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A New Phase of Resistance: The Tree Sitters Along the Mountain Valley Pipeline

Madelyne Ashworth | April 30, 2018

Topics: Dominion Energy, environmental protests, Mountain Valley Pipeline, MVP, pipeline protests

As tensions over Dominion Energy’s pipeline projects increase across the state, embittered landowners along the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) path have turned their efforts towards occupation movements.

Theresa “Red” Terry, 61, and daughter Theresa Minor Terry, 30, have been living in treehouse platforms in the woods on their own property since April 2. The Terry property, situated on Bent Mountain, has been in the family for seven generations. Other tree sitters have begun to join their movement throughout the area, such as those who are perched in the woods on Carolyn Reilly’s property, just 30 minutes away.

Theresa Minor Terry’s Tree Sit

“Most people [the pipeline] was affecting have been busy doing lawful things for three years and it’s gotten them nowhere,” Red Terry said. “When they gave the permission to cut on my property, that’s when I decided to go up [the tree]. It’s gotten [MVP’s] attention a lot faster than doing things the right way.”

Reilly and the Terrys are now being held in contempt of court, while the Terrys have been charged with three misdemeanors by the state, including impeding work and trespassing. Both Red and Minor Terry are living on separate tree platforms in two different locations, both near streams running through their property. MVP claims their protest has halted work to cut trees, but the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has forbidden MVP to cut trees within 75 feet of any waterway for the season due to the Roanoke logperch spawning season, a local fish protected by the state.

Police Tent on Red Terry’s Property

“If I weren’t here, they would cut anyway,” Minor Terry said, whose tree perch is described by state law enforcement as an ‘active crime scene.’ Both state police and Global Security, a private security company hired by MVP, share a tent while camping outside Red and Minor’s tree sits.

“We need to be clear with ourselves that this structure of law enforcement is to serve this company over the power of the people,” said Alex, a tree sitter on the Reilly property who is using a different name to preserve anonymity. “I know that this is a way, at least for a time, to stop the construction. They’re getting scared now.”

The Terrys’ court date is set for tomorrow, while the Reillys are set to appear this Friday at 11am. If convicted, they each could be charged with daily fines for every day they remain living in the trees.

Some photos from RVA Mag’s trip to document the tree sits out west can be found below:

The Resistance, Tree Sits
The Camp at Red Terry’s Property
Sign’s Surrouynding Red Terry’s Tree Sit
Minor Terry’s Tree Sit
Police Tent on Minor Terry’s Tree Sit
Carolyn Reilly’s Property
Tree Sit on the Reilly’s Property

All photos by Landon Shroder 

*Editors Note: Keep an eye out for RVA #33 and Madelyne Ashworth’s in-depth reporting on pipeline resistance throughout the Commonwealth. 

Government Agency Denies Seasonal Tree Cutting Extension for Atlantic Coast Pipeline

Madelyne Ashworth | April 5, 2018

Topics: Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Bold Alliance, Dominion, Dominion Energy, Mountain Valley Pipeline, pipelines, Southern Environmental Law Center

In a rare turn of events, last Wednesday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied Dominion Energy’s request to extend seasonal tree cutting along the Atlantic Coast Pipeline path (ACP), the proposed 600-mile natural gas line running from West Virginia through North Carolina.

Dominion Energy was originally given until March 14 of this year to cut trees due to time-of-year felling restrictions intended to protect migratory bird species and endangered species such as warblers, owls, and the Indiana bat. FERC determined that “it would not offer an equal or greater level of protection” to extend their allotted time for tree felling, according to the letter sent to Dominion by FERC’s Division of Gas Director, Richard McGuire.

“FERC made the right decision [Wednesday] by holding ACP developers to their promise to protect migratory birds. Tree-cutting restrictions are a critical part of the measures FERC required to minimize the harmful effects of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney Greg Buppert said in a statement. “Dominion’s last-minute request to renege on its commitments to environmental protection is another example of the company’s attempt to flex its political muscle for quick rubber-stamp approvals.”

Legal teams and environmental groups like the Southern Environmental Law Center, Appalachian Voices, and the Sierra Club have spent the past several years fighting the pipeline construction. Despite these efforts, Dominion predicts the project’s completion by 2020.

