

 

“Because all three sitting Justices of this Court are disqualified from presiding over any impeachment proceeding in the Senate in which Chief Justice Workman, Justice Walker and I may be the subject of the Articles of Impeachment, by the Rule of Necessity, the Chief Justice is constitutionally charged With appointing a Justice to preside. Any statement to the contrary is intellectually flawed and has no basis under our State Constitution,” Davis wrote.

 

The House of Delegates is scheduled to reconvene Monday to consider the articles of impeachment adopted by the Judiciary Committee.

 

Jefferson County Residents in Uproar Over New Insulation Plant

Updated Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 at 8:10 a.m. with additional interviews, plus reactions from local residents and the Jefferson County Commission, and FAQs from the W.Va. DEP.

A new manufacturing plant is being built in Jefferson County and promises to bring 150 jobs to the region. But there’s major pushback from the community.

A couple hundred people from the Jefferson County area recently gathered outside the local Charles Town Library holding signs with phrases like, “No Toxic Rockwool” or “Citizens Against Rockwool.”

Rockwool is a Denmark-based company that manufactures stone wool insulation. This type of product is used in buildings, industrial applications and acoustic ceilings. It’s a fiber-based insulation produced from natural stone and recycled content.

A year ago, the company announced it would build a second U.S. facility in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Their first U.S. plant was built in Marshall County, Mississippi.

But several Jefferson County residents are concerned, because the plant is being built just a few miles from four public schools and will have a smokestack that will release a range of chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene.

“How can we stay here and raise our kids here? We can’t. We will move,” said Charles Town resident Nathan Decker. “If this happens, we’re gone.”

Decker’s sentiments were echoed by other locals as well – pointing to health concerns and environmental regulations.

“The issue is that our regulations are weak,” noted 22-year-old Aaron Hackett. “We have to stop selling out West Virginia, take the ‘for sale’ sign off our state and create jobs and preserve clean air, clean water. They’re not mutually exclusive. We can absolutely do both.”

Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A boy protests the Rockwool company with his family on Aug. 2, 2018 in Charles Town.

About two weeks ago, a Facebook group called, “Citizens Concerned about Rockwool-Ranson, WV” was created by local woman Leigh Smith. Within days, the group grew to more than 4,500 members.

“We don’t want smokestacks, we don’t want industrialization; that’s not what we moved here for, and that’s not what most people want,” Smith said.

Jefferson County Commission President Josh Compton said at a recent meeting that he’s also concerned and wants the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to visit his community, explain the air quality permit they issued back in April and describe how the facility will be monitored.

Credit West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
/

“Over the next course of days, weeks, we’re going to see what powers we actually have and what we can do to resolve this situation,” Compton said.

No commissioners at the time of the meeting spoke for or against the plant, but, the following day, one of five Jefferson County Commissioners, Jane Tabb, stated in a post on Facebook that she no longer supported the Rockwool project due to air quality concerns and would work to “turn [the project] around.”

The DEP reports there will be continuous emissions monitors on key components of the facility. They also said the facility would be regularly inspected.

Air quality specialist Michael McCawley is a clinical associate professor at West Virginia University’s School of Public Health, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences.

He said it’s difficult to say how much impact the chemical emissions might have over the long term, but that ultimately, it is a gamble. If weather conditions remained fair year-round, he said the chemical impact would be insignificant.

“There’s a concern about what might happen and how quickly people might react,” McCawley said. “Can we do the health surveillance that’s necessary to make sure that we’re not going to get an effect? And the answer is, we really don’t know.”

Rockwool stated on Twitter that air quality is one of its top priorities and that the plume from the stacks will mostly be steam.

Rockwool has not yet responded to requests for comment from West Virginia Public Broadcasting about air quality concerns or economic development. They did say, however, there would be a community open house at the end of August.

In June, the company broke ground and is expected to complete construction by 2020.

West Virginia DEP Proposes Changes to Stream Crossing Permit

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is reconsidering how it permits stream crossings for natural gas pipelines and other federal projects approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In a notice published this week, the agency announced a set of proposed changes to West Virginia’s 401 Water Quality Certification specifically for federal water permits issued by the Army Corps, which accounts for the majority of certification requests.

 

The 401 certification contains state-specific conditions that must be met in order to meet the state’s water quality standards before a permit or license is issued by the federal agency.

Under federal law, sediment or debris cannot be released into streams, rivers or wetlands, unless the Army Corps issues a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These permits are required for dam, levee, and highway constructions, as well as mining projects and other large developments that require federal approvals to discharge fill material into waterways.  

 

Interstate natural gas pipelines, such as the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines being developed through parts of West Virginia, also require permitting by the Army Corps.

WV DEP’s proposed changes to its water quality certification include striking a provision that requires water crossings, or construction that goes under or disturbs stream, rivers or wetlands to be completed within 72 hours.

That requirement was at the heart of a recent ruling made by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court in June sided with a coalition of conservation groups who argued the federal Section 404 permit granted to the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) should be invalidated because the pipeline developers’ planning documents showed it could not complete some water crossings in the 72-hour time frame required by the state.

The federal appeals court agreed and stayed water crossings by the MVP in West Virginia on June 21. Since then, all construction of the 303-mile pipeline has been halted following a July 27 ruling by the 4th Circuit to invalidate two federal permits related to the pipeline route through Jefferson National Forest.

Other proposed changes in the 17-page order include a provision that would allow a stream crossing method that is more environmentally protective than currently allowed.

The order also gives the head of DEP the power to “waive, change, or eliminate” any of the conditions set out under the 401 Water Quality Certification if the project can provide proof “that it will employ a method or plan that will be more environmentally protective.”

The DEP is currently accepting comments on the proposed changes.

Exit mobile version