Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a $5 billion, 594-mile natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. The project will be built by Dominion Energy (lead) and Duke Energy (important partner). Years after the project filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), it was finally approved by FERC in October (see FERC Approves Atlantic Coast, Mountain Valley Pipeline Projects). In November, the U.S. Forest Service granted its blessing for the pipeline to traverse small portions of two national forests (see USFS Approves Atlantic Coast Pipeline Thru 2 National Forests). But the project is not without it’s problems. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People declared the pipeline racist (see NAACP Claims Atlantic Coast Pipeline is Racist, Harms Blacks Most). That’s basically a PR stunt by the NAACP to use as a fundraiser. The more important and troublesome development is in North Carolina, where the state Dept. of Environmental Quality is playing a game of delay with questions (see NC Plays “Death by a Thousand Questions” with Atlantic Coast Pipe). Even with setbacks, the companies building the project appear to be confident it happen. So confident that Duke Energy let leak that once the project is built, it likely won’t end there. Duke says there are “great opportunities” to extend the pipeline into more areas of North Carolina–and even extend it on down into South Carolina…