“For any large infrastructure project, we have to plan for contingencies,” Dominion spokesperson Aaron Ruby said. “By rearranging some of our construction plans and shifting some work to 2019, we’ll keep the project on track for completion by the end of next year.”

Back Creek Mountain, Highland County. Photo: The Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative

Thus far, Dominion claims to have cut over 200 miles of trees on the projected pipeline path. This rejection to extend tree felling follows another blatant negligence from Dominion, as the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) cited 15 violations of State Water Control laws and regulations that occurred during the felling along the ACP last month.

“It’s just criminal that they get permission to do this… They just dropped the trees,” said David Seriff, a Virginia landowner. “They got permission to cut the trees, but they don’t actually have permission to start the pipeline yet. It’s a horrible scar across the land.”

Dominion’s sister project, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), has also met resistance from landowners and environmental groups. Similarly to the ACP, locals fear sediment pollution in waterways, unstable conditions due to a karst landscape, damage to private lands and to local endangered species, among other concerns. Last month, MVP began tree felling in the Brush Mountain Wilderness area in the Jefferson National Forest, land that is normally protected by the Department of the Interior.

The United States Forest Service granted MVP the permit required to build through the national forest, roadless land normally reserved for wildlife and outdoor recreation.  

“Normally, the Forest Service is on our side,” said Kirk Bowers, pipelines program coordinator at the Sierra Club. “When Trump came into office, the entire political situation changed and they caved in to pressure from the oil industry and political interests to approve the permits.”

Groups like the Sierra Club and the Southern Environmental Law Center continue to take legal action against ACP and MVP. Dominion has permission from FERC to continue tree felling in the fall, once the migratory bird species move on for the winter.

Dominion Begins Cutting Trees for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline

Madelyne Ashworth | January 24, 2018

Topics: ACP, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Dominion, Dominion Energy, Mountain Valley Pipeline, MVP

Dominion Energy has begun felling trees in West Virginia and Virginia along the proposed path of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP).

After the Federal Energy Regulation Committee (FERC) approved a Limited Notice to Proceed last Friday to begin felling trees along the proposed path of the ACP, Dominion Energy wasted no time in beginning the process.

“This work will only be done on properties where we’ve reached agreements with landowners,” said Dominion Energy spokesperson Aaron Ruby in a statement. “None of the work will be done in wetlands, near water bodies, or in other areas that require additional federal and state permits. We will, of course, notify all landowners before beginning activity on their property.”

Along the ACP. Photo by Landon Shroder

Although FERC has determined Dominion may begin cutting, any felled trees or vegetation debris will be left in place until further authorization for any ‘earth-disturbing’ activities is granted by FERC.

“Trees and vegetation may be felled at or above ground level, and must use methods that will not rut soils or damage root systems, and be felled in a way that avoids obstruction of flow, rutting, and sedimentation of wetlands and waterbodies,” Dave Swearingen, FERC Branch Chief, wrote in a letter to Dominion executives.

Dominion will be unable to begin cutting trees and vegetation in North Carolina after the state gave Dominion a qualified disapproval of the erosion and sedimentation control permit. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) decided the pipeline project did not meet the state’s standards for erosion control, a concern that persists among Virginia landowners.

“I think it’s an incredibly stupid decision by FERC, because it sets you up for them to do damage to the environment that is difficult to undo, but it is legal at this point,” Richard Averitt said, a landowner and business owner in Nelson County. Tree cutting has not yet begun in Nelson due to the very few number of easements ACP has gained in Nelson County, according to Averitt.

Landowners have struggled with fighting pipeline projects for several years, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which is still in the legal process of obtaining easements from over 300 landowners through eminent domain in Virginia and West Virginia.

“This is a fairly limited action in a fairly limited number of places,” Averitt said. “There are a number of major lawsuits that are being filed that could have effect on this, but at this point, they’re really just cutting down the line of growth on places where people have negotiated and received payment.”

Richard Averitt

Averitt notes that the next step in stopping tree felling will be to fight any cases where ACP is attempting to use the ‘quick-take’ action within eminent domain, which would allow Dominion to cut trees on properties of people who have not settled with Dominion prior to all permits being finalized.

“I feel confident they will not get any of that done,” Averitt said.

