{"id":263,"date":"2019-04-05T18:22:02","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T18:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/?p=263"},"modified":"2019-04-05T18:22:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T18:22:02","slug":"the-environmental-justice-implications-of-the-atlantic-coast-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/the-environmental-justice-implications-of-the-atlantic-coast-pipeline\/","title":{"rendered":"The Environmental Justice Implications of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2013, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas Company, and Southern Company Gas began planning their Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project that would run 600 miles through West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. In accordance with federal guidance about environmental justice, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) drafted an environmental impact statement (EIS) in December 2016 and published a final report in July 2017.[1]<\/a> FERC\u2019s EIS stated that \u201cenvironmental justice populations would not be disproportionately affected by the projects,\u201d[2]<\/a> drawing criticism from many community groups along the proposed pipeline route who believe this to be false.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Many counter FERC\u2019s claim by asserting that the siting of the ACP disproportionately affects minority populations. The counties crossed by the proposed ACP route collectively have a significantly higher percentage minority population than the rest of the counties in North Carolina.[3]<\/a> For example, the pipeline threatens sacred sites for Virginia\u2019s Monacan Tribe and North Carolina\u2019s Tuscarora, Waccamaw, and Lumbee peoples. The terminus for the ACP is in Robeson County, NC, which is home to the densest population of indigenous people on the East Coast.[4]<\/a> 30,000 of them live within one mile of the proposed route in North Carolina. The Northampton compressor station in North Carolina is in a census block group that is 79% African American and already home to other energy and manufacturing facilities that already have air emissions. Local asthma levels there already are more than state averages. The Buckingham County, VA, compressor would be between two predominantly black churches on land bought from absentee landowners whose family were former slaveholders. [5]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some of the groups that believe the ACP would have a disproportionate effect include Clean Water for North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, and Concern for the New Generation. They and others submitted joint comments on the draft environmental impact statement, saying that it was fatally flawed because it did not include significant information about the environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural impacts of the pipeline project.[6]<\/a> Many of these same groups also filed a Title VI environmental justice complaint against the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. These groups allege that FERC and state agencies did not assess the cumulative environmental and health impacts on communities along the route[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are many potential dangers of a pipeline project such as the ACP for both humans and the environment. These impacts can include visual impacts, intensive water usage during construction, noise impacts from compressor stations, air quality impacts, land use restrictions, and risk of injury from accidents or explosions.[8]<\/a> There has been a significant increase in the number of incidents occurring along pipelines built since 2010 in the US. This is problematic especially since it is unclear whether local governments and emergency responders have the tools, training, and personnel to respond to these kinds of incidents.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some say that decision makers are being influenced by political motivations and money to disregard the risks of the ACP. For instance, FERC commissioners are criticized because they are political appointees who are frequently industry insiders. A Center for Public Integrity and StateImpact Pennsylvania study declared that FERC has only rejected two pipelines our of hundreds proposed in the past 30 years, another indication of potential bias.[10]<\/a> They tend to dismiss concerns submitted in the commenting process according to a study on energy justice and natural gas infrastructure.[11]<\/a> . Additionally, Dominion Energy is the largest political contributor in the state of Virginia, so it likely affects political decisions there.\u00a0 In the past decade, it has contributed over $10 million to Virginian politicians including $75,000 to Governor McAuliffe, who appoints officials involved with the approval of the ACP. Of the five Virginia representatives that signed a letter to FERC in support of the ACP, three have received more than $80,000 from Dominion since 2007. Two of the North Carolina signers have been some of the biggest state-level recipients of Duke Energy political contributions.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline was stopped for other reasons. The 4th<\/sup> U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals suspended the federal ACP permits from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service[13]<\/a> and the U.S. Forest Service[14]<\/a> based on the pipeline\u2019s run through National Forests and areas where endangered species live.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Still, it is important to note that the ACP would have an adverse effect on environmental justice communities as well as forests and endangered species, even though the environmental impact statement did not consider this to be true. The FERC should re-assess its evaluation process for what constitutes disproportionate impact to better evaluate cases like this in the future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Wraight, Sarah, Julia Hofmann, Justine Allpress, and Brooks Depro. 2018. \u201cEnvironmental Justice Concerns and the Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline Route in North Carolina.\u201d RTI Press Methods Report<\/em>, March. https:\/\/www.rti.org\/sites\/default\/files\/resources\/rti-publication-file-db772936-3fc3-4448-9a91-9c2b6ebed88a.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 2017. \u201cAtlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project Final Environmental Impact Statement.\u201d Washington, D.C. https:\/\/www.ferc.gov\/industries\/gas\/enviro\/eis\/2017\/07-21-17-FEIS\/volume-I.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Wraight, Sarah, Julia Hofmann, Justine Allpress, and Brooks Depro. 2018. \u201cEnvironmental Justice Concerns and the Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline Route in North Carolina.\u201d RTI Press Methods Report<\/em>, March. https:\/\/www.rti.org\/sites\/default\/files\/resources\/rti-publication-file-db772936-3fc3-4448-9a91-9c2b6ebed88a.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Clean Water for NC. 2017. \u201cThe Unneeded Atlantic Coast Pipeline.\u201d https:\/\/frackfreenc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/ACP-Handout-December-2017.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Finley-Brook, Mary, Travis Williams, Judi Caron-Sheppard, and Mary Jaromin. 2018. \u201cCritical Energy Justice in US Natural Gas Infrastructuring.