Communities Along ACP Route Take Economic Hit as Pipeline Construction Suspended

On this West Virginia Morning, the state’s growing natural gas industry has expanded beyond drilling rigs during the past few years. Two multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline projects are under construction in West Virginia. If completed, they will transport billions of cubic feet of natural gas out of the Appalachian Basin to the East Coast.

Conservation groups sued several of the pipeline construction companies. In December, a federal court sided with one of the groups and construction of the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, or ACP, stopped. Brittany Patterson spent some time visiting with host communities who feel they’ve been left in the lurch by the shutdown. But as she explains, the benefits of the pipelines depend on who you ask. 

Also on today’s show, local and state leaders began on Tuesday to clear roads in eastern West Virginia, where counties dealt with severe thunderstorms and flash flooding Saturday night. Volunteers and the state National Guard have been a big part of their recovery, as Emily Allen reports.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.