Landowners and their lawyers argued against the constitutionality of eminent domain in a hearing last week, a power that is usually reserved only for the federal government and not a private company for private gain. MVP wishes to begin their tree felling by Feb. 1.

While MVP landowners asked for a rehearing, FERC instead issued a tolling order, meaning they will delay a final decision in court while allowing pipeline construction to move forward.

“Dominion is way behind schedule,” Averitt said. “There are a lot of things threatening the pipeline in general, and they’re doing everything in their power to hurry because the legal processes all have the opportunity of killing the project. They know that the more they get done, the easier they have this mysterious argument that, ‘Oh hey we’ve already done all of this work, surely we should be able to continue…’ They’re trying to put on the artifice that it’s all a done deal, which they believe could cause other people to sign easements, to give up, to stop fighting, and sort of saps the will of the people. They’re wrong. We’ve got a strong resistance to stop these pipelines.”

Dominion and Dong Energy to move forward with offshore wind project

Jo Rozycki | August 14, 2017

Topics: ACP, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Dominion Energy, Dong Energy, offshore wind farm, renewable energy

In a July media release, Dominion Energy has announced plans to move forward on an offshore wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach. After reaching an agreement with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to lease 2,000 acres on the Atlantic Ocean for wind turbine use, Dominion plans to install two turbines, each producing six-megawatts of renewable wind energy. The turbines will be located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

                                   Photo by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

“It’s a demonstration project to see, among other things, how well wind turbines can withstand hurricane-type conditions, which are prevalent in the mid-Atlantic,”said Dan Genest, media relations/generation or Dominion. 

This is technically Dominion’s second attempt at creating an offshore wind farm. After attempting to initiate a similar project back in 2011, entitled the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Assessment Project (VOWTAP), Dominion could not settle with a large offshore wind company to help fund the project. That’s where Dong Energy comes in.

Dominion Energy has partnered with Dong Energy, a leading offshore wind technology company in Europe, and the largest energy company in Denmark. “We approached Dong because we knew they were an expert in the field, a worldwide leader, and asked them,” said Genest.

Dong Energy will be leading in engineering, building, and maintaining the turbines, including excavation into the ocean floor to install the cables and pipes leading from the turbines to the shore. The turbines themselves won’t be visible from the beaches of Virginia Beach due to the curvature of the earth plus the distance from the shore.

                                                             Photo by Dominion Energy

Additionally, the turbines won’t affect the shipping routes that frequent the waters of the Virginia coastline. “They will be placed on all of the navigational maps,” said Genest. “As part of its research, when it determined what areas could be leased for wind turbine development, BOEM and the Coast Guard and several other state and federal agencies did a very thorough study of all of the shipping lanes. They’ve located an area that has minimum shipping.”

Although the exact number is unclear, Genest guarantees the project will create jobs. “The port of Virginia would be used for importing all of the parts and materials,” he said. According to Dong Energy, the Department of Energy reported last year that more than 500,000 people were employed in the renewable energy industry.

Additionally, Dong states that an average offshore wind project creates up to 1,000 construction/installation jobs, with around 100 year-round jobs, which would be beneficial for the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area, whose unemployment rates range from 3.5-4.5 percent.

“Virginia Beach is an excellent spot for this demonstration and eventual large-scale farm,” Genest said. “In Virginia, there are very few areas that can support wind farms. We just don’t have the winds.”

The coast of Virginia has rather moderate wind rates in comparison to the rest of the country, according to BOEM. Genest said that, after running studies across the commonwealth, there are very few areas that could support a 30-40 percent running time, which is optimal for a wind farm. However, the Virginia coastline has optimal conditions for such requirements.

Since this a demonstration project, Dominion has bigger plans for an offshore wind farm. “If it proves to be successful, and we move toward doing the commercial area, it would have up to 2,000 megawatts of wind turbine production,” said Genest. The 2,000 acres Dominion has leased in the Atlantic Ocean will eventually carry dozens of wind turbines. However, these plans will be for an undetermined future date.  Each megawatt of energy would serve 250 customers of Dominion, meaning this large-scale project could affect a large portion of the coastal cities and perhaps even beyond.

This hopeful project comes at a time where Dominion is under substantial criticism due to the plans for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), which has greatly upset many Virginia residents. Dominion’s spotty history with renewable energy has affected not only its customers, but also those who are affected by the projects that shy away from renewable energy, such as the ACP.

