Atlantic Coast Pipe Scores Important Approval in Suffolk, VA

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Location of Suffolk, VA (click for larger version)

Dominion Energy’s 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) has scored a second important victory this week. On Monday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lifted a stop-work order for the entire project (see Victory! FERC Lifts Stop Work Order for Atlantic Coast Pipeline). We’ve just learned that on Wednesday, the Suffolk (VA) City Council voted to give ACP permission to build and operate the pipeline within “city limits.” Which on the surface may sound pretty minor compared to lifting a total stop-work order. But the Suffolk vote is a big deal. Suffolk is itself its own equivalent of a county. Suffolk is an independent city–not part of any county in the state of Virginia. Although its population is only a little over 90,000 people, the “city” covers 429 square miles! It’s huge! It’s the largest city (by land mass) in Virginia. Much of it is rural. Suffolk is located near the coast, in the greater Virginia Beach area (close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay). ACP will need to pass under some 30 Suffolk roadways and 2 former railroad right-of-ways. The vote was 5-0 with three others abstaining because they own stock in Dominion…

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