\u201d Energy Research and Social Science<\/em> 41 (July).<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> \u201cJoint Comments by Public Interest Groups on Draft Environmental Impact Statement.\u201d 2017. http:\/\/www.ncwarn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/ACP-DEIS-Joint-Comments.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Runkle, John. 2018. \u201cTitle VI Environmental Justice Complaint Against NC Department of Environmental Quality.\u201d http:\/\/www.ncwarn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Title-VI-complaint-FINAL.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Wraight, Sarah, Julia Hofmann, Justine Allpress, and Brooks Depro. 2018. \u201cEnvironmental Justice Concerns and the Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline Route in North Carolina.\u201d RTI Press Methods Report<\/em>, March. https:\/\/www.rti.org\/sites\/default\/files\/resources\/rti-publication-file-db772936-3fc3-4448-9a91-9c2b6ebed88a.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Paranjape, Oshin, Hope Taylor, and Ericka Faircloth. 2017. \u201cHigh Consequence Areas, Blast Zones, and Public Safety along the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.\u201d Clean Water for North Carolina. https:\/\/cwfnc.org\/documents\/Updated-Report-High-Consequence-Areas-Blast-Zones-Public-Safety-along-the-ACP-10-2-2017.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Lombardi, Jamie, and Hopkins. 2017. \u201cNatural Gas Building Boom Fuels Climate Worries, Enrages Landowners.\u201d NPR.Org<\/em>, July 17, 2017. https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2017\/07\/17\/536708576\/natural-gas-building-boom-fuels-climate-worries-enrages-landowners<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Finley-Brook, Mary, Travis Williams, Judi Caron-Sheppard, and Mary Jaromin. 2018. \u201cCritical Energy Justice in US Natural Gas Infrastructuring.\u201d Energy Research and Social Science<\/em> 41 (July).<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Seidman, Derek. 2017. \u201cThe Power Behind the Pipelines: Atlantic Coast Pipeline.\u201d https:\/\/public-accountability.org\/report\/the-power-behind-the-pipelines-atlantic-coast-pipeline\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> Murawski, John. 2018. \u201cAtlantic Coast Pipeline Construction Halts as Court Reviews 4 Endangered Species.\u201d News & Observer<\/em>, December 10, 2018. https:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/news\/business\/article222856155.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Schneider, Gregory. 2018. \u201cFederal Appeals Court Rejects Permits for Atlantic Coast Pipeline.\u201d Washington Post<\/em>, December 13, 2018. https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/virginia-politics\/federal-appeals-court-rejects-permits-for-atlantic-coast-pipeline\/2018\/12\/13\/d1c845da-fef7-11e8-83c0-b06139e540e5_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e458013c95f6<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2013, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas Company, and Southern Company Gas began planning their Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project that would run 600 miles through West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. InContinue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":772,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[82],"class_list":["post-263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9AMMK-4f","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/the-atlantic-coastal-pipeline-who-pays-the-costs\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":0},"title":"The Atlantic Coastal Pipeline: Who Pays the Costs?","author":"Julia Myhre","date":"May 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) is a 600-mile underground pipeline meant to bring natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia and North Carolina.\u00a0 This federal project has spent the last 3 years getting approval to move forward as many oppose it\u2019s reliance on a non-renewable resource and the cost on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Student"","block_context":{"text":"Student","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/category\/student\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/files\/2018\/05\/acp-snip.png?fit=859%2C461&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/files\/2018\/05\/acp-snip.png?fit=859%2C461&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/files\/2018\/05\/acp-snip.png?fit=859%2C461&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/files\/2018\/05\/acp-snip.png?fit=859%2C461&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":627,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/cafos-leading-to-environmental-injustice-in-our-backyard-by-jack-rosenthal\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":1},"title":"CAFO’s Leading to Environmental Injustice in Our Backyard by Jack Rosenthal","author":"Dr Betsy Albright, D.Phil.","date":"April 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Right in our backyard, 10 billion gallons of hog waste is being stored in massive \u2018lagoons\u2019 while the excess is being sprayed onto local fields.[1] North Carolina is among the top five states operating Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the country.[2] These CAFOs are often located in low-income, minority\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1114,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/the-future-of-environmental-justice-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":2},"title":"The Future of Environmental Justice Work:","author":"Dr Betsy Albright, D.Phil.","date":"April 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"To what extent can the Trump Administration undermine State and Local Efforts? By Emely Arredondo | US Environmental Policy Student In the first 90 days of his second term, President Trump has made his intentions clear when it comes to environmental justice: eliminating any federal initiatives that tackled or were\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":116,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/fracking-an-environmental-justice-issue\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":3},"title":"Fracking: An Environmental Justice Issue","author":"J. Liu","date":"May 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"You hear the \u201cslish-slosh\u201d as millions of gallons of water, sand, and other chemicals rush beneath the surface of the Earth. You are standing by a hydraulic fracking well, one of tens of thousands distributed across the United States. You have heard several experts, agencies, and corporations describe the economic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Student"","block_context":{"text":"Student","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/category\/student\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":384,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.nicholas.duke.edu\/env212\/giving-a-voice-to-agricultural-workers-impacted-by-global-warming-by-xiaochen-du\/","url_meta":{"origin":263,"position":4},"title":"Giving a Voice to Agricultural Workers Impacted by Global Warming by Xiaochen Du","author":"Dr Betsy Albright, D.Phil.","date":"April 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"What is environmental justice? 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