Genest cites the high prices of installing and maintaining renewable energy, such as solar, for the commonwealth. “We have always believed in renewable energy, but until recently the cost of renewable energy was such that we couldn’t justify it in large scale for our customers,” said Genest.

Breaths are held as Dominion prepares to break ground with Dong Energy off the coast of Virginia Beach. And if all fares well, Dominion will move forward in bringing renewable energy to Virginia.

“As part of the agreement, we have told Dong that they would be eligible if we proceeded to the commercial development portion of this, to work with us on that,” said Genest. 

Losing Peace, Gaining a Voice: The Faces of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline

Madelyne Ashworth | August 8, 2017

Topics: ACP, Augusta County, Bold Alliance, Buckingham County, Dominion Energy, Nelson County, Pipeline

There’s something magical about standing in a place and realizing that in every direction you look, there are mountains. It’s as if you’re sitting in a natural fortress, or a protected oasis.

Walking on the soil that is slated to be uprooted by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and recognizing that this land could be stripped of that beauty is unimaginable, especially for the communities of western Virginia.

“We chose this area because of its quietness, peacefulness, good clean quality air, and water,” said John Laury, a farmer in Buckingham County, VA. “That’s why we’re here. We have a right to be here and regardless, no company has a right to decide who should be the victim of their financial gains.”

A farmer and rancher, Laury and his wife Ruby have lived in a house they built upon moving back to Laury’s hometown in Buckingham County since 2004. The couple raise cattle for market and now own nearly 20 cows, which have become their source of income during what was meant to be their retirement.

John and Ruby Laury

The Laury’s rural, quiet farmhouse is surrounded by open fields and bales of hay. A metal barn for livestock backs up to the house. Aside from a few brays from their two donkeys, the only sounds are those from bugs and the breeze.

The ACP is proposed to run near their property line. There would also be a compression station located less than one mile from their home. This would not only disturb the Laury’s daily life, but create stress for their cattle.

“The proposed pipeline, if it should happen to come in, the most concern that I have is what happens if there’s a leak,” Ruby Laury said. “In this area, we have wells that we get our water from, the ground wells. The other thing we’ve heard and we’ve seen [is] where compression stations have actually blown up. There’s one that happened not too long ago in Appomattox. That’s a big concern to me. We’re like a ground zero. If anything happens, everything around here is going to be destroyed.”

“They seem to target areas that are predominantly of black Americans, also poor people,” explained Ruby Laury.

“They do it because of the fact we are less likely to speak out, less likely to have resources to fight it,” John Laury said, his speech slow and methodical. “So they make it easier for them to overpower us. It’s a trend.”

Their particular neighborhood is predominantly African-American, and according to the National Register of Historic Places, several areas within Buckingham have been declared historical.

“This particular area, we have a lot of slave burial grounds, natural springs, creeks, and we would rather not see them disturbed. Definitely not polluted,” John Laury said. “We get our water from wells here. We don’t live near a town or city, so we depend on our wells for our drinking water.”

Groundwater pollution can be a side effect of fracking, as it requires the use of local well water to extract natural gas.

Carolyn Reilly

“Tons and tons of water is used to drill down into these wells that fill with toxic chemicals. The gas comes up, they have all this waste water, what do they do with it? Typically they dump right back into those creeks and waterways,” Carolyn Reilly, a pipeline fighter in the Appalachian branch of Bold Alliance, explained. “Communities are just destroyed and devastated in West Virginia.”

Although the Laurys and many within and outside their community have sent letters, attended board meetings, and met with their local representatives, they have received little to no assurance that stopping the pipeline’s construction is possible.

“Big business, politics, corruption, unfortunately seems to override the voices of the people,” John Laury said. “We have to hold our representative responsible. We don’t want to put them in office. We have to rise up and let them know that we are their constituents and they’re supposed to represent us.”

In 2014, the ACP partnership created plans to build a 600-mile underground pipeline stretching from West Virginia to North Carolina. The ACP alliance includes Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, and Southern Gas Company. The proposed pipeline would be 42 inches wide and have three compressor stations, which help pressurize natural gas and create efficient transportation.

According to their website, the proposed route of the ACP has changed over 300 times to accommodate landowners and their properties, yet much of the pipeline running through Virginia counties such as Nelson, Augusta, and Buckingham will directly interfere with private homes and property.

“There’s no way to build infrastructure without having some impact on private landowners,” said Dominion Media Relations Manager Aaron Ruby. “We value the extremely important contribution that landowners make to building that infrastructure, and we think it’s very important to treat all landowners with fairness and respect.”

Previously existing gas line in Stuart’s Draft, VA. Photo by Dominion Energy

According to Ruby, over 70 percent of the affected landowners have already signed easement agreements for a project he assures will create several thousand jobs, an enormous boost in tax revenue, and a major reduction of greenhouse gases.

“In case you were not aware, there are also four large underground natural gas pipelines already operating in Buckingham County,” Ruby said. “They’ve been there for several decades.”

Ruby also confirmed that the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors approved the construction of the compressor station, despite worries from residents.

“We have an acre of land and we are 26 years into a 30 year mortgage,” said Becci Harmon, 58, a landowner in Augusta County. “Three years ago this month, we received our first certified letter from Atlantic Coast, saying they were interested in coming and surveying our property. In three years we have never allowed them to survey. Unfortunately, they came and trespassed on our property and surveyed anyway, without our permission. We only have an acre of land and the proposed 42 inch gas pipeline would come through our drain field and take out our drain field and take out our septic tank.”

According to Virginia law, natural gas companies have the right to examine a property to satisfy federal regulation requirements without the landowner’s permission. However, according to the proposal for the line, Harmon’s rectangular acre of land would be entirely overtaken by the ACP during the two years required to build it. She not only worries for her own health, but that the threat of an explosion or leak could harm the rest of her neighborhood, as well.

Becci Harmon and her husband, Dave Buell

“We’ve lived a nightmare for three years because we wake up with this on our mind, and we go to bed with it on our mind. If we get up in the middle of the night it’s on our mind,” Harmon said. “You can’t make any kind of plans. This is just constantly on your mind, that you’re liable to lose what you’ve worked for. It makes you angry, too. It makes you very angry.”

The public use of private property is possible through eminent domain, defined as the capability to expropriate private property for public use, given there is payment of compensation to that property’s owner. Eminent domain is extended to private companies if the company’s project is proven as a public utility and approved by the federal government. Those companies are then required to complete a mutual easement agreement with every affected property owner.  

“We took a hard line position from day one that really, we believe in a property rights and free market approach that allows every single individual along the route, at a minimum, to say yes or no, thumbs up or down to the pipeline,” said Richard Averitt, a landowner and businessman in Nelson County. Averitt originally moved to Nelson County in 2003 with his extended family to ensure a close proximity with his sister, who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1989.

“As you can imagine with her condition, she can’t get life insurance. And she’s a global advocate and activist for AIDS so she’s not in a banking job. She doesn’t have the kind of retirement fund that would support [her daughters], so she invested in property as a way to have an asset to leave them. And the pipeline literally would bisect that property and render it more or less useless,” Averitt explained.

Although his sister is still alive and continues to be an activist for AIDS-related causes, Averitt and his family wanted to create a sense of security by moving into the peace and quiet of Nelson County. Averitt recently purchased a large piece of property in addition to his own, which he intends to preserve and develop into a resort area worth $35 million and creating 125 permanent jobs.

“Our concept was to build a place that was focused specifically on the food, the products, the goods that are created in this beautiful part of Virginia and also on this sense of place–to nest cabins all throughout this property to celebrate the same reason that we love living here so much,” Averitt said. “Imagine something 125 to 150 feet wide all the way through the center of this property. So several thousand trees, they would plough the landscape, they would irreparably disrupt the creek, and then they say that the resort and the pipeline can co-exist with no problem, which of course is complete nonsense.”

Richard Averitt

Averitt has held meetings with almost every representative from Virginia including both gubernatorial candidates, both Virginia senators and the entire McAuliffe staff. “Warner told me face to face, ‘I don’t want to touch this. It’s a total tar baby. There’s no win,’” Averitt said. “I know that. I appreciate that, sort of as a business guy. I also own a software company. I’m clearly a capitalist. I understand that, but you’re an elected official. You don’t get to choose which positions you support and don’t. You support the positions that your people care about.”

Averitt’s major concern about the politicians in Virginia is their willingness to accept corporate donations from Dominion, ultimately causing conflicts of interest within their constituency surrounding the ACP. According to Averitt, nearly all 140 elected Virginia representatives from both parties have accepted monetary donations from Dominion over the last ten years.

“What does that tell you? Why would Dominion, a for-profit shareholder corporation, give to every one of those elected officials? It has to be because they expect a return,” Averitt said. “The only return they can get is they can buy your vote, or they can buy your silence.”

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Ralph Northam accepted $31,599 from Dominion Energy during this election cycle, while Ed Gillespie accepted $28,500.

“It’s an issue of saying, ‘I can’t be bought and sold.’ And we don’t have that answer from Northam,” Averitt said. “He says that’s true. He says, ‘How dare you suggest I can be bought or sold,’ and yet he continues to take money from the people he has to regulate.”

Averitt explained that the ACP alliance’s motivation for the pipeline is twofold, since on top of any profit they may create from pumping natural gas through the ACP, their investment has a guaranteed return. “Because it is a public utility project, they are guaranteed 100 percent repayment of their investment,” Averitt said. “The ratepayers will pay back all $6 billion. No chance you lose that money, no matter how long it takes. On top of that, they get a 12 to 14 percent rate of return.”

Although the ACP alliance gives compensation to the landowners affected by the project, those landowners will not receive transportation compensation once the pipeline is installed.

“If I don’t want the pipeline because my family has been here for five generations and I don’t want it on my property, that should be a reason enough,” Averitt said. “If I don’t want the pipeline because I’ve got an economic project that’s a higher and better use, that reason should be enough. If I don’t want it because I don’t believe in fracking, that’s my right, that’s the basis of property rights. They’re the fundamental rights, our entire democracy, and society, and economic system is built on.”

Several landowners, including Averitt and Harmon, were sent letters stating if they did not allow surveyors onto their property, they would be forced to oblige through a court order.

One of these landowners is Virginia Davis, the owner of a small produce market in Augusta County, whose property has been surveyed three times to document pre-existing cracks in her store’s foundation and who continues to receive survey requests. Davis, 58, has lived in this area of Virginia her entire life. The proposed ACP would follow her property line that encompasses both her home and her business.

Virginia Davis in her store, Stuart’s Draft Farm Market

“If they’re incompetent in their surveying and they’re lying about their reports and they’re doing all this other stuff that doesn’t give you a lot of competence, then I’m thinking, what if they’re out there and a stray rock flies into the store and hits a customer in the head and kills them?” Davis said. “Are they going to claim responsibility for that? Or is that going to be on me?”

As with her fellow landowners, political parties aren’t of much consequence to her–rather, she feels she has no representation at all. “They’re just railroading everything through,” she said. “Dominion doesn’t care, it’s all for Dominion’s profit. The politicians are bought and paid for, you don’t have a say in anything.”

Despite their fears and worries, this perseverant country community continue to rely on their tenacity, faith, and further hope their voices may be heard.

“Our lives do matter,” John Laury said. “Whether we are being considered less consequential, our lives do count.”

                                       *Photos by Landon Shroder. Video by Jacin Buchanan.  

Art meets activism to combat Atlantic Coast Pipeline in ‘Walking The Line’ project

Jo Rozycki | June 28, 2017

Topics: activisim, ARTivism, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, clean water, Cville Rising, Dominion, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, environment, fracking, james river, natural gas, Piemont Natural Gas, politics, Potomac River, rva activists, RVA ARt, Walking the Line: Into the Heart of Virginia

The proposed  Atlantic Coast Pipeline is proving to be an incredibly divisive subject not only for gubernatorial candidates, but also local activists and artists. The sounds of construction of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline, or ACP, are being matched by the sounds of boots and songs from a local group of activists. “Walking the Line: Into the Heart of Virginia“ is raising awareness and bringing peaceful resistance against the ACP.

The project is a collaboration with local artists, activists, or hybrids of the two, called artivists, mostly out of Albemarle and Highland counties. Landowners affected by the pipeline plans, artists, resistance groups, and many other individuals have come together to walk the 150-mile long path that stretches across five counties, starting in Highland County June 17 and ending in Buckingham County July 2.

