Sierra Club applauds North Carolina’s Request for Greater Scrutiny of Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline

RALEIGH, NC -- Late yesterday, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requested additional information from Duke Energy and Dominion Energy in order to conduct a more thorough examination of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s (ACP) effects on the state’s water quality. The state had faced a September 18 deadline to issue or deny the certification, but the request for more information means the permit is on pause until DEQ receives the information it is requesting.

Under section 401 of the Clean Water Act, states must certify that proposed pipelines will not violate state water quality standards before construction can begin. DEQ has the responsibility for determining whether or not to issue that certification for North Carolina.

The proposed ACP is a joint venture of Duke Energy and Dominion Energy. The 600-mile pipeline would cross over 1,000 streams, rivers, and waterways as it pumps fracked gas from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. In North Carolina alone, the pipeline would cross more than 560 waterways.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed states’ Clean Water Act authority when it rejected Duke Energy’s appeal of New York’s refusal to issue a 401 certificate for its Constitution Pipeline. This came after Constitution failed to provide the state with enough information on stream crossing and water impacts that would give NY assurance the state’s water quality would not be harmed. The Second Circuit decision is one of a series of recent legal setbacks for the proposed national buildout of more than 10,000 miles of proposed gas pipelines.

In response, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Director Kelly Martin released the following statement:

"We applaud Governor Cooper and DEQ for listening to North Carolinians and requiring Duke Energy and Dominion to provide more information so the state can thoroughly examine the water impacts that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would have on our communities.

“The fracked gas ACP would be a dirty, dangerous, expensive relic of a bygone era, and there’s no reason North Carolinians should foot the bill for an unnecessary project when clean, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are affordable and abundant here in North Carolina.”