Doug Jackson, 202.495.3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
BRIDGEPORT, WV -- E&E News is reporting that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) inspectors “found unsafe construction practices at work sites on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline” during an inspection in December. However, PHMSA did not send a letter notifying the pipeline’s builders, Dominion Energy Transmission, until seven months later on July 25, 2019.
The letter cites instances of the pipeline being “placed within a rock laden ditch,” and at least one section that was “abutting rock laden trench walls” and “within proximity to large unsupported boulders susceptible of damaging the pipeline from settlement above.” This could increase the likelihood of a fracked gas pipeline rupturing and exploding, which has caused serious injuries and deaths.
Because the pipeline is not necessary and the unsafe practices are so dangerous, the Sierra Club is demanding that work on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) be halted immediately and permanently. Conservation groups, landowners, and over two dozen elected officials in North Carolina and Virginia have called on the federal government to issue a stop work order before, but have thus far been ignored.
The ACP is planned to pump fracked gas 600 miles from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. Since it was originally proposed in 2014, it has become increasingly controversial because of its negative implications for water quality, climate change, property rights, and environmental racism. The project is years behind schedule and $3 billion over budget, with work currently at a standstill due to the loss of crucial permits and ongoing legal challenges.
In response, Senior Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign Joan Walker released the following statement:
"We have said all along that we couldn’t trust Dominion to look out for our health and safety while building this dirty, dangerous fracked gas pipeline and these unsafe construction practices show exactly why. Fracked gas pipelines across the country have exploded, sometimes with fatal consequences, and hearing yet another story of Dominion’s sloppy construction practices will only add to the stress and fear of the people living near this unnecessary pipeline. We don’t need the gas, we don’t need the pipeline, and we certainly don’t need the daily terror this project poses.
“Dominion must stop construction on the ACP once and for all, and if they don’t, our government should make them.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.