Image may contain: 1 person, tree, outdoor and nature

“The genesis for the idea came from a very small group of newly formed activists called “Cville Rising”. They wanted to go out and put the feet and the boots on the ground along the pipeline,” said Kay Leigh Ferguson, an  organizer and a leader in ARTivism, a Charlottesville-based artistic resistance group.

Ferguson said both artists and activists can come together, each bringing something different to the table. 

“There are skills that the artists can bring to the activists and vice versa,” she said. She added that in a “post-fact” era, individual messages strung together with a common thread between them is what really gets people listening.

“This is the kind of message that the arts are particularly good at forming and communicating. The pipeline issues are complex and they cover legal, political, geological, geographical, scientific. While we are trying to shape heart messages, we also want to be accurate,” Ferguson said.

According to Dominion Energy’s website, the ACP will be developed, constructed, and operated by a conglomeration of four major, regionally-based energy companies: Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and Southern Company Gas.Image may contain: sky, cloud, tree, ocean, text, outdoor and nature

Dominion Energy’s website boasts an extensive list of facts and resources for the proposed pipeline, including economic benefits (job creation, consumer savings, and energy security), as well as ecological claims, such as cleaner air and backup energy services when wind and solar are unavailable.

The ACP’s website adds that the underground natural gas pipeline will transport locally-produced, clean-burning natural gas from West Virginia into the communities of Virginia and North Carolina, specifically benefiting the communities that need the infrastructure boost.

However, feelings from locals and activists see the fine-print behind these claims made by the powerhouse energy companies. Ferguson’s greatest concern is water pollution. The headwaters of the James, Potomac, and Shenandoah rivers all begin where the proposed pipeline will start in Virginia, up in Highland County.

“This unprecedented 42-inch, larger than before, never before put over high mountains, will be constructed in an area where the geology is like Swiss cheese” Ferguson said.

She noted that the limestone-based foundation, which naturally filtrates water that flows across the valley, will be contaminated from the construction and subsequent fracked gas. She also added that this is the very water we drink in Richmond, which eventually leads into the Chesapeake Bay.

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Other concerns from this proposed pipeline include gas leaks, explosions, temporary jobs which result in unemployment once construction is completed, the tax burden Virginians will have to bear, and more.

Pipeline safety is another concern. According to the ACP Safety page, The 42-inch pipeline is protected by a ½-1 inch-thick steel wall with an epoxy coating.

One of the few compressor stations in Virginia will be placed in Buckingham County, which Ferguson connects with environmental racism.

“There’s an African American community literally in a circle around this proposed compressor site” she said. “The compressor site is in the same place as former plantations. These people’s ancestors are buried there in unmarked graves.”

“Some of them bought the land before the end of the Civil War because they were able to buy their freedom,” Ferguson added. “It’s quite literally in that circle around this, sometimes 500 feet away [from the station].”

While local grassroots efforts have stepped up to voice their opposition to the pipeline, Virginia politicians have differed on their views on the issue.

Image may contain: 5 people, people smiling, people standing, shoes and outdoor

Republican candidate for Governor Ed Gillespie has emphasized his support for the pipeline. His opponent, Democrat Ralph Northam, has not come forward with a stance on the subject. 

Earlier in the campaign, Northam’s opponent Tom Perriello announced his staunch opposition to the pipeline.

Ferguson spoke quite passionately about the political aspect of this project, specifically in regards to Northam’s ambivalence.

“If you would have the courage to come out against these pipelines, and to adopt some real ethics and campaign finance reform that would shape Dominion’s chokehold on our state government loose, and cease to take money from corporations that you’re supposed to regulate, then we can talk about working for your campaign,” she said. 

The participants and organizers of Walking the Line, including those of The Seeds of Peace Collective and Cville Rising, are using videos and songs, such as the group’s anthem “Sow ‘Em on the Mountain,” to peacefully resist the ACP. However, Virginia Democrats have hired a multi-million dollar firm from New York to combat the pipeline through media and massive funding.

Organizers are encouraging people interested in participating to join the walk, whether it be just for an hour or two, or for a full day. Transportation is provided to bring walkers back to their vehicles during the trek. Donations can also be made either online or by purchasing a Walking the Line t-shirt. The walkers plan on finishing their trek on July 2 in Buckingham